Stuart Poole

I sit down with Stuart Poole to discuss his work in founding Nineteen48 Gems and the challenges of supplying fully traceable, ethical gemstones.  Here's what we covered:   How Stuart got into the world of jewellery and started 1984 gems. The importance of reputation and relationships. Establishing a traceable supply chain. The Sri Lankan mining industry. Artisanal and large scale mining. Description of a mine in Sri Lanka. Setting up the company. Working in the Sri Lankan market. The challenge of tracing individual gemstones through the supply chain. Gemstone holograms and QR codes. The effect of laboratory diamonds. Comparison of Diamond and Gemstone mining. Moyo Gemstones collaboration in Tanzania. Comparison of working in Tanzania and Sri Lankan. Current trends. Mining in developed economies vs developing. Sapphires. Native light and how that might affect gemstone desirability. Stuart's predictions.