(IDEX Online) - A tiara with over 100 carats of diamonds that belonged to one of Britain's most extravagant aristocrats is being offered for sale.Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey (1875 - 1905) squandered an inheritance from his father worth $75m in today's money, including family estates in Staffordshire, Dorset, Anglesey and Derbyshire.He blew the lot in five years, on outrageous c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two men involved in a $1m-plus series of organized jewelry raids across California, USA, have been jailed for 16 months.They broke into JCPenney and Sam's Club stores (retail warehouse clubs owned by Walmart) in nine counties throughout the state between September 2020 and February 2021Defendants Anton Salaam and Marion Paul Tilley both pleaded guilty to a violation of organiz...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the March Trade Deficit at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was $106.7 billion versus $89.20 billion in February. Actual was $109.8 billionThe Canadian Dollar was virtually unchanged at US78.04 cents following release of Canada's March Me...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough prices tumbled at Petra Diamonds' latest tender as geopolitical challenges dented the market.The April sale realized $86.1 million, down from $140.6 million in March, the miner reported Tuesday. Like-for-like prices dropped 24%, but were 3.2% higher than in December. The average price fell 29% month on month to $135 per carat, according to Rapaport calculations, reflecting a...Read More
RAPAPORT... With the Russia crisis constantly evolving and the US government piling sanctions on Alrosa, the Rapaport editorial team outlines how the industry is adjusting to these new challenges. In this episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz, Editor in Chief Sonia Esther Soltani, and News Editor Joshua Freedman discuss a wide range of topics beyond Russia, inclu...Read More
RAPAPORT... Star Diamond Corporation's Canadian mining project contains a "significant" proportion of high-value, type IIa rough, according to a study the company performed.The Star-Orion South site in Saskatchewan, which the company owns in partnership with Rio Tinto, holds an "unusually high" number of these stones in multiple units within the mining area, Star Diamond said Monday. In one portio...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, May 3, 2022, Las Vegas... The diamond market slowed in April due to geopolitical tensions and the seasonal effects of the Passover and Easter holidays. Steady US retail demand supported the trade, but dealer activity was sluggish amid price uncertainty, Chinese lockdowns and Russian sanctions. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds fell 3.2% during the mon...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra's rough sales tally was down by almost 40 per cent at its latest tender. In March the UK-based miner sold 735,222 carats for $140.6m. In April it sold 635,806 carats for $86.1m, down by 38.8 per cent.Like-for-like rough diamond prices decreased by almost a quarter (23.7 per cent). Like-for-like prices at its March tender were up 37.6 per cent on December 2021.Per-ca...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Christie's New York is to auction a 103.49-ct diamond with a high estimate of $18m.The Light of Africa Diamond is a D color, flawless, Type IIa emerald-cut from the iconic Cullinan mine, in South Africa.It will lead the New York Magnificent Jewels sale on 8 June, as part of Christie's Luxury Week.The diamond (pictured) was cut and polished in South Africa from a 299.3 car...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelry and watch sales in the US slowed suddenly in March. They were still growing, but at just 8.5 per cent year-on-year, compared with 28.4 per cent in February. Growth in March was the slowest we've seen since January 2020, during the very early days of the pandemic. Year-on-year growth peaked last April - up by an unprecedented 218 per cent - indicating strong...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade. Avis advanced $19.44 to $300.00 after reporting a swing to a first quarter profit. Clorox dropped $2.98 to $140.30 after lowering earnings guidance.Expedia gained $2.69 to $177.50 after narrowing its first quarter loss.Devon Energy added $1.60 to $59.95 after announcing a dividend increase a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Automation is already having an effect on the diamond industry, whether in the fields of mining, grading or sorting. But the artificial intelligence (AI) that could transform the industry is in the manufacturing sector, where the trade is bracing for a wave of technological solutions that will likely reduce the need for human polishers.At the center of this is Synova, a Swiss comp...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's will offer a 103.49-carat diamond that could fetch up to $18 million at its upcoming New York sale.The emerald-cut, D-Flawless, type IIa stone, called the Light of Africa diamond, will headline the auction house's Magnificent Jewels sale on June 8, it said Monday. It will be among the items featured as part of Christie's luxury week.The diamond was cut from a 299.3-carat rou...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's realized HKD 295.8 million ($37.7 million) at its Hong Kong sale Friday, even as several big-ticket items didn't make the cut.A parure comprising a necklace with 176.93 carats of jadeite and diamonds, a pair of earrings and a ring was the top seller at the April 29 Magnificent Jewels sale. The set fetched HKD 46.4 million ($5.9 million), Sotheby's said last week.A cushion-sha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tse Sui Luen (TSL) expects to report a profit for the full fiscal year amid improved consumer sentiment in mainland China.The Hong Kong-based jeweler believes it earned approximately HKD 15 million ($1.9 million) for the year that ended March 31, 2022, it said last week. That compares with a loss of HKD 44 million ($5.6 million) the previous year.Consumer sentiment in China improved du...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi is facing new criminal charges in India, over an alleged $3m fraud.He is accused, jointly with others, of defrauding the government-controlled Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd (IFCI) between 2014 and 2018.Choksi (pictured), 62, already face charges, together with his nephew Nirav Modi, over the $1.8bn Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.He...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brilliant Earth has ditched a promotional offer for "free diamond earrings" following a challenge from rival Blue Nile.It voluntarily pulled ads after complaints that the diamonds were lab-grown rather than mined, and the "free" offer was only available for a very limited time.Brilliant Earth, the US-based "ethical jeweler", had used the phrases "Free Diamond Earrings" and "One Day...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index declined steadily throughout April, falling by over 2.1 per cent by the month end. It continued a trend set during all but the first few days of March. Before that the Index had enjoyed months of sharp increases - 5.67 per cent in January and 4.14 per cent in February. IDEX Online subscribers please click here to read the full report. Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 9 points in pre-opening trade. Chevron slipped $0.28 to $156.39 after Truist lowered its target price from $186 to $181.Ford eased $0.05 to $14.11 after Benchmark lowered its target price from $29 to $25.Eli Lilly added $0.01 to 292.14 after Mizuho raised its target price from $315 to $356.Shopify dropped $1.82 to US$...Read More
RAPAPORT... Brilliant Earth has removed a promotion from its advertising material after rival Blue Nile launched a challenge with a regulatory body.On its website and in other digital marketing, Brilliant Earth ran offers for "free diamond earrings" available for "one day only," the National Advertising Division (NAD), part of self-regulator BBB National Programs, said in a statement last wee...Read More