RAPAPORT... A 228-carat stone made history as the largest white diamond ever to sell at auction, raking in nearly $22 million at Christie's Magnificent Jewels in Geneva.The pear-shaped, 228.31-carat, G-color, VS1-clarity diamond, called The Rock, fetched $21.9 million at the May 11 auction, within its presale estimate of $20 million to $30 million, Christie's said Wednesday. It beat the previous r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The largest white diamond ever auctioned sold yesterday for $21.9m at Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva.The 228.31-ct G/VS1 pear-shaped gem, called The Rock, beat its low estimate of $20m, but fell short of the $30m high estimate.The record auction price for a white diamond remains with a 163.41-ct D/IF Type IIa rectangular cut-cornered diamond, which sold at Christ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora today announced plans to build a $100m factory in Vietnam, as part of a plan to boost its total production capacity by 60 per cent.It will create 6,000 jobs, producing up to 60m jewelry items a year.The Danish jeweler, best known for its charm bracelets, aims to double revenue in the US and treble it in China (both from 2019 levels). The new factory in Vietnam will su...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pure platinum coin weighing 1kg, and set with 462 fancy vivid pink diamonds (6.5 tcw) from the Argyle mine is to be auctioned.The one-off creation is the highlight of the Royal Canadian Mint's Opulence Collection, featuring gems from the iconic Australian mine that closed in November 2020.There are 436 coins altogether, using a total of 46.7 carats of Argyle pinks.The Ultima...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower at 7:30 AM EDT. S&P 500 futures were down 17 points in pre-opening trade.April Producer Price Index to be released at 8:30 AM EDT is expected to increase 0.5% versus a gain of 1.4% in March. On a year-over-year basis, April Producer Price Index is expected to increase 10.7% versus a gain of 11.2% in March. Excluding food and energy April Producer Price Inde...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond trade grew at a slower pace in April as the Russian conflict reduced global market sentiment.Polished exports for the month rose 38% year on year to $443.7 million after returns of unsold items, compared with a 58% jump in March, the Ministry of Economy and Industry reported last week. Export volume slumped 55% to 60,836 carats, with the average price more than tr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's garnered $36.4 million from its most recent Geneva sale, even as several top lots failed to find buyers.A 7.17-carat, fancy-intense-purple-pink, VVS2-clarity diamond ring was the top seller at the May 10 Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction. The cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut stone brought in $5.6 million, or $790,464 per carat, within its price estima...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' sale of its Ghaghoo mine in Botswana has broken down for the third time in five years.Okwa Diamonds, owned by Vast Resources and Botswana Diamonds, struck a deal with Gem Diamonds last year to purchase the deposit for $4 million. That sale was dependent on Botswana Diamonds securing a funding partner after Vast dropped out, which it failed to do by the May 10 deadline, Ge...Read More
RAPAPORT... The word "metaverse" is suddenly on everyone's lips, but what does it mean and why is it important for the diamond industry? That was the topic for the second episode of "Fast-Tracking the Future," a webinar series sponsored by Sarine Technologies.Titled "Diamonds in the Metaverse," the session explored non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and their potential benefits for the market. The pa...Read More
RAPAPORT... The recent geopolitical storm pushed De Beers to accelerate the expansion of its blockchain platform, chief brand officer David Prager told Rapaport News.The miner recently launched a scaled-up version of Tracr, enabling the industry to trace all De Beers diamonds through to the jewelry store. The business-to-business (B2B) tool lets retailers see a stone's entire path through the supp...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A small-time farmer in the the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh recovered an 11.88-carat diamond, which has been valued at $65,000.Pratap Singh Yadav said he'd use proceeds from the sale of the stone to set up a business and pay for his children's education.He struck lucky while digging a small patch of land leased from the authorities in the diamond-rich Panna dist...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Overall prices of fancy color diamonds rose by 1.0 per cent in the last three months, double the increase of the previous quarter.Pinks led the price gains, up by 1.3 per cent, during Q1 2022, according to the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI). Yellows were up 0.7 per cent and blues by 0.1 per cent.The New York-based Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) tracks pricing data for fan...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The average spend on a diamond engagement ring in the US last year was $7,011, up 6.1 per cent on 2020, as couples opted for bigger stones, and more lab growns.The size of the center stone diamond size rose, on average, from 1.20 carats to 1.32 carats.And almost a quarter of couple are choosing a lab grown stone, according to research for BriteCo, an insurance technology company. T...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 3 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures moved lower following release of the U.S. April Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.2% versus a gain of 1.2% in March. Actual was an increase of 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis consensus was an increase of 8.1% versus a gain of 8.5% in March....Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, May 9, 2022, Las Vegas ... RapNet, the world's largest diamond trading network with daily listings of 1.8 million diamonds valued at $8.7 billion, has banned Russian diamonds from its network. The ban applies to all diamonds sourced from Russia after February 24, 2022, and includes polished diamonds manufactured outside of Russia from Russian rough diamonds. The ban include...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Angolan government says Endiama, the state-run diamond company, could be hit by delays in Russian-made mining machinery and spares as the war in Ukraine continues.But Russia's ambassador to the country is adamant that Western sanctions "will not affect its work in Angola in any way".A Reuters report cites a brochure made available by the Angolan government at the Mining In...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The newest diamond mine in Sierra Leone is to hold its maiden sale of rough production later this month.The Tongo Diamond Mine, operated by Australia-based Newfield Resources, has signed an exclusive sales and marketing agreement with Bonas, in Antwerp.Newfield describes the mine as "an 8.3m carat JORC compliant indicated and inferred diamond resource, primarily based on five kimbe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Seasoned diamond hunter Adam Hardin has found his biggest stone yet - a 2.38-carat brown gem.He's been a regular visitor to the Crater of Diamonds State Park, in Arkansas, for a decade and says he's found hundreds of smaller stones. But this is by far the biggest.It's the USA's only active diamond mine, where visitors pay $10 a day to sift the soil - and keep an...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 36 points in pre-opening trade.Microchip Technology added $1.69 to $66.00 after reporting record fourth quarter revenues. The company also offered positive guidance.Peloton plunged $3.74 to $10.39 after recording a third quarter loss. The company also lowered guidance. Bausch Health dropped $2.26 to US$10.74 after reco...Read More
RAPAPORT... Nongovernmental organization Resolve has launched a project to rehabilitate land affected by artisanal and small-scale diamond mining in Africa.After miners leave a site, local inhabitants lose arable land they need for basic farming, as soil gets depleted and abandoned pits fill with water, Resolve explained in a statement last week. They also face insect-borne diseases and other...Read More