The pit, less than four metres deep and ever-growing in diameter, put all the gemstone buyers working for the major jewellery houses on alert. The unofficial sapphire mine, excavated a few months ago near the village of Ambarazy, in the commune of Ilakakabe in southern Madagascar, near a road linking Tuléar to the capital Antananarivo, has been flooded
In Focus | France, Switzerland
Madagascar sapphire mine exposes jewellery firms' hollow 'ethical' claims
Published on 11.05.2023 at 05:00 GMT
Reading time 4 min
All the luxury groups, from Richemont to LVMH, have made traceability commitments for their coloured stone jewellery. But the realities of a market concentrated in a handful of countries make credible certification impossible. Glitz.paris looks into the situation in Madagascar, the epicentre of the sapphire business.
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Jewellery sector's quest for clarity
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