(IDEX Online) - Raiders broke open the safe at an Indian polishing unit and stole over 16,000 diamonds.They struck while it was closed for the Raksha Bandhan festival on 11 August.The factory in Dediapada, 70 miles from Surat, employs 100 workers in an area dominated by tribal communities.The raid came to light when a manager went to open the factory after the festival and found the main doors had...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 4 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July U.S. Housing Start report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a decline of 2.5% from June. Actual was drop of 9.6%.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US77.49 cents following release of Canada's July Consumer Price...Read More
RAPAPORT... Richemont chairman Johann Rupert has urged shareholders to vote against an investor's proposal to appoint a former LVMH executive to the group's board.Bluebell Capital Partners has called for the selection of its cofounder Francesco Trapani as representative of Richemont's class "A" shareholders on the board. Category "A" shares have higher financial value but give holders fewer v...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Income tax officials in India posed as a 250-strong wedding party in a series of raids that netted undeclared gold, diamonds and cash worth $49m.The Income Tax department (IT) used 120 vehicles in the operation, decked out for a baarati, or the wedding procession that accompanies a bridegroom to the venue.They raided premises, warehouses, and farmhouses linked to two steel, clothin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Customs officer in the US seized three shipments of counterfeit jewelry and watches from Hong Kong which would have been worth $6.88m if genuine. The first shipment had a declared value of $319, but contained 275 assorted Cartier Love bracelets, with retail prices, if genuine, totaling $3.27m. It was addressed to a private residence in Richmond, Virginia, but was inte...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 22 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar dropped $0.80 to US 77.43 cents following overnight strength in the U.S DollarEnergy equity prices are expected to open lower after the price of crude oil dropped $4.61 to US$87.48 per barrel.Dillard's added $2.82 to $304.41 after JP Morgan raised its target price fro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue rose strongly at Brilliant Earth in the second quarter as the US retailer expanded its online-offline model and benefited from higher sales of fine jewelry.Sales jumped 18% year on year to $108.8 million for the period, the digital-focused jeweler reported Thursday. Net profit dropped 56% to $3.8 million, reflecting an increase in operating expenses."We continue to see out...Read More
(IDEX Online) - At least 43 diamond workers have been sacked at the Murowa mine, in Zimbabwe, say union leaders.They protested after subcontractors failed to pay their wages for five months, according to the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (Zdamwu).The mine workers arrived at the premises of their employer, subcontractors Capfire Private Limited, but were barred from entry and s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Buyers placed orders worth $88m at India's second Lab-Grown and Jewellery Exhibition, say organizers.The four-day event in Mumbai attracted over 100 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors. "We see great potential in the lab grown diamond industry," Rajesh Bajaj, convenor of the Lab-Grown Diamond and Jewellery Promotion Council (LGDJPC) told the Indian Express."Even buyers from Ho...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Hard drives and documents have been seized in a raid on the Alexander Bay Diamond Company, in Johannesburg, South Africa.It's part of an investigation into alleged corruption at Alexkor, the state-owned diamond firm, and its links to the super-wealthy Gupta family - described by the US Treasury as "members of a significant corruption network".Alexkor appointed the Alexander Ba...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 21 points in pre-opening trade. Illumina dropped $44.45 to $182.99 after reporting lower than consensus second quarter earnings. The company also lowered guidance. Blackrock added $1.95 to $730.60 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $720 to $860Toast advanced $2.36 to $20.57 after JP Morgan raised its targ...Read More
News: Diamond market cautious amid China slowdown and US economic uncertainty. Polished prices declining. Inventory remains high. IIJS show reflects upbeat Indian jewelry market and spurs optimism for Diwali. Cutters maintaining lower production and anticipate strong demand for De Beers rough at next week's sight. Speculation that large manufacturers able to purchase Alrosa rough through non-doll...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond exports saw a rare decline in July amid a slowdown in the global market.Polished shipments out of the country - after returns of unsold goods - fell 7% year on year to $296.6 million for the month, the Ministry of Economy and Industry reported last week. The volume of exports dropped 12% to 131,799 carats, and the average price increased 6% to $2,251 per carat. Wh...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp.'s profit more than doubled year on year in the second quarter amid strong demand and a higher proportion of proceeds coming from the sale of polished diamonds through its supply contract.Net profit reached $12.5 million for the three months ending June 30, compared with $6 million the year before. Revenue jumped 13% to $52.3 million, the company said Wednesday. Whi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's net profit rose 1% year on year to CAD 22.6 million ($17.6 million) in the second quarter as the global diamond market rebounded and rough prices firmed.Sales jumped 30% to CAD 97.8 million ($76 million), the Canadian miner reported Tuesday. The company registered an average selling price of $130 per carat for the three months, 78% higher than a year earlier. T...Read More
RAPAPORT... The State Bank of India (SBI) has begun financing synthetics producers and is thought to be the country's first lender to draw up a formal policy for the sector.The government-owned bank will fund purchases of equipment such as growing machines, a source at SBI told Rapaport News Wednesday on condition of anonymity. It will not yet finance the procurement of lab-grown rough. Lendi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A necklace set with 35 green jadeite beads and 7.70-cts of white diamonds sold for $2.3m at Sotheby's Hong Kong.It was the top seller in an Important Jewels auction that realized a total of $18.1m.Jadeite, a more valuable form of jade, is among the priciest of gemstones, and can be more expensive than diamonds.In 2014, a jadeite bead necklace that belonged to Woolworth he...Read More
(IDEX Onlie) - Lucara says profits more than doubled for the last quarter, up from $6m to $12.5m as the strength of the market outweighed economic uncertainties.The Canada-based miner reported a 13 per cent increase in revenue for the three months ending 30 June, up from $46.3m to $52.3m (figures are US dollars).It said strong rough and polished diamond market fundamentals were continuing, despite...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Staff at jewelry stores in Auckland, New Zealand, have been targeted in a series of brutal raids in recent weeks.A worker is receiving counselling for the trauma, and one owner has closed their store as a result, according to the Stuff news website.Video from one raid (see pic) shows perpetrators running to their getaway car in broad daylight. One of them, armed with a ha...Read More
U.S equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 22 points in pre-opening trade.U.S. equity index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July U.S. Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 1.1% in June. Actual was a drop of 0.5% . On a year-over-year basis consensus was an increase of 10.3% versus a gain...Read More