The Gem Merchants

In Ray Ferguson's exciting new novel ‘The Gem Merchants’, the young protagonist Mark Branson has achieved what every gem dealer dreams of. He is on the scene at the time and place of a major gem strike. In this case, the location was Zambia in Africa, after a major cache of emeralds had been discovered by local tribesmen - who noticed the bright green crystals embedded in rocks after a heavy thunder storm. Branson, the gem buyer for a small London firm, manages to purchase a king's ransom in rough emerald crystals. But to hold onto them and get them out of the country, Branson has to navigate his way through a series of obstacles including greedy politicians, sadistic military men and a grasping Indian money changer. The book is realistic and well paced. Ferguson shows an adept hand in character development and a good sense of place. No mere cardboard cutouts, his characters live, breath and are quite believable. Along the way, the author, himself a gem dealer currently living in Madagascar, teaches us a great amount about the gem trade and how it operates across the world.

MINED, STOLEN, BOUGHT, SOLD, COVETED, AND KILLED FOR! Mark Branson, a young British emerald buyer, has every reason to remember all these facets as he journeys from the sedate, gentlemanly world of Hatton Garden, London’s center for precious stone trading – to the deep African bush in search of these glittering green gems. Mark knows only too well that anyone caught emerald trading would land in jail with little or no resource to any Embassy. Armed only with his lucky emerald, given to him by an African mine owner, and his quick-witted inventive mind, he has to learn swiftly who to trust, who to bribe, and who to avoid. In a world where jewels are expensive and life is expendable, he encounters hard- drinking Irish missionaries, smooth double-dealing Indian money dealers, hostile Afrikaners, and tantalizing local women – not to mention the trigger-happy Zambian Police and Army. Based on the author’s own extraordinary experiences in gemstone trading, Mark’s exploits have a ring of authenticity that cannot be faked. YOU WILL NEVER JUST GLANCE AT ANY EMERALD AGAIN!

Born in South Africa of Scottish parents, Ray Ferguson has been involved in gemstone mining and trading for over forty years. For a few years he was an advisor to the Colombian government on their emerald mining industry. His worldwide experience extends from South Africa, throughout Africa, Brazil, Columbia, Afghanistan and the Pacific Basin. This has led him to many narrow escapes: he left Afghanistan days before the Russian invasion and was arrested and jailed in Tanzania - only to be released months later after charges were dropped due to intense diplomatic pressure from both Whitehall and Washington DC. Since 1990, he has been highly active in mineral-rich Madagascar and is presently based in Cape Town, South Africa.