Gemfields Debuts Traceable-Ruby Program

RAPAPORT… Gemfields auctioned 12 parcels of rubies backed by Gübelin
Gem Lab’s Provenance Proof program, the first blockchain-enabled rubies the
miner has sold, it said Tuesday.



“[The stones] have become the first Gemfields rubies ever to
pioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply-chain
traceability,” Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales,
explained. “The winners are therefore able to validate the route to market.”


The miner already uses Provenance Proof to track emeralds,
including the smaller stones cut from its 5,655-carat Inkalamu gem, which it
recovered last year.


The company raised $71.5 million from the sale of 927,130
carats of rough rubies at the December auction in Singapore, its second-highest
result for rubies to date. The stones sold at an average price of $77 per
carat, with 88% of lots finding buyers.


Gemfields noted “robust” demand with 53 companies placing bids and 37 taking home at least
one lot.


Image: Rough rubies. (Gemfields)