(IDEX Online) - GIA is to open a lab in Dubai for the first time, it was announced today.It is scheduled to open in mid-2023, offering its services to over 1,150 diamond companies at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).News follows an announcement in February that Dubai had overtaken Antwerp as the top trading hub globally for rough diamonds - over $22.8bn in 2021.The move "reflects Dubai�...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 15 points in pre-opening trade. Walmart plunged $7.70 to 124.32 after the company lowered fiscal second quarter and annual guidance. Other major retail stock prices also responded on the downside to the news. Whirlpool gained $3.35 to 168.00 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter results.Cadence Design S...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mumbai-based manufacturer Finestar Jewellery & Diamonds inaugurated its Namibia facility, part of a broader beneficiation drive in the country. The company began operating in the capital city Windhoek in April 2021 but delayed the factory's official opening so that Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo could attend.The minister urged the industry to cut and polish more Nam...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora plans to set up an office in New York that will enable it to expand and manage its US business.The Danish jeweler will open a temporary hub in Manhattan this September, followed by a permanent space in the summer of 2023, it said last week. The location will house approximately 150 corporate employees."New York is the largest commercial market in the US and one of the largest c...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's may have to pay a consignor $4 million after the auction house allegedly released 45 vivid-yellow diamonds to another entity.On July 14, an appellate court ruled on a claim brought against Sotheby's by M&L Financial. The ruling assumes that the facts contained in M&L's allegations are true.According to the filing, M&L claimed that Jona Rechnitz, the owner of Jadel...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone is offering a $7.2m reward for the return of jewelry stolen in Britain's highest-value house burglary.Three Italian nationals were jailed last November after they made off with valuables worth over $31m (at today's exchange rate) from her 57-room mansion in Kensington Palace, London, while she and here family were on holiday in 2019.B...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Bulgari sapphire and diamond brooch that belonged to Hollywood icon Liz Taylor is being sold.The British-born actress, best known for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, died in 2011, having amassed a huge collection of jewelry from her eight husbands.The majority of her collection sold at Christie's shortly after her death, netting over...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA is partnering with eBay to authenticate items of fine jewelry sold on the platform.Its experts and gemologists, will verify metal type, purity, and gemstone quality for new and used items sold for over $500.GIA checks the item matches its online description, then ships it direct to the customer a unique authentication card with a QR code. The move marks an expansion of eBa...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 16 points in pre-opening trade.Newmont Mining slipped $1.68 to $49.71 after reporting lower than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. Meta Platforms added $0.86 to $170.13 despite a reduction in target price by Mizuho from $325 to $250. Amazon added $1.03 to $123.45 despite a reduction in target price by Opp...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) sold around $35m at its July rough tender in Dubai, as it reported "fragility" in the market.That's an increase on sales in June of $25m, which were up from $20m in April. TAGS said it presented around $50m of goods in a full range of sizes, and sold around 70 per cent."Overall, prices in sizes -3grs held up well, 3-6grs performed less well as d...Read More
RAPAPORT... The number of active US jewelry companies continued to decline in the second quarter, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).Some 161 businesses shuttered during the three months ending June 30, compared with 143 in the same period a year earlier, the JBT said last week. In total there were 23,796 companies active in the US industry, a drop of 1.8% compared...Read More
RAPAPORT... E-commerce giant eBay has expanded its authentication service for jewelry through a partnership with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).The Authenticity Guarantee, which launched last week, will soon include new and pre-owned pieces from top designer brands such as Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Yurman, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co., eBay said. Jewelry is the fift...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemfields says operations at its ruby mine in Mozambique are continuing, with increased vigilance, despite an attack in the vicinity as party of an Islamic State-linked insurgency.The London-based miner operates and owns 75 per cent of Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), which last month reported a record $95.6m revenue from online auction of its rubies.Thousands of people have died since...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sotheby's may be responsible for the loss of 45 vivid yellow diamonds, worth $4m, a federal judge in California, USA, has ruled.A consulting and brokerage firm, M&L Financial, took the gems to Sotheby's New York (pictured) for auction on consignment in 2109.The company, based in Dallas, Texas, told Sotheby's it was the exclusive owner of the diamonds.But the auct...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has increased its production guidance for 2022 - from 30-33Mct to 32-34Mct - citing "robust demand and strong year-to-date operational performance".Sanctions against Alrosa, its biggest rival, have led to global shortages of rough. Last month De Beers reported $650m of rough sales at its fifth sales cycle of 2022, up over a third year-on-year. It reportedly hiked the price...Read More
Equity Index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 5 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US 77.76 cents following release of Canada's May Retail Sales report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 1.6% versus a revised gain of 0.7% in April. Actual was an increase of 2.2%. Excluding auto sales, consensus was an increase of 1.8%...Read More
News: Diamond trade sluggish amid growing market uncertainty. Disposable income squeezed by high inflation and rising interest rates. China's economy slowing due to Covid-19 lockdowns, crackdown on private sector, real-estate crisis and social protests. Manufacturing liquidity tight; some reducing prices to boost turnover. Polished inventory rising despite decline in rough supply. De Beers raises...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has increased its production outlook for 2022, citing positive demand and strong performance at its mines in the first half of the year.The company expects to recover 32 million to 34 million carats across the 12 months, up from its previous guidance of 30 million to 33 million carats, parent Anglo American said Thursday.Rough-diamond sales rose 19% year on year to 9.4 mi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's garnered $18.1 million from its most recent Hong Kong auction, with a jadeite bead and diamond necklace selling for $2.3 million.The piece by designer Jacob & Co. was the star performer at the July 19 Important Jewels sale, Sotheby's said Wednesday. The auction house did not disclose the jewel's presale estimate. Another top seller was an emerald and diamond parure by Cho...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A platinum Cartier ring featuring a vivid red 8.39-carat Burmese ruby sold for $7.3m at Poly Auction, Hong Kong.It was the headline lot in the Magnificent Jewels sale garnered that achieved a total of $25.1m.The ruby in the Fleur de Lotus Ring was accented with two triangular diamonds of 1.07 carats and paved with 12 baguette-cut diamonds of 0.79 carat and 156 circular-cut diamonds...Read More