Interviewed by Erika Y., AIGS
A search for the perfect sapphire became the beginning of an extraordinary journey. Today, through The Sapphire Merchant, Gemma Brain helps clients celebrate life’s most meaningful moments with carefully sourced gemstones, bespoke jewellery, and a business built on trust.
Your journey into gemstones began with a search for the perfect sapphire, which eventually led you to create The Sapphire Merchant. Looking back, what inspired you to turn that passion into your profession?
My journey into gemstones began in 2017 when I tried to buy a loose sapphire in New Zealand for my own custom jewellery project, and I couldn’t find or source any options. Jewellers didn’t hold stock, and the handful of gem dealers I contacted only sold B2B. Having no luck, I decided I would fly to Sri Lanka, the island of gemstones and find a sapphire myself. I had no idea what I was doing. In 2017, information on the internet was still fairly limited, and gem influencers weren’t creating content showcasing the gem markets. I hired a car along with the driver and started a 12-day road trip that took me from Colombo to Ratnapura, Nivitigala to Beruwala. I stopped at markets, mines and private offices in search of sapphires – and did I see sapphires! Thousands of them! There was something so special about going to the source of these gems, meeting the local people (the hospitality was exceptional!), and choosing some beautiful sapphires to purchase.
This trip changed the course of my life. I felt a strong pull towards the industry. Upon my return to New Zealand, my brother asked for help sourcing a sapphire. We had the same problem – there was nothing available in New Zealand. I had identified a gap in the New Zealand market, and I felt inspired to fill that gap. The Sapphire Merchant started purely as a “hobby business”. I had no expectations; I just wanted to have fun with this newfound passion I had unearthed!
Why did you choose to study at AIGS, and what knowledge or experience from your time here continues to influence your work today?
In the lead-up to studying with AIGS, I had been using their Gem Lab for reports on my gems. AIGS had an excellent reputation in the industry and I trusted them as a lab. In 2023, I enrolled in another provider’s gemology course via correspondence, and I struggled with the course content and the lack of lab days. It wasn’t the right style of learning for me, and it knocked my confidence in my abilities.
I enrolled in AIGS in 2025 because I saw content on social media about their educational programmes, and I could see AIGS was a better fit for my learning style. I have excelled at AIGS. I love the hands-on approach, the access to high-quality lab equipment, a huge gem stock, and teachers who are experienced and passionate about sharing their knowledge with students. Studying with AIGS has given me the confidence to call myself a true professional in this industry – and this is in direct correlation to the skills and knowledge I have gained during my time with AIGS.
Many of your clients come to you to celebrate life’s most meaningful milestones from engagements to anniversaries and family heirlooms. What does it mean to help people choose a gemstone that will become part of their personal story?
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is collaborating with my clients and creating jewellery pieces that are modern-day heirlooms. It’s a process that takes time and consideration. It involves finding the perfect gemstone, conceptualising the design idea, getting it absolutely perfect, and crafting their custom jewellery piece.
Jewellery is one of those things that can truly take your breath away! Many of my clients return to have additional pieces made; I think this says a lot about the service and experience we offer our clients.
You’ve traveled to gemstone-producing regions and worked closely with miners, cutters, and dealers. Is there a person or experience you’ve encountered along the way that has changed the way you see the gemstone industry?
I’ve met many wonderful people in this industry, from all cultures and walks of life, and this is what makes this line of work so exciting. Early on in my journey, I worked alone and felt isolated, being down in New Zealand, where the industry feels almost non-existent. I had to figure it all out on my own, and this had its challenges. Early on, I made friends with another gem dealer who was based in Thailand, and he took me under his wing. He mentored me on gems and the industry and was always available to answer my questions and help me with sourcing, and always gave me excellent advice.
This gave me a very positive outlook on the industry from very early on, and my perception hasn’t changed with time. I will always be grateful to him for helping me in those early days, when I had very minimal support. In turn, I like to mentor others who need guidance and advice on their journey into the industry.
Your family previously operated a childcare center, and you’ve shared that many of those experiences shaped the way you work today. How have lessons such as patience, empathy, and communication helped you build lasting relationships in the gem trade?
Before I started The Sapphire Merchant business, I managed our family’s 5 childcare centres. Over the years, I’ve worked with countless families, and this gave me an appreciation for quality relationships, communication, and the importance of working in partnership. Working with children naturally cultivates patience and understanding, and these attributes have served me well in the gem and jewellery industry. Whether working with clients or with gem dealers and suppliers, communication, patience, and empathy are key to growing strong, reciprocal relationships.
As both a mother and an entrepreneur, you’ve said that much of what you do today is for the next generation. How has parenthood influenced your vision for your business and the legacy you hope to create?
Motherhood gave me the drive to develop The Sapphire Merchant into something more than a “hobby business”. I am a single mother, and I wanted to create a life of adventure and freedom for myself and my children. I wanted to show them that if you have a dream, and if you invest your time and energy into that dream, and work at it with dedication and determination, then you can achieve anything you set your heart to.
This is the legacy I want to leave my children: that they can build a life that they are proud of too!
Every successful entrepreneur faces challenges. Looking back, what has been the most difficult moment in building The Sapphire Merchant, and what did it teach you?
In 2023, my brother Tom joined The Sapphire Merchant. This was a huge blessing because his skill set is different from mine, and I knew that as a team we could take this business to the next level. But to do this, we had to take 10 steps back and build a strong foundation from the ground up. I had spent the better part of 3 years gem blogging and building my first website, and I ranked strongly with SEO in New Zealand – business was steady.
In 2024, we rebranded, rebuilt our website on a new platform, and changed to a dotcom. The rollout of our new website destroyed years of SEO, and we immediately bottomed out on Google’s rankings. It felt like years of work had been erased, and this was very hard for me at the time. Our enquiries dried up overnight and business almost ground to a halt. It was quite a scary time for me. But after a few months we started to turn a corner again.
What it taught me was to trust the process, and sometimes you have to go back to move forward. Our new website is thriving, with 700-1000 visitors per day, and SEO has strengthened again over the past 18 months.
Sapphires have long symbolized wisdom, loyalty, and sincerity. Do those qualities also reflect the values you’ve tried to build into The Sapphire Merchant?
Wisdom, loyalty and sincerity absolutely come to mind when I reflect on The Sapphire Merchant! And our core values as a company are that we are adventurers at heart, we understand our customers deeply, we live and breathe gemstones, and we go direct to the source.
When you look back on your journey so far, what moment makes you stop and think, “This is exactly why I chose this career”?
Every morning I wake up, and I am excited to go to my office. In any given day, I get to play with beautiful gemstones, work on jewellery designs, chat with clients, work on blogs and make sales. I travel regularly, visit gem markets, and meet amazing people. Every day I overcome challenges and I learn something new. You know you have chosen the right career when you are excited to get up in the morning and go to work! Instead of being a moment, it’s an ongoing feeling that I got it right.
Finally, if you could speak to a new AIGS student who dreams of building a career in the gemstone industry, what advice would you share?
Know what your strengths are early on and play them to your advantage. It’s a noisy industry, and with the rise of social media, it’s easy to get distracted and compare ourselves to others. My best advice is to stay in your own lane and focus on what sets you apart. I figured out early on that I was good at writing blogs, so I consistently focused on this, and it naturally drove traffic to my website, allowing people to find me. Figure out what you do well and be consistent with it.
Secondly, grow your gem collection. Invest what you can into gemstones, and buy what you love. It’s easier to sell gems that you love yourself, and if you make a sale, reinvest. I worked for free for many years; it took time and consistency to build a profitable business.
About the Interviewer
Erika Y. (Erika Yu Ya) is a communications strategist and business development professional currently specializing in the global gem and jewelry industry. Drawing on experience in business consulting, corporate training, leadership development, and strategic communications including work with Unilever and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by FranklinCovey she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to industry engagement and professional education.
At AIGS – Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences, Erika leads initiatives in communications, marketing, and business development, helping connect gemological education with the evolving needs of the international trade. Her interests include human behavior, cross-cultural communication, strategic leadership, and the stories that shape the people and businesses behind the world’s gemstones.
Articles about AIGS:
https://gem-spectrum.com/tag/aigs
Articles about Thailand:
https://gem-spectrum.com/tag/thailand
