(IDEX Online) - A woman has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a jeweler in his hotel room in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.Megan Hall, 28, was facing a count of second-degree murder, with a sentence of up to 25 years, over the death of Patrick J. Murphy, a married 62-year-old father-of-two.Murphy had been visiting the city after attending a jewelry convention in Arizona, according to prosecutors...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Surat's diamond industry has welcomed an announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that it can pay for Russian diamonds with rupees.Transactions were done in dollars through intermediary banks in the US, until Russia invaded Ukraine in February.The RBI will now allow purchases to be settled in rupees, as a method of circumventing current banking restrictions. The measure...Read More
U.S equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade. The Euro moved higher following news that the European Central Bank raised its base rate by 0.50%.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July Philly Fed report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a gain of 1.6 versus a decline of 3.3 in June. Actual was.a drop of 12.3.Te...Read More
RAPAPORT... US authorities are investigating the theft of jewelry worth millions of dollars from a Brink's armored vehicle in California last week, one of the biggest gem robberies on record.The truck was transporting goods to the International Gem & Jewelry Show in Pasadena, California, exhibition director Brandy Swanson told Rapaport News on Tuesday. The victims were 16 to 18 vendors. T...Read More
RAPAPORT... Increased US demand drove an increase in exports of Swiss watches in June as growth in the key market outweighed weakness in the Far East.Outgoing shipments of Swiss timepieces climbed 8% year on year to CHF 2.13 billion ($2.2 billion) globally for the month, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday.Supply to the US, the sector's largest market, grew 18% to CHF...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa says it will make interest payments on two $500m Eurobonds in roubles after dollar payments proved to be "technically impossible".The Russian miner, sanctioned since the invasion of Ukraine in February, said in a statement yesterday that it was "fully committed" to its payment obligations.Corporations like Alrosa use Eurobonds - fixed-income debt instruments - to raise funds...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra diamonds reports a year-on-year revenue leap of 44 per cent, driven by price hikes in the rough market and the resumption of work at its Williamson mine, in Tanzania.The UK-based miner said prospects remained positive, despite short to medium volatility because of the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian producers and COVID-19.Revenue for financial year ending 30 June 2022...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 10 points in pre-opening trade. The Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US 77.64 cents following release of Canada's June Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 1.0% versus a gain of 1.4% In May. Actual was an increase of 0.7%. Year-over-year consensus was an increase of 8.4% versus 7...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' sales surged in the past fiscal year as the company benefited from stronger rough demand and the resumption of production at its Williamson mine in Tanzania.Revenue jumped 44% to $584.1 million for the 12 months ending June 30, the miner reported Tuesday. Prices climbed 42% on a like-for-like basis compared to the previous year."The most recent tender in June highlighte...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 114-carat rough from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, its fourth stone above 100 carats in the past two months.The company unearthed the high-quality, white, type I diamond at the deposit on July 16, Gem Diamonds said Tuesday. The discovery closely followed that of an "exceptional-quality," 245-carat rough on June 11, a 125-carat diamond on May 31, and a high-...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports rose 2% year on year in June, reflecting a sharp climb in the average price, according to recent data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The increase follows a 4% jump in shipments for May.India Trade Data for June 2022 Read More
RAPAPORT... Australian jeweler Michael Hill reported the highest revenue in its history during the fourth fiscal quarter and full year amid improved business in Canada and record online sales.Group sales jumped 17% to AUD 135.7 million ($92.4 million) in the three months ending June 26, the company said last week. Same-store sales - at branches open more than a year - grew 2.1%.Same-store sales in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's gross exports of polished diamonds were $2.01bn in June, a dollar rise of 2.25 per cent on the same month last year.The figure for the three months from April to June was $6.27bn, a dollar increase of 1.09 per cent.Overall gross exports of all gems and jewlery were $3.2bn in June, a year-on-year dollar rise of 14.5 per cent, as India reaped the benefits of its Comprehe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Richemont reported significant increases in its US and European sales in the three months to June, but a plunge in its revenue from China.The Swiss-based luxury company, that counts Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-leCoultre and Piaget among its 26 maisons, said total sales for the quarter were $5.27 billion, an overall growth rate of 12 per cent.Richemont reported 20 per ce...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 24 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the June U.S. housing starts report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase to 1.585 million units from 1.549 million units in May. Actual was an increase of 1.559 million units.IBM dropped $5.97 to $132.16 despite reporting h...Read More
(Updates prices) By Eric Onstad LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Copper and other industrialmetals prices bounced on Monday as bearish investors bought backpositions following news about government support for theeconomy in top metals consumer China, with further supportcoming from a weaker dollar. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange(LME) had gained 3.3% to $7,427 a tonne by 1615 GMT, rebou...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong jeweler Luk Fook's sales slipped 1% in the first fiscal quarter as the health situation deteriorated in mainland China.Total same-store sales - at Luk Fook outlets open for more than a year - in China dropped 28% year on year for the three months ending June 30, the company said last week. Same-store sales of gold priced by weight fell 30%, while purchases of fixed-price jewe...Read More
RAPAPORT... A ruby and diamond ring by Cartier was the star of the most recent jewelry sale at Poly Auction in Hong Kong, fetching HKD 57.6 million ($7.3 million).The piece, which featured an 8.39-carat Burmese ruby surrounded by diamonds, also set a record for the highest price achieved by a ruby at auction, Poly Auction said last week. In total, the July 13 Magnificent Jewels sale garnered more...Read More
RAPAPORT... It's official: Guinness World Records has verified the 7,525-carat Chipembele as the largest uncut emerald on record. The agency presented Israel-based Eshed-Gemstar with its sought-after certificate in April, after the company bought the stone from Gemfields last December for an undisclosed amount. Gemfields recovered the emerald a month earlier from its Kagem mine in Zambia, claiming...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto has lowered its output forecast for the full year following challenges arising from Covid-19.The miner now expects production from the Diavik mine in Canada to be between 4.5 million and 5 million carats, it said last week. That compares with the 5 million to 6 million carats it predicted at the beginning of the year.Diamond production climbed 35% year on year to 1.1 million...Read More