Hidden Gem

In her debut book, Singapore-based journalist Richa Goyal Sikri sheds new light on the African coloured gemstone industry, revealing the deeply personal stories of the individuals driving it

- Annabel Tan

Richa Goyal Sikri, a self-proclaimed gem addict, recently unveiled her debut book, No Stone Unturned: The Hunt for African Gems, a captivating exploration of the untold stories behind Africa’s vibrant coloured gemstone industry. In the book, the Singapore-based journalist chronicles the lives of the individuals who have significantly influenced this sector, as well as the personal impact their stories have left on her.

She could have written the book in a year, but Sikri got so deep into her research, uncovering more and more stories, that it ended up taking her four years. “I was supposed to deliver 20 stories and 100,000 words. I have delivered 24 stories and almost 146,000 words, but I just couldn’t stop,” she says.

The genesis of the book was simple enough: in 2020, Gemfields, a leading player in gemstone mining and marketing, commissioned Sikri to document stories from the African gem trade. With two key stipulations: no diamonds and a focus solely on Africa, the author was given carte blanche to explore the intricate narratives surrounding the continent’s gemstones.

Sikri believes the project also emerged at a pivotal moment. “During the pandemic, we started losing senior people in the industry,” she explains. “As per industry reports, as much as 80 per cent of coloured gemstones mined and traded today come from Africa, and many deposits have only been discovered in the past 15 to 60 years. The people who were responsible for the discovery and the development of these deposits, we started losing them to Covid, and losing vital pieces of gemstone history related to Africa.”