Gemstone Market Update | September 14, 2026

Every Lot Clears at a Jaipur Rough Emerald Auction

A full clearance at the commercial end of the rough emerald market is the weekend's most concrete colored-stone figure. On September 11, 2026, Gemfields announced the results of an auction of commercial-quality rough emeralds held from August 24 to September 10, 2026 in Jaipur, India, conducted as private in-person viewings followed by an online sealed-bid platform. Total auction revenues were USD 29.6 million. All 44 lots offered were sold, a 100 percent clearance, and 3,047,650 carats were offered with 3,047,650 carats sold. The average realised price was USD 9.72 per carat, and 63 companies placed bids. Read the official auction results.

The per-carat figure is what distinguishes this result from the company's recent history in the same category. Across the five commercial-quality emerald auctions listed in the September 2026 announcement's own comparison table, average realised prices range from USD 4.45 to USD 9.72 per carat, placing this auction at the top of that range. The nearest comparison by season is the company's September 2024 commercial-quality auction, which produced USD 10.8 million from 28 of 46 lots sold, a 61 percent clearance, at an average of USD 4.47 per carat. Because each auction offers a different assortment, an average per-carat figure reflects the mix of lots presented as much as the price buyers will pay for any particular parcel, and rough auction results record wholesale purchases of unprocessed material rather than retail prices for finished cut stones. Review the September 2024 auction results.

Adrian Banks, Managing Director of Product and Sales, said of the result: "It has been nine months since our last commercial-quality emerald auction, and I am particularly encouraged by this robust result." The nine-month interval is itself part of the context. Where a producer withholds material and then returns to auction, the clearance rate and the per-carat average describe demand for that specific offering at that moment, and a single auction does not establish a trend across the wider colored-stone market. There is no centralized index for colored gemstone prices, so auction announcements from producers remain among the few dated, published figures available to the trade.

Natural emeralds are understood in the trade through origin, clarity modification, cutting and documentation as much as through color. Pryce House sources distinctive natural colored stones through estates, private collections and established secondary-market channels. For private access, enter The Stone Room.

Auction results describe specific lots of rough material sold in a defined sale and are not appraisals, price benchmarks or indications of the value of any individual gemstone. Colored gemstones do not trade through one universal index. This update is provided for general information and is not investment, appraisal, tax or legal advice.