(IDEX Online) - Canadian junior miner Diamcor achieved an average of US$246.62 per carat at its rough tender from the Krone-Endora at Venetia Project, in South Africa.That's down over a fifth on the $330 per carat it achieved in February, when it sold 3,063 carats for $1,010,406.It sold a total of 1,939.81 carats sold earlier this month, generating gross revenues of USD $478,3...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A criminal investigation has reportedly been opened in Israel against "Tinder Swindler" Shimon Hayut, following a complaint from the Leviev family, owners of Leviev Diamonds.It follows Netflix's true-crime documentary which told how Hayut, 31, seduced numerous women over the Tinder dating app with his jet set lifestyle, then persuaded them to hand over money with claims that h...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 28 points in pre-opening trade. Goldman Sachs advanced $9.42 to $303.29 after reporting higher than consensus second quarter results. The company also increased its dividend by 255.Bank of America slipped $0.12 to $32.13 after reporting less than consensus second quarter earnings. Boeing added $6.19 to $153.93 after De...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Thieves who broke into an unattended Brink's security trailer in Southern California, USA, may have escaped with up to $150m in jewelry, gems, high-end watches, according to exhibitors.The vehicle was on its way from the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, south of San Francisco, to an event at the Pasadena Convention Center, northeast of Los Angeles. Guards who h...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Four Canadian men have been charged at a court in Ohio, USA, with a pink diamond and jewelry investment fraud following an FBI probe.They are alleged to have cold-called potential investors in the US and Canada and persuaded them to make small investments in pink diamonds, which, they claimed, would increase in value. The defendants claimed to work for Paragon Int...Read More
RAPAPORT... Until December 2021, De Beers cited Covid-19 as the reason for repeated delays to its talks with Botswana over a new sales deal. The old agreement was supposed to expire at the end of 2020. De Beers and the government extended the existing arrangement for a year. With the pandemic's logistical challenges remaining, they deferred it again for another six months.The miner is no long...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales saw soft growth in June as consumer prices climbed, especially for essential goods.Revenue rose 1% from the previous month, versus a 0.1% decrease in May, according to data the US Census Bureau released last week. June sales climbed 8% compared with a year earlier. Inflation is causing consumers to modify their spending behavior and prioritize essentials such as food, e...Read More
RAPAPORT...The lab-grown diamond industry has seen a boom in interest in the past two years, with many in the mainstream jewelry trade embracing the product in their sales offerings. Yet how does this recent acceptance impact the natural-diamond sector, and how will the two products coexist? These themes took center stage in the first of a series of webinars sponsored by the International Gemologi...Read More
RAPAPORT... A robust performance at Richemont's jewelry and watch brands boosted revenue in the first fiscal quarter amid a return to tourist spending as well as strong local demand in the US and Europe.Proceeds from the group's jewelry maisons - Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Buccellati - rose 20% year on year to EUR 3.02 billion ($3.04 billion) for the three months ending June 30, the comp...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 38-carat Goloconda diamond that once belonged to socialite Christina Onassis is being offered for sale with a $7.5m price tag.The pear-shaped Type IIa, D-color, VVS1-clarity stone was set into a pendant necklace by Jacques Timey for the King of Diamonds, Harry Winston.The platinum and white 18K gold necklace (pictured) has an additional 20.00 to 25.00 total carats, of G col...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The UAE accounted for almost a third of Israel's rough diamond imports and almost a fifth of its exports last month, according to new figures.There was no official trade of any kind between the two countries before the Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020, normalized relations.But in June, Israel imported approximately $64m of rough diamonds from the UAE, which is about 3...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A criminal who defrauded 30 jewelry stores using stolen credit and debit cards he bought on the dark web has been jailed for more than six years.Hasan Howard, 23, of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, was also ordered to pay $261,000 in restitution.He and co-conspirators bought high-value jewelry and watches in store and over the phone, according to court documents.He and others bought $19,000...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales saw soft growth in June as consumer prices climbed, especially for essential goods.Revenue rose 1% from the previous month, versus a 0.1% decrease in May, according to data the US Census Bureau released last week. June sales climbed 8% compared with a year earlier. Inflation is causing consumers to modify their spending behavior and prioritize essentials such as food, e...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Index futures were slightly lower following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus for the July Empire State Manufacturing Survey was a drop of 1.25% versus a decline of 1.20 in June. Actual was an increase to 11.1. Consensus for June U.S. Retail Sales was an increase of 0.8% ver...Read More
News: Polished market flat during summer lull. US jewelers optimistic for 2H despite economic uncertainty and inflation +9.1% in June. Rough prices stable at De Beers sight. Manufacturers competing for responsibly sourced rough. Cutters have reduced operations due to scarcities and lower polished demand; larger factories shifting between natural and lab-grown production based on availability and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook's sales fell in the first fiscal quarter amid a resurgence of the coronavirus and a drop in tourism.Retail sales value across the group slipped 3.7% year on year for the three months ending June 30, the Hong Kong-based jeweler reported Tuesday. The figure dipped 2.8% in mainland China and 11% in Hong Kong, Macau and other markets.Sales were also lower due to an unfavorabl...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Crime has cost US jewelers $2.2 billion in the last two decades, says the JSA, after adjustments for inflation.The total figure for 2021 was just over $70m, down from $83m the previous year, said the New York-based Jewelers' Security Alliance Releases in its newly-released 2021 Annual Crime Report.But the total number of crimes was up from 1,438 to 1,687, an increase of 17 per...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An Indian jeweler has landed a Guinness World Record with a ring made with 24,679 natural diamonds.The Touch of Ami took 90 days to make at SWA Diamonds, in Malappuram Inkel Educity, Kerala.It takes the title Most Diamonds Set in One Ring from the previous record holder Renani Jewels, based in Meerut, India. Their Ring of Prosperity is set with 12,638 individual diamonds."It is our...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Nehal Modi, younger brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, has been convicted by a US court of fraudulently obtaining diamonds worth over $2.6m.Modi, 41, a diamond trader, made false representations between March and August 2015, regarding a purported deal with Costco Wholesale Corporation to obtain the gems LLD, also known as Lev Leviev Diamonds.He then liquidated the d...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 50 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged after release of the June CPI report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase 0.8% versus a gain of 0.8% in May. Actual was an increase of 1.1%. Year-over-year, June PPI was expected to increase 10.8% versus a gain of 10.8% in May. Actual was a gai...Read More