A 55.22-carat ruby has become both the largest and most valuable gem of its kind ever to sell at auction, netting $34.8 million on Thursday.

The stone went under the hammer in New York in June, less than a year after Canadian firm Fura Gems discovered it at one of the company’s mines in Mozambique.

Ahead of the sale, Sotheby’s described the jewel as “exceedingly rare” and “the most valuable and important” ruby ever to come to market. It was named Estrela de Fura – or Star of Fura in Mozambique’s official language, Portuguese.

Although record gemstone sales are dominated by diamonds – colored ones, in particular, rubies are also considered among the world’s rarest and most valuable gemstones. The previous auction record for a ruby was set by the Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat stone found in Myanmar that fetched US$30.3 million in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.

Estrela de Fura was cut from a rough stone that made headlines when it was unearthed by miners last July. Originally weighing 101 carats, almost twice as much as in its current form, it was the largest gem-quality ruby ever discovered.

The huge stone was cut into a smaller symmetrical shape and polished, processes that remove impurities and enhance the color and brilliance of a gemstone before it is put onto the market. According to Sotheby’s, a report from the Swiss Gemmological Institute said that this had “resulted in vivid red hues due to multiple internal reflections.”

In a statement, Fura Gems’ founder and CEO, Dev Shetty, said stones of such size and quality are “almost unheard of.”

“From the in-depth analysis and study of the stone, through the process of cutting and polishing, we have worked with the utmost care and respect for the ruby, recognizing its importance and stature,” he added.

Although rubies were first discovered in Mozambique several decades ago, a significant industry only emerged there after 2009, when a huge deposit of stones was found near the northern city of Montepuez. Mozambique is now one of the world’s most productive ruby-mining countries.

Estrela de Fura was among the stones unearthed from the region. Sotheby’s described it as possessing “outstanding clarity” and a dark red color known as “pigeon’s blood”, a hue more traditionally associated with highly sought-after Burmese rubies.

The auction house’s head of jewelry for the Americas, Quig Bruning, said in a statement that the ruby could help African stones compete with, “and even outshine” those from Myanmar (the country formerly known as Burma).

The ruby was included in Sotheby’s “Magnificent Jewels” sale, which was headlined by a 10.57-carat pink diamond, The Eternal Pink, which fetched the same amount as Estrela de Fura. The “ultra-rare” diamond was described by the auction house as possessing “unparalleled color and brightness.”

Both precious stones were exhibited in various cities, including Dubai, Singapore and Geneva, before they were sold in New York.

Shares in coloured gems miner Gemfields climbed more than 5% on Friday after it posted record revenue for 2022, exceeding the US$300 million mark for the first time.

The Africa-focused emeralds and rubies miner said last year’s revenue hit US$341 million, a 32% increase from the almost US$258 million recorded in 2021.

“The coloured gemstone market has seen strong demand after the covid-19 pandemic, with prices paid for uncut emeralds and rubies reaching remarkable levels during the first half of 2022,” chief executive Sean Gilbertson said.

Revenue from Gemfields 75%-owned Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique reached US$167 million, a 13% increase on the previous year. Its Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, in which it also has a 75% interest, contributed US$147 million to group revenue, after a 62% increase.

The company, which owns Fabergé, said the jewellery brand brought in US$18 million in revenue, a 28% increase from 2021.

Gemfields’ Mozambican operations are in the northern Cabo Delgado province, which has seen an Islamic State-linked insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out in 2017, disrupting multi-billion-dollar natural gas and mining projects.

Gilbertson noted that operations at Montepuez ruby mine remained stable and uninterrupted, although the company briefly suspended operations an evacuated its Nairobi exploration camp in February, following reports of an insurgency attack nearby.

Employees have started to return to the camp, where Gemfields is exploring for gold.

Gemfields’ shares closed 2.41% up on Friday at US$17.41 pence.

The world’s leading innovator in diamond inscription, PhotoScribe Technologies, has secured a patent to ensure the proper identification of a diamond, combating forgery in the gem and jewelry industry with a security mark. Its signature laser, the LMS 650, can be upgraded to bring the technology in-house, offering laboratories and companies in the trade the ability to guarantee the identification of a diamond or gemstone throughout its journey. By combining overt and covert technology, the new PhotoScribe Technologies patent offers the industry and customers the assurance that a diamond, or gemstone, will always be the original stone and match its certificate.

To date, the industry has battled both forgeries of certificates and forgery of the inscription of diamonds. For most, it is not easy to detect when something has been manipulated; therefore, secure diamond identification is essential. Good security is a multi-layered approach. Using overt and covert identifiers, PhotoScribe Technologies has developed a tamper-proof mechanism to guarantee an inscription cannot be forged.

The Unique Secured Product ID (USPID) patent uses a secure mark to validate if a diamond matches what it is said to be. A self-identifying security mark can certify itself without a connection to a central database. Overt identifiers are what one sees – for example, a serial number or barcode marked on the diamond. The overt identifier is cross-examined with the covert data – what one doesn’t see, or realize, is part of the code. For example, a barcode can give the coordinates of an inclusion unique to a diamond, or it may decipher if an inscription is a correct distance from a specific facet junction or position on the girdle. Because no two diamonds are ever alike, even when inclusion-free, the coordinates of the events in the diamond and code ensure authenticity. Using both covert and overt information, a diamond can be verified, or a forgery can easily be identified. The USPID patent can help prevent others from forging inscriptions because when the inscription doesn’t match the covert information, it will be flagged. The technology uses a machine vision algorithm for either remote or local verification.

“My goal is to promote trust in our industry by eliminating forgeries and giving consumers peace of mind,” says David Benderly, CEO PhotoScribe Technologies. “A secure product identification helps consumers and businesses make informed purchasing decisions because they can trust that the products they buy are genuine.”

For laboratories and companies seeking to automate the security marking of diamonds and gemstones, PhotoScribe Technologies can set up machine vision automation. It can be integrated into the PhotoScribe LMS-650 diamond marking system. When a gemstone or a diamond with a secure mark is put under a microscope, it will be authenticated as real or fake. When coupled with a blockchain-based diamond journey, the secure mark guarantees the authenticity of the stone, its origin, and any other data ascribed to it. An artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning-based system, the USPID secure mark automates identification to preserve consumer confidence.

An additional layer of security could be achieved with PermaScribeTM, PhotoScribe’s subsurface diamond marking technology. Such an inscription is considered permanent and cannot be removed without damaging the stone. PhotoScribe Technologies has been the leader in subsurface laser marking for over ten years.

For secure identification that is not generated by a PhotoScribe laser, PhotoScribe Technologies will provide software-only solutions by tapping into their algorithm and database. PhotoScribe Technologies continues to protect the industry’s integrity through cutting-edge technology and research.

Chinese investors have been encouraged to partner with Zambians in the gemstone mining industry to enhance the growth of the sector in the southern African country.

Victor Kalesha, the president of the Emeralds and Semi-Precious Stones Mining Association of Zambia (ESMAZ), made the call in an interview on Tuesday that the association was making frantic efforts to hold talks with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zambia on partnership with the Asian investors.

“Our goal is to initiate partnership discussions and see how best to improve our gemstone sector in Lufwanyama District,” he said.

Lufwanyama District is one of the rich mineral regions of Copperbelt Province in Zambia.

Kalesha said the objective of the partnership agreement is intended to be focused on large-scale gemstone mining.

He added that the Chinese are skilled and have the resources to recapitalize the gemstone industry in Zambia.

Zambia is endowed with emeralds and gemstones, which can contribute positively toward the country’s economic growth when the resources are utilized to the fullest, Kalesha said.

Gemfields, the supplier of coloured gemstones, announced that its emerald auction fetched revenues of US$32.9 million, the second-highest figure ever achieved at a Kagem commercial quality auction.

The auction of predominantly commercial quality rough emeralds was held from August 31 to September 19.

The emeralds were extracted by Kagem Mining in Zambia, which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia.

The Gemfields Group, based in London and listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, is focused on mining emeralds at the Kagem mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique.

The shares have increased by 28.89% in the past year.

According to the group, of the 34 lots offered, 33 were sold, which amounted to 97%.

The average sales price of US$9.01 per carat, the second-highest figure ever achieved at a Kagem commercial quality auction, Gemfields said.

“The 42 auctions of Kagem gemstones hosted by Gemfields since July 2009 have generated US$868 million in total revenues,” the group said.

Gemfields managing director of product and sales, Adrian Banks said: “The results announced confirm once again that 2022 is the strongest year on record for Zambian emeralds mined at the Kagem emerald mine. Kagem’s year-to-date auction revenues now stand at US$118 million, a notable figure when compared with the full-year record set in 2021 of US$92 million.”

Tanzanian authorities on Saturday unveiled a small-scale miner for discovering two tanzanite gemstones weighing a total of 5.22 kilograms.

Tanzanite is a rare blue gem only produced in northern Tanzania.

Anselim Kawishe, a miner, was announced by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Adolf Ndunguru, at a ceremony held at the Mirerani tanzanite mining area in Simanjiro district in the Manyara region.

Kawishe’s new tanzanite discovery was valued at one million U.S. dollars, said Ndunguru.

Kawishe said he has been looking for the tanzanite gemstones for the past 15 years.

“I did not expect that there will be a day when I will be standing here carrying such a big tanzanite gem,” he said.

Doto Biteko, the minister for Minerals, said President Samia Suluhu Hassan was informed about the new discovery and she directed the 5.22 kilograms of tanzanite should be sold quickly and the miner should be paid all of his money promptly.

In 2020, another Tanzanite small-scale miner Saniniu Laizer discovered two tanzanite gemstones weighing about 14 kilograms.