Editor’s Note
This investigation, supported by Public Eye’s Investigation Prize, uncovers the stark reality behind Madagascar’s sapphire trade. While the gems fuel luxury Swiss brands, the report reveals a system marked by exploitation, child labor, and minimal benefit to the local miners and state. It raises critical questions about supply chain due diligence in the luxury industry.
Madagascar is now the primary source of sapphires for Swiss jewelry and watchmaking brands such as Bucherer, Richemont, and Gübelin. However, the Malagasy state and the tens of thousands of artisanal miners who extract these gems at great personal risk scarcely benefit from this bounty. Poverty wages, child labor, and clandestine exports: a field investigation supported by Public Eye’s Investigation Prize reveals the curse of sapphires on the large island, as well as the lack of due diligence by Swiss and international companies.
For several months, independent journalist Julie Zaugg investigated the trail of Madagascar’s sapphires, which bring joy to Swiss jewelers and watchmakers. A world away from the opulence of luxury jewelry stores, her journey took her to the artisanal mines of Ilakaka, a 4,000 km² area that hosts one of the world’s most significant deposits, discovered in 1998. In a Martian-like landscape, tens of thousands of men dig into the Earth’s depths daily, hoping to find a gemstone and escape poverty. Children as young as 5 help their parents sort and wash the rubble collected from the mines. From the age of 15, they descend into makeshift tunnels. The multitude of testimonies gathered and powerful images tell the other side of the story of this sapphire rush in Madagascar, where 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
In 2022, the large island reportedly exported $60,179 worth of precious stones (rubies, emeralds, and sapphires), according to United Nations statistics. However, in reality, Madagascar ships out approximately $150 million worth of sapphires annually, according to various estimates. The cause: a parallel export system used by most foreign buyers. These intermediaries export raw stones, bypassing official procedures and using bribes, to Sri Lanka and Thailand, where they are cut and then resold for significant profit. The gems ultimately end up in the hands of luxury giants, such as the Geneva-based group Richemont (owner of brands including Cartier), Lucerne-based Bucherer (recently acquired by Rolex), Harry Winston (owned by the Swatch Group), or the Lucerne-based jeweler Gübelin.
This investigation, which was financially supported by Public Eye as part of the third edition of its Investigation Prize, also highlights the challenges regarding traceability and the inadequacy of voluntary initiatives and measures taken by Swiss jewelry and watchmaking companies to ensure gems are extracted with respect for human rights and the environment. When questioned, most brands acknowledge the existence of problems in their supply chains while pointing to their internal control procedures.