Newly Published Book About Hunting for African Gems Leaves No Stone Unturned

Based on true events, No Stone Unturned: The Hunt for African Gems offers a rare glimpse into the world of colored gemstones, as told by author Richa Goyal Sikri.

Commissioned by mining giant Gemfields, the book is laced with humor and cultural insights that demystify the fast-paced, colorful world of African gem mining and lets the reader in on its secrets.

According to the author, her four-year labor of love is a collection of 24 short adventure stories and is based on real-life experiences of actual people from the colored gem and mining community.

"The first story begins in 1968, and its nonstop, uncensored action will take you on a roller coaster ride through the length and breadth of Africa and beyond," Sikri wrote in an Instagram post.

As the operator and 75% owner of both the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world), Gemfields believes that those who mine gemstones should do so with transparency, legitimacy and integrity.

And a big part of that effort is to celebrate the stories that make the gemstone industry truly unique.

In October of 2021, Gemfields released the third installment in a series of coffee-table books dedicated to the “big three” gemstones. Titled Sapphire: A Celebration of Color, the lavishly illustrated, 328-page book by Joanna Hardy took the reader on a journey from early trade along the Silk Route to the jewelry collections of the great royal houses of Europe and the finest contemporary designers. Hardy also authored Emerald: Twenty-One Centuries of Jeweled Opulence (2014) and Ruby: The King of Gems (2017).

In No Stone Unturned, Sikri seeks to transport her readers into a vibrant world, where they’ll learn, laugh, fall in love and, like the author, never want to leave.

"Richa has diligently captured countless hours of stories and injected her energetic writing style to create a first-of-a-kind work that inspires and intrigues readers,” Gemfields' CEO Sean Gilbertson told diamondworld.net.

Published by Austin Macauley, the book is now available on various online retail platforms, such as Amazon, Kinokuniya, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Browns Books, Bookshop.org and Austin Macauley.

Credit: Image courtesy of Gemfields.

— Howard Cohen

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