FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WITH PICTURES
NOVEMBER 12, 2022
Gemfields launches jewellery collaboration featuring Kagem Zambian emeralds
LUFWANYAMA, ZAMBIA – Kagem’s parent company Gemfields has unveiled a new partnership with emerald specialist brand House of Meraki to showcase a jewellery collection that features emeralds sourced from the Lufwanyama-based mine.
The exquisite creations of Zambian emeralds from the collection, named J’aime, feature earrings, from dainty studs to stylish hoops – as well as rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants, which pair delicate emeralds with 18k yellow gold, and occasionally diamond and pearls.
Kagem is believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine; it is 75% owned by Gemfields, in a model partnership with the Zambian government’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
J’aime translates as “I love” or “may God protect”, making it the ideal moniker for the collection – emeralds being widely associated with hope, growth, life, fertility and peace, and thought to possess healing properties. Far from just being decorative, each piece is intended to bring a powerful positive energy to its wearer. Emeralds, which were formed in the earth over 500 million years ago, are one of the ‘big three’ coloured gemstones – alongside rubies and sapphires – and have been beloved for thousands of years.
Zambian emeralds have long held a fascination for House of Meraki’s founder, Gargi Rathi, who would stare at them in wonder when shopping in the markets of Zambia with her mother as a child, marvelling at their perfect chemistry of colour and clarity.
Gargi, a trained gemmologist, describes Zambian emeralds as her first love, and in House of Meraki she has managed to recreate the mine-to-market authenticity of the emeralds that enthralled her younger self. She places due diligence on her supply chain, working only with responsibly sourced gems, which are strictly vetted and certified before being cut and polished.
Like all House of Meraki creations, the pieces in the J’aime collection have a European aesthetic and elegance to them and were designed to be worn anywhere from the ballroom to the boardroom. The J’aime collection, along with the rest of the House of Meraki range, is now available on both Farfetch (farfetch.com) and Net-a-Porter (net-a-porter.com), as well as on the House of Meraki’s own online platform (houseofmeraki.com).
Believed to be the largest emerald mine in the world, Kagem has been the source of some of the rarest and finest emeralds ever seen, including Chipembele, which holds the Guinness World Records™ title for the Largest uncut emerald, and recently the Kafubu Cluster which has been making local and international headlines. The mine currently supplies around one in three of the world’s emeralds.
-ENDS-
CONTACT
Enquiries
Gillian Langmead
Langmead & Baker Ltd
Tel: +260 979 060705
info@langmead.com
Head office
Helena Choudhury
Head of PR and Communications
Tel: +44 (0)207 518 3420
helena.choudhury@gemfields.com
Kagem responsible sourcing highlights
- Kagem is committed to ensuring that the community continues to benefit positively from its operations through various sustainability programmes focused on alleviating poverty and aligned with government policies, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Vision 2030
- The mine has spent more than USD 2.8 million on community projects, including:
- Rehabilitation of the 18.7km road connecting Chief Nkana and Chief Lumpuma’s chiefdoms from Kandole to Kafwaya village in Lufwanyama district
- Construction of the Nkana Health Centre
- Construction and equipping of a new Chapula Secondary School
- Construction of new buildings at Chapula Primary School
- Building of teachers’ accommodation at Kapila Community School
- Support for the Blessing, Kapila Green Farms, Twende and Twasanta projects
- Improvements to Chief Nkana and Chief Lumpuma’s palaces
- Kagem has renewed its partnership with both the Copperbelt University (CBU) and the University of Zambia (UNZA), committing to new scholarship programmes totalling USD 345,000. This follows the previous commitment of USD 345,000 to sponsor students from the geological and mining engineering departments at the School of Mines at UNZA and CBU over a period of eight years.
- Kagem has pledged USD 220,000 to support the Lumpuma Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society farming initiative.
- Kagem currently provides 1,150 direct jobs, with 94% of the workforce being local.
About Kagem Mining
Kagem Mining Ltd, based in Lufwanyama, is believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine. Kagem is 75% owned by Gemfields, in a model partnership with the Zambian government.
Kagem aims to emulate the values of Gemfields and operate in a way that contributes positively to the national economy, while taking a leading role in modernising the coloured gemstone sector and building sustainable livelihoods for the communities around the mine. Kagem believes that coloured gemstones should be mined and marketed by championing three key values – transparency, legitimacy and integrity.
Gemfields is a world-leading miner of responsible coloured gemstones. In addition to Kagem, Gemfields is the operator and 75% owner of Montepuez Ruby Mining in Mozambique (at one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world), as well as bulk sampling licences in Ethiopia, amongst others.
Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to the global jewellery market.
Fabergé – an iconic name with an exceptional heritage – is a member of the Gemfields Group. The beauty of Fabergé’s designs and craftsmanship, helps to raise consumer awareness of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones.
As well as supplying a significant share of the world’s rough rubies and emeralds, Gemfields initiates activations to build desire for coloured gemstones: for example, collaborations with international jewellery brands and other creative partners. Often surprising, unexpected and unique, these collaborations are chosen to promote consumer awareness and increase the appeal of coloured gemstones, raising their profile, and, in turn, providing greater benefit to their place of origin in Africa.
Gemfields: Gemfields.com | Investors | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Fabergé: Fabergé.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Kagem Mining: LinkedIn
Montepuez Ruby Mining: LinkedIn