RAPAPORT... Pritesh Patel, chief operating officer at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), explains the organization's digital strategy in this episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast. In a conversation with Rapaport's Avi Krawitz, Patel discusses the GIA's move toward paperless reports, its use of artificial intelligence, the launch of its source-verification service and its general a...Read More
RAPAPORT... US e-commerce spending rose in July as Amazon Prime Day drove record online sales, according to Adobe Analytics.Shoppers shelled out $73.7 billion online during the month, up 21% compared to the same month in 2021. However, that figure is 1% lower than June's $74.1 total and 6% less than the $78.8 million spent in May, Adobe said Tuesday. Prime Day - which historically fuels higher lev...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The State Bank of India (SBI) is to start lending to manufacturers of lab grown diamonds.The move, by the country's largest private lender, is widely seen as boost to an emerging sector. India produces 15 per cent of the world's lab growns, but has been calling on the government to invest and help it grow into $5.1bn-a-year industry.The government-owned SBI has formalized...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's gem and jewelry trade faces a major "round tripping" probe after it emerged that documented imports of pearls exceeded global production by as much as 10 times.The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) suspects fraud on a massive scale.It reports evidence of round tripping, when companies sell and buy back the same assets in to artificially increase their...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 60 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved higher following release of the U.S. July Consumer Price Index report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 1.3% in June. Actual was unchanged from June. On a year-over-year basis consensus was an increase of 8.8% versus 9.1% in June. Actua...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province saw profits almost static (up by less than one per cent) during the last quarter as higher per-carat prices made up for a steep fall in sales volume.The Canada-based miner said carats sold during the three months ending 30 June were down 18 per cent, year-on-year, but the average price per carat leapt from $82 to $131, (figures are US dollars) an increase of almos...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has signed a deal to acquire online retailer Blue Nile for $360 million in cash.The purchase will boost Signet's bridal, "accessible luxury" and digital businesses, while expanding the group's consumer base, the US retail chain said Tuesday. The company expects to complete the transaction in the third fiscal quarter, which runs until late October. Either side can p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies' revenue and earnings fell in the first half of 2022 as market pressures around the world dented demand for the company's manufacturing equipment.Sales dropped 13% year on year to $13.2 million, the Israeli-based company reported Monday. Profit slumped 48% to $6.5 million.Sarine, which supplies machinery to the diamond-manufacturing industry, saw a 30% drop in...Read More
The Texas-based producer of lab-created diamonds explains its new supply deal with HRA Group.RAPAPORT... Long-term supply deals for lab-grown diamonds are coming in thick and fast. Trade buyers want to lock in the best goods, and only a limited number of producers can grow high-quality material, as industry consultant Marty Hurwitz told Rapaport Magazine earlier this year."There are more and...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine reported a 13 per cent drop in first-half earnings, under "challenging conditions", notably the ongoing war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions on Russia.The diamond tech company said group revenue had declined from $36.0m in H1 2021 to $31.2m. "Geopolitical developments, primarily the war in Ukraine and an increasingly inflationary economic environment, along with ongoi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Indian manufacturers have started cutting and polishing in Botswana, lured by a ready supply of locally-mined rough.Botswana, the world's second biggest diamond producing nation and home to De Beers' 10 annual sights, expects investment in return, according to The Times of India, as well as training and employment opportunities, "Around 20 units have been set up in B...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet today said it had signed a deal to buy the online jeweler Blue Nile in a $360m all-cash deal.Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, said it was a strategic acquisition that would "accelerate efforts to expand its bridal offerings and grow its Accessible Luxury portfolio."Blue Nile claims to have over 650,00 diamonds available for sale, and says it has...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The growth in US sales of jewelry and watches in June dropped to its lowest level in two years, barely above zero at 0.8 per cent (and too small to register on the graph below).Think back just over a year to April 2021, when year-on-year growth was an unprecedented 218 per cent. And to the previous April when it was minus 54 per cent.June 2022 was the month when the US annual infla...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 14 points in pre-opening trade. Micron dropped $2.35 to $59.10 after lowering revenue guidance. Enbridge added $0.45 to Cdn$55.80 on news that Canada and the U.S. are making progress on negotiations to settle the Line 5 pipeline issue. Take Two dropped $3.51 to $122.00 after reporting lower than consensus second quart...Read More
RAPAPORT... William (Bill) Heher, president of Rare Earth Mining Company and an important figure in the US gem trade, died on August 1 at the age of 72.Born in September 1949, Heher began his career as a teacher, according to an obituary on memorial site Legacy.com. He later started importing fine gems and fossils from across the world.The profession took him to varied destinations. On his tr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Indian jeweler Titan Company's sales and profit soared in the first fiscal quarter, buoyed by strong holiday demand and a gap between two periods of Covid-19 disruptions.Revenue - including at subsidiaries - surged to INR 94.87 billion ($1.19 billion) for the three months ending June 30, compared with INR 35.19 billion ($442.4 million) during the same period a year ago, the company rep...Read More
GIA is taking all reports digital by 2025. Retailers throughout the industry have offered positive feedback on this initiative, which will be accompanied by advanced technology that increases the security of a diamond's identity. This digital evolution consists of three dynamic elements: Fully Digital Reports: This evolution begins with the digital launch of GIA's most popular report, GIA Diamond...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tanzania is reportedly looking to sell its rough through the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE).Minerals minister Dotto Biteko said the country needs to seek more lucrative markets for the estimated 500,000 carats it produces annually, according to The Citizen newspaper.He was speaking ahead of a meeting of the 18-member African Diamond Producers' Association, of which Tanzania is t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A gang ran off with high-end diamond jewelry after a 30-second smash and grab at a store in the Bronx, New York.A "customer" who was buzzed into Rocco's Jewelry on Friday afternoon ushered in three accomplices who smashed glass display cabinets with hammers and emptied trays of merchandise."Once inside the store, the three individuals used a hammer to smash open the display ca...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 22 points in pre-opening trade.Barrick Gold slipped $0.12 to US$20.17 after reporting less than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. Pfizer was unchanged at $49.27 following news of its acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics for $68.50 per share cask. Value of the offer is estimated at $5.4 billion. Global...Read More