Gemfields, the miner of valuable stones from Africa, has auctioned off the largest single emerald in its historical past as a part of a sale that raised over $30 million in whole and helped break data for the 12 months.

The proceeds included the contribution of the large “Kafubu Cluster” — weighing in at nearly 38,000 grams (pictured) — and named after the river within the area of Zambia the place it was found within the Kagem mine. It is extremely uncommon for uncut emeralds to be named, with titles bestowed on solely the “rarest and most outstanding gems” in response to the corporate. Whereas no official naming data are saved, Gemfields stated “it’s thought that not more than two dozen gems have ever been given their very own title.”

It’s also extraordinarily uncommon for a gemstone to cross above the 1,000 carat line, which is a unit of weight used to evaluate valuable stone equal to 200 miligrams. The Kafubu Cluster clocks in at 187,775 carats, incomes it a reference as “our mild big” on Gemfield’s web site.

The corporate doesn’t launch full particulars on particular person lot costs, however the public sale generated a median worth of virtually $77 per carat, with the Kafubu Cluster making up 44% of the entire weight on sale. That helped break public sale data as the corporate raised its highest whole in 2022 at just below $150 million. The earlier document, set final 12 months, was simply over $92 million.

The proceeds can be totally repatriated to Kagem in Zambia, with all royalties as a result of Authorities of the Republic of Zambia being paid on the complete gross sales costs achieved on the public sale, Gemfield stated.

The Kagem mine uncovers gems by hand in what Gemfields calls a “cautious course of” which has “enabled the protected restoration of a number of the largest and most distinctive emeralds ever discovered, of which the Kafubu Cluster is a unprecedented instance.”