Headlines

This Mining Company Is Poised to Dominate the Colored Gem Market

Published

8 years ago

January 22, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Its strategy for driving up worldwide emerald prices is working.

Gemfields, a colored stone mining company based in London, is aiming to increase demand for its emeralds and rubies by modernizing the colored gemstone trade, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to the article, the company has a large-scale mining operation near Zambia’s border and is “pulling millions of carats of shimmering stones out of the ground every month.” It’s also emulating De Beers’ marketing strategy, which has helped drive 14-fold growth for worldwide emerald prices since 2009. Analysts told WSJ that Gemfields ¬– which totals $170 million in annual revenue and employs about 200 people – is “well positioned to capitalize as the only formal, large-scale producer of rubies and emeralds in the global market.”

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”