Knight Frank recently released their Luxury Investment Index, and although it looks like jewelry had a tough 12 months, record prices per carat for rubies have been achieved with prices rising to $1.2 million in 2016, a threefold growth between 2006 and 2016. Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields, said, “The swing towards precious colored gemstones is overwhelming. The past decade has seen the world record prices for an emerald and ruby surpass that of a colorless diamond on a per carat basis. It surely can’t be long before sapphires overtake diamonds, too. We expect vibrant consumer interest and sector growth to continue. Responsible sourcing will receive ever-increasing attention and become progressively more important to consumers, making gemstone provenance perhaps the key driving factor.”

Gilbertson attributes the rise in colored gemstones to several factors. “With significant improvements in the supply chain, particularly in respect of reliable and responsible sources of supply, it is no surprise that we’ve seen such growth in the colored gem sector,” he said. 

The recent discovery of rubies in Mozambique in 2009 has also been a major gamechanger for the jewelry industry. Mozambique has becoming the world’s number one ruby exporter, yielding record-breaking auction results for Gemfields. Following U.S.-led bans in 2008 on rubies from Burma, Mozambique’s consistency and transparency of supply has instilled renewed confidence in rubies and has enabled high-end jewelry brands to create extraordinary capsule collections with fine rubies they would typically have spent years collecting. 

As consumers become more interested in where goods and materials come from, they are making more value-driven choices about their lives, prepared to forgo products that don’t meet their own personal standards. With an increase demand for understanding the origin of purchases, the conditions under which they are produced, Gemfield’s has committed itself to transparency, integrity and legitimacy speaking directly to these concerns. 

The digital age has also transformed the way consumers shop for jewelry as well. “The immediate and widespread digital coverage on celebrities and young royals has certainly influenced demand for colored gemstones, as many have opted for colorful engagement rings and to wear more color in their jewelry,” said Jack Cunningham, sustainability, policy & risk director of Gemfields. “Princess Eugenie was proposed to with a padparadscha and wore an emerald tiara at her wedding; the Duchess of Sussex chose an aquamarine ring of Diana’s for her wedding dinner; whilst the Duchess of Cambridge wears Diana’s sapphire ring as her engagement ring. Plus, who can forget Halle Berry and Zoe Saldana’s striking emerald engagement rings, Elizabeth Hurley and Penelope Cruz’s sapphire engagement rings and Eva Longoria’s ruby.”