News: Trading seasonally quiet during summer lull. Lack of sales to Far East weakening sentiment, with US demand supporting market. Increasing concern about impact of inflation and higher interest rates on mid-income consumers. Holiday outlook positive. Manufacturers maintaining lower production due to slowdown in orders. Polished trading sluggish. Rough prices stable at De Beers sight; prem...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' sales of high-value rough from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho fell in the first half amid a decline in the average price.Rough sales for the six months that ended June 30 slipped 4.2% year on year to $99.6 million, even as sales volume rose 3.5% to 57,075 carats. The average price fell 7.5% to $1,745 per carat, the miner reported Wednesday.During the period, a total of 15 d...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail revenues for July remained stronger than a year ago as consumers continued to shop despite soaring inflation. Sales were flat compared with the previous month, versus a 0.8% increase in June, according to data the US Census Bureau released on Wednesday. July sales were up 10% year on year. Declines in gas prices supported spending. However, consumers are continuing to focus o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A man has appeared in court in the US accused of posing as a government official and persuading a woman to buy gold bars worth $330,000.Gaurang Contractor, 38, from New Jersey, is accused of attempted larceny from a person over 60.Police say he claimed to be a government official investigating an identity fraud ring and told the woman to buy the gold from a jewelry store, to "avoid...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora reported its "third straight quarter with record revenue," in spite of lockdowns in China and a year-on-year comparison with post-Covid stimulus checks in the US.The Danish jewelry giant said sales in the three months to 30 June were $771m, three per cent up on the same period last year.Key European markets delivered double digit organic growth vs 2021, but the US was down...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The USA's only active diamond mine is celebrating its 50th anniversary with limited edition replicas of its most valuable find - a $1m-plus gem.The Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, in Arkansas, charges day trippers $10 a day to sift the soil - and lets them keep any gems they find.In 2015, Bobbie Oskarson, from Colorado, found a rough, icicle-shaped 8.52-cts s...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 7 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the August Philly Fed report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a drop of 5.0 versus a decline of 12.3 in July. Actual was an increase of 6.2%Cisco advanced $1.55 to $48.16 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal fourth quarter re...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A legendary Cartier watch - one of only four ever made - could fetch $400,000 when it is auctioned at Sotheby's Paris next month.It was presented to Belgian motocross driver Gaston Rahier for a unique achievement, winning his class of the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally across the Sahara Desert in both 1984 and 1985.The Cartier Cheich (pictured) has a dial framed by a gol...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) is promoting mined gems with 12 love-story podcasts in India.Pyaar Actually - Love Stories like No Other are narrated by TV and stage stars Shriya Pilgaonkar, Aahana Kumra and Akshay Oberoi, drawing on parallels between natural diamonds and real-life loving relationships.Richa Singh, managing director of the Natural Diamond Council in India an...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Star Diamond has announced a first-half net loss, up to 30 June, of $1.5m, down from $3.1m for the same period in 2021.It blamed ongoing operating costs and the fact that exploration and evaluation expenditures had exceeded interest and other income earned. Star Diamonds joint venture partner Rio Tinto Canada, which holds a 75 per cent stake in the Fort ?? la...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 37 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the U.S. July Retail Sales report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.1% versus a gain of 1.0% in June. Actual was unchanged. Excluding auto sales, consensus was a slip of 0.1% versus a gain of 1.0% in June. Actual w...Read More
Pandora has named Mary Carmen Gasco-Buisson as its new chief marketing officer to help the brand achieve growth.Gasco-Buisson has extensive consumer brand experience in several categories, including fragrances, beauty and women's health. She is currently global vice president of Unilever, where her achievements include heading the turnaround of men's personal-care brand Axe. She previously held le...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) will perform valuation services for the pieces listed on Luxus, a precious-gem and high-jewelry investment platform. Through this partnership, IGI's evaluation team will generate appraisal reports for each piece of jewelry on the Luxus platform, the parties announced Tuesday. The institute will include the item's retail replacement val...Read More
(Updates prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Zinc prices hit their strongestin two months on Tuesday after production was suspended at aDutch smelter because of high power prices, stoking fears ofshortages. Benchmark zinc on the London Metal Exchange (LME)jumped by as much as 7.2% to its highest price since June 9 at$3,819 a tonne, representing the biggest one-day gain since lastOcto...Read More
RAPAPORT... Titan Company's diamond-sourcing costs have jumped in the past eight months, prompting the Indian retailer to pass price increases on to shoppers, its top jewelry executive said.The jeweler raised consumer prices in November 2021, January 2022 and March 2022 in response to higher procurement expenses, reported Ajoy Chawla, CEO of the company's jewelry division, in an August 5 inve...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies has started enabling manufacturers to carry out automated diamond grading on-site using artificial intelligence (AI).The company has launched its e-Grading product for an "expanded number" of cutting firms, it said Monday.The Israeli producer of equipment for the diamond industry unveiled its plans for in-house grading in March 2020 and began testing it with se...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora will introduce lab-grown diamonds in North America later this month following a trial in the UK, the jewelry retailer announced Tuesday.The line will be available from August 25 across 269 of its stores in the US and Canada, as well as online, the company said. Prices will start at $300, with stones ranging from 0.15 carats to 1 carat. It will include 33 pieces comprising...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An Australian professor is using laser technology to identify "stray" Argyle pink diamonds.John Watling, a former Argle physicist and Professor of Forensic and Analytical Chemistry at University of Western Australia has set up a lab in Perth that "fingerprints" diamonds.It allows him to trace them back to their original source - not just the mine, but the individual kimberlite pipe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co has announced a gender-neutral range of diamond and gold bracelets.It follows the launch last May of its first range of engagement rings for men, recognizing the rise in same-sex marriages.The new Lock collection, released on Tiffany's e-commerce site last Friday, is designed a round a padlock motif as a symbol of togetherness.The four bracelet styles, priced...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora today announced the launch of a lab grown diamond collection in the US and Canada, following its announcement last May that it would no longer use mined gems.The Danish jewelry giant also says the 33-item collection, branded as Pandora Brilliance is its first using 100 per cent recycled silver and gold.Pandora, the world's largest jewelry brand, with 6,800 points of sa...Read More