LUKUSUZI SOURCE & ORIGIN

Near the Lukusuzi game reserve in eastern Zambia, a small community of artisanal miners dig by hand for aquamarine in alluvial deposits.

Over thousands of years, the gems would have been softly washed down to Lukusuzi by the rivers flowing through the plains. The gems lie close to the surface, meaning the collective of miners from the Tombuka, Ngoni and Chewa tribes can liberate them from the alluvial plains by hand, causing minimum disruption to the landscape.

THE PRIZE IS AQUAMARINE

The rough gems we have procured from Lukusuzi so far display a range of shades from light green to dark blue, in sizes from 1 carat to 45 carats. There have been some examples where the colour is comparable to the famed Santa Maria aquamarines of Brazil, known to have a colour similar to that of deep Pacific Ocean sea water in the sunshine.

When our gemmologists first saw the Lukusuzi aquamarines, they were struck by their natural beauty. The majority of aquamarines found in Lukusuzi are a colour that is reminiscent of the crystal clean sea water amongst the Aegean islands.

Gems For Good

As well as being beautiful, these gems do good. The discoveries of Lukusuzi miners, a small group of 25 gem hunters, support a community of more than 500. The local tribal chief coordinates their efforts to ensure profits are split fairly and invested back into the villages.

This honours our commitment to finding ways of being more sustainable across all elements of our business. To support this goal we are increasingly getting closer to our suppliers and finding sources of gems that give our customers a clear provenance while also supporting mining communities.

As a result, the Lukusuzi mines will now be our principle source for freshly mined aquamarine.

From Lukusuzi To Sri Lanka

Our gems are cut in Sri Lanka by artisans we know and trust, enabling us to have full visibility of the supply chain.

This allows us to create antique cushion and oval cuts, rarely seen in this gemstone. These are a favourite at Pragnell and work well with Aquamarines as the fewer, larger facets of these older-style cuts suit larger gemstones, and enhance brightness and clarity.