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National Jeweler: Dev Shetty To Head New Auction House for Rare Colored Gems
Dubai—Colored gemstone mining veteran Dev Shetty is heading a new auction house dedicated to rare, polished colored gemstones.
Jemora Gemhouse (JGH) is designed to provide collectors, luxury brands, and trade partners with “unparalleled access” to rare, valuable, unique, and premium-colored gemstones in a curated environment, the company said.
It’s led by Shetty, along with a team of expert gemologists responsible for meticulously sourcing, valuing, and appraising gemstones, JGH said.
Each gemstone will be certified by laboratories, including American Gemological Laboratories (AGL), GRS GemResearch Swisslab, Gübelin Gem Lab, and Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF.
The inaugural auction will feature a collection of sapphires from Kashmir, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, in categories including padparadscha, blue, pink, and yellow.
“Our inaugural auction promises to be a milestone event, featuring once-in-a-lifetime collections that are simply irreplaceable,” said Shetty.
The sale is scheduled for March 17 to 19 and set to take place through the Dubai Diamond Exchange, the only diamond bourse in the Gulf Cooperation Council—the region comprising the Middle Eastern countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—affiliated with the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.
The DDE sits under the umbrella of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).
“The Dubai Diamond Exchange is the world’s largest diamond tender facility, supporting over 1,350 companies and expanding rapidly into colored gemstones,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO of DMCC.
He continued, “Recent record-breaking tenders for emeralds, rubies, and sapphires are a testament to our growth as the hub of choice for the global colored gemstone market. We are delighted to launch the Jemora Gem House today and look forward to working with Dev Shetty as we continue to facilitate access and drive trade growth through the UAE for some of the world’s most remarkable, colored gemstones.”
After a seven-year stint as chief operating officer and executive director of Gemfields, Shetty founded Fura Gems, a mining company sourcing emeralds in Colombia and sapphires in Mozambique and Australia, in 2017.
He stepped down as Fura’s CEO last summer, about one year after a 55-carat ruby from the company’s ruby mine in Mozambique set a record for the most expensive colored gemstone ever sold at auction.
He went on to establish Gaston Group, a mining investment company based in the United Arab Emirates, according to his LinkedIn profile. Jemora Gemhouse is part of the group.
“I’m so excited to unveil Jemora Gemhouse, the first-of-its-kind auction house dedicated to extremely rare and exclusive polished colored gemstones. For years, the industry has needed a specialized platform to showcase premium-colored gems to the right audience, bypassing the constraints of traditional auction houses,” Shetty said.
“Jemora Gemhouse fulfills this demand by connecting sellers directly with buyers, ensuring that the finest gemstones achieve their true market value.”
The company said that for future auctions, it plans to include rare and high-valued gemstones, such as ruby, emerald, alexandrite, Paraiba tourmaline, and spinel.