"As a fourth generation Zimbabwean, I have grown up seeing the positive impact that mining can have on local communities. The claim my great-great grandfather staked out 150 years ago is still producing. A town and community grew up around it and many generations of Zimbabweans have earned a living or learned their trades there - it still operates today. It is when these people, who learned their trade with the support and opportunity provided by large mining operations, then move on that the trickle-down benefits of these companies become evident to the wider country as their skills underpin further ventures. These people are so often at the heart of the ASM ventures that deserve the respect and support of the entire chain. It is through their brave endeavors, literally at ground level, that the global gem trade get to apply their skills, as goldsmiths, cutters, carvers, mounters, setters etc, often in those faraway lands producing items for the luxury market. That discretionary purchase of a piece of jewelry, however small, provides an important and positive "pull" towards the market, benefiting everyone in the chain. We should never lose sight of this."

Charles Evans

Founder, Remarkable Rocks

A gemologist with over 25 years of experience

Charles Evans BSc (Hons) FGA DGA, has enjoyed a multi-faceted career, journeying from his native Zimbabwe to South Africa, Namibia, Australia, Scotland and London. From places as diverse as an asbestos mine in the Northern Cape region of South Africa, to a refractory in Scotland, then the Western Australian goldfields and exploration drilling. All this was driven by a passion for exploring; a discipline and pragmatism borne from military service; and a personality at ease in multi-lingual and multi-cultural environments. Following a largely unsuccessful time fossicking for sapphire in Queensland and New South Wales, Charles relocated to the UK where he completed gemology qualifications with Gem-A, and his interest in how technology can support the gem trade led him to roles within Gem-A as the IT, laboratory and operations manager. In over eight years he rebuilt the laboratory to world class standards and oversaw the introduction of several online systems to advance and improve the organization. He served for seven years on the board of FEEG (Federation of European Educators in Gemmology). He has delivered lectures at leading industry association conferences and run workshops on elements of advanced gemology. This experience has given Charles unique access to many of the amazing people at studios, workshops and factories throughout the gemstone supply chain and led to the creation of the company, Remarkable Rocks Ltd. Through this company Charles has run mine to market supply chain audits in challenging parts of the world, including to the Swat Valley in Pakistan for Myne London. In 2020 he was awarded a first-class honors degree in gemmology from Birmingham City University and became a Certified Appraiser with NAJA (National Association of Jewelry Appraisers).

Selected Work

Rebuild of the Gem-A laboratory, supporting the first BSc in Gemmology and Jewellery Studies
Mine-to-market supply-chain audit in the Swat Valley, Pakistan
Peer-reviewed papers in The Journal of Gemmology
Identification of the world’s oldest known tourmaline carving
Invited judging roles, including the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Awards and the Stuller Color of the Year Award

Charles Evans Showreel

With decades of television and production experience, JTV’s teams were all wonderful at making my appearances in front of the camera look positively flattering. They were amazing at what they did and generated some incredible content on gemstones and jewelry given the opportunities we created. I would encourage anyone with an interest to look for it. I am not saying the clip below is some of their best work, but it is some of me! A parting gift from the teams that illustrates some of the work we did.