driven by a passion
For Precious Gemstones
driven by a passion
For Precious Gemstones
A world class Gem expert & kiwi adventurer at heart
Meet our founder
Gemma Brain
Nurturing a passion for gems and geology from a young age, Gemma 'Gem' Brain, the founder of The Sapphire Merchant, spent her childhood walking the beaches of Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, looking for agates, carnelian and jasper, those perfect stones amongst the many millions that covered the beach.
This keen interest in the world of rocks and minerals followed her into adulthood, and when the time came to make a special sapphire ring for herself, Gemma realised what little choice there was for buying quality sapphires from a New Zealand-owned and operated company. After a fruitless hunt, Gemma set her sights further afield.
In search of the perfect sapphire, Gemma set a flight to Sri Lanka, hired a car in the capital of Colombo and drove to the gem-rich centre of the island, a town called Ratnapura, the 'city of gems'. Armed with a bit of knowledge and a lot of courage, Gemma dove deep into the Sri Lankan gemstone industry and spent the next 10 days exploring the gemstone markets, mining areas, and the thriving towns built around the gemstone economy. As well as finding the perfect sapphire, this adventure ignited a passion for coloured gemstones.
In 2021, The Sapphire Merchant was founded with the mission of making precious gemstones more available to the New Zealand public. We have organically rolled into custom-designed jewellery, which is offered alongside our extensive precious gemstone collection. We continue to nurture and grow our Kiwi-owned and operated business, with Gemma's brother Thomas Brain, now a part of the team.
Your kind of extraordinary
We get it, you’re looking for a moment defining treasure, a jewellery piece of significance... But you need a world class Gemstone expert you can actually trust, to guide you in the process to creating a custom made jewellery piece as unique and extraordinary as you are.
That’s where we come in!
our unique approach
A collection of the world's finest gems for your custom made treasure
WE TRAVEL DIRECT TO SOURCE HAND SELECTING THE GEMS IN OUR COLLECTION
Yes literally! Lovingly curating the best of the best for you, we know our gemstones' origin, their quality, their journey from earth to custodian.
IN PURSUIT OF THE EXTRAORDINARY
The ‘sea-of-same’ has no place here. Celebrating the unrivalled beauty of gemstones, millions of years in the making, we are driven by our passion and commitment to finding the perfect gemstone and design for each individual treasure custodian.
MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE
We've hand selected an extensive collection of the world's finest precious gemstones especially for your custom jewellery creations.
