Author Richa Goyal Sikri Unearths Adventures in the African Gem Trade

Singapore-based author Richa Goyal Sikri received a commission from mining company Gemfields in 2020 to capture the memories of people involved in Africa’s colored-gemstone trade. Given free rein to choose her subjects, she interviewed miners, gem merchants, brokers, scientists, gemologists and geologists. The result is No Stone Unturned: The Hunt for African Gems, an homage to and testimony of the trade’s human aspect.

What was your vision for the narrative of the book?

The whole idea was because 80% of colored stones are estimated to come from Africa today. A lot of the people who are associated either with the discovery or with the development of these deposits are in their 70s, 80s, 90s. While the technical side of these deposits is well documented in Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) articles, the human stories have never really been documented.

How did you decide whose stories to include?

I knew I couldn’t just have stories of international people who have had an impact on Africa or who are living in Africa. You know that every single deposit has been discovered by an indigenous African person?

I wanted to make sure the book was representative of the African voice, not just international gem merchants. Half of the stories are people who are native to the land — African men and women who are not celebrities or known in the industry. I chose genuine, authentic people who had made a discovery and worked for a certain number of years in the place. Other people in the trade were praising them, and they really made a difference to the mining industry.

In what way do you see this book shedding new light on the African colored-gem trade?

I want people to change their preconceived notions about colored stones and understand how difficult it is. In this book, it’s not blood diamonds, but it is also not the Disney version. This is life, and the reality of life is that not every miner is going to strike it rich. At the same time, every single one of the stories is laced with humor. I researched the food, local culture, and character of the places. I didn’t want to only share the challenges, but also the adventure, color, love, nature and beauty that you will only find in Africa.

No Stone Unturned: The Hunt for African Gems was released in June by Austin Macauley.

Main image: Rough-emerald sorters at the Gravelotte mine in South Africa during the 1970s. (Akshat Gupta)

This article is from the July-August 2024 issue of Rapaport Magazine. View other articles here.