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Coloured gemstone producer Gemfields plc announced that its auction of rough ruby from its Montepuez mine in Mozambique realised $54.8 million — an all-time high for any Gemfields auction.

The auction realised an average price of $61.13 per carat and 895,848 carats of the 1,048,687 carats offered (78 of the 83 lots) were sold. The eight Montepuez auctions held since June 2014 have aggregated $280.5 million in revenues.

The auction was held in Singapore from June 10 to 14, and was the second ruby and final auction of this financial year. The auction offered high and commercial grade rough rubies in both untreated and treated form and 54 companies placed bids. According to Gemfields, all treated lots were offered using industry-accepted treatment techniques and on a fully disclosed basis.

Gemfields said it refined the quality and quantity of the goods placed on offer in response to market feedback which showed growing demand for rough rubies suited to the production of high quality jewellery as well as larger volume production runs, thereby allowing a broad cross-section of product to be placed on offer.

Given that the quality mix offered at this auction comprised a blend of varying qualities and sizes of material, a direct top-line comparison with the results of previous auctions is not feasible, Gemfields said, adding that on a quality-for-quality basis however, the per carat prices reflected positive demand and were in line with its experiences at recent global trade events.

Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle commented, “We are thrilled with the results of the eighth Montepuez ruby auction. Achieving revenues of $54.8 million is a pleasingly 24 percent increase to our prior auction revenue record. The prices achieved at this auction, combined with the high percentage of goods sold, highlight our belief in the ongoing increase in demand for responsibly sourced Mozambican rubies across key markets and jewellery categories.”

https://www.gemkonnect.com/news/demand-growing-says-gemfields-ruby-auction-realises-record-548m