(IDEX Online) - India is reported to be calling on the G7 to delay the introduction of sanctions on Russian diamonds, the first of which are due to take effect from 1 January 2024.It is particularly concerned about restrictions on diamonds that are cut and polished outside Russia - mostly in India - that will come into force on 1 March.It says they will prove impractical to implement in such a tig...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers reported rough diamond sales of $130m of during its last sight of the year, as the polished market started to show some signs of recovery.The UK-based miner expressed cautious optimism that rough trading conditions were gradually improving.Average sales across all 10 cycles this year were $362m. So despite a 51 per cent increase from October's record low of $86m, Nove...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 34 points at 8:35 AM EST.S&P 500 Index futures added 10 points following release of economic news at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus for the updated annualized U.S. third quarter real GDP was unchanged at 5.2%.Actual was a slip to 4.9%. Consensus for the December Philly Fed Index was -3.0 versus -5.9 in November. Actual was...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A buyer who thought they'd bagged a bargain 12.15-carat Kashmir sapphire was devastated to learn it was a near-worthless synthetic.The unnamed customer bought the oval modified step cut gem, set in a white metal ring, while travelling in Indonesia, complete with a "reputable" lab report.But they sent it for a lab test at GSI Mumbai after taking it for alterations at local jewe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's polished diamonds exports fell again in November, as manufacturers cut back on rough purchases in line with a two-month voluntary ban. Total foreign sales continued their decline, from $1.67bn in September to $1.26bn in October and now down to $1.1bn in November. The figure is down 12 per cent on the previous month and 12 per cent down on November last ye...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures dropped 8 points at 8:30 AM EST.FedEx dropped $22.82 to $257.18 after reporting less than consensus second quarter results.Steelcase dropped $1.32 to $11.38 after the company offered lower than consensus fourth quarter revenue guidance.General Mills dropped $1.75 to $64.96 after the company lowered sales guidance. Lowe's droppe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD)has agreed to sell one of the world's largest pink diamonds, weighing 108.39 carats, to Antwerp-based Choron for an undisclosed price.The Type IIa gem, recovered in March, is the biggest pink diamond ever at the Kao mine, in Lesotho, and eclipses the 47.81-carat Pink Eternity, which was recovered from the mine last year and which sold for an undisc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana Diamonds says it has identified anomalies within 6km of its existing KX36 project that could indicate new diamond reserves.KX36, about 260km north west of Gaborone, in the Kalahari Desert, has been described as the most significant diamond discovery in Botswana since the huge Debswana-owned Orapa and Jwaneng mines."Kimberlites occur in clusters, currently only KX36 has bee...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Indian government say the G7 diamond sanctions only stones over one carats, and will therefore cause minimum disruption to its industry.The vast majority of stones cut and polished in Surat and other diamond hubs are well under the 1.0-cts threshold. "We should be able to export our diamonds without disturbing the proposed sanctions on Russia," said the Commerce Secretary...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points at 4,803 at 8:35 AM EST.Index futures were unchanged following release of the U.S. November New Home Starts report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was a drop to 1.360 million units from 1.472 million units in October. Actual was an increase to 1.56 million units.The Canadian Dollar added 0.13 to US74.90 cents follo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The owner of a New York jewelry store was shot twice during a heist.Three masked raiders dressed in black burst into the premises in Corona, Queens, last Tuesday evening (12 December).The unnamed victim, a 59-year-old man, was hit in the right thigh and grazed by a bullet to the head. His injuries are not described as life-threatening. Police responded to a 911 call and took him to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - TAG Heuer has unveiled a new version of its most expensive watch, the Carrera Plasma, to mark its diamond anniversary, incorporating 15.5 carats of lab growns.The gems are step-cut into "imaginative shapes" and set into both the black aluminum case and into the strap. The watch's dial is a polycrystalline diamond plate - a sum of crystals grown as one, and the crown is a...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points at 8:30 AM EST. U.S. Steel advanced $11.22 to $50.55 after Nippon Steel offered to buy the company for $ 55.00 per share. Value of the cash offer is estimated at $14.1 billion.VF Corp dropped $1.15 to $18.76 after disclosing that the company is the victim of a cyberattackMasonite dropped $2.00 to $100.00 afte...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (17 December) officially opened the new Surat Diamond Bourse, with a promise that it would create 150,000 new jobs. The $355m bourse has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the biggest office building in existence (7.1 million sq. ft of floor space), eclipsing The Pentagon, HQ of the US Defense Department."One more...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Breitling has bought Universal Geneve, the lesser known but highly-prized luxury Swiss watch brand, with a promise to revive the company from "hibernation" to its former glory.It acquired the company from Stelux Holdings, the Hong Kong holding company that bought the brand in 1989. Breitling reportedly paid $70m, in a move that surprised industry experts.Universal Geneve was founde...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Israel's diamond industry suffered another steep decline in monthly polished diamond exports during November as the war continued in Gaza.But year-on-year average per carat prices were far higher, and foreign sales for the month dwarf those of 2022.Net polished diamond exports for November were just over $107m, according to the Ministry of Economy and Industry, a 75 per cent d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds may have found a buyer for the loss-making Koffiefontein mine, in South Africa, that has been on care and maintenance since November 2022.The UK-based miner says it has has entered into a non-binding term sheet on an exclusive basis with an unnamed interested party.The mine was expected to reach the end of its life in 2025, before operations were halted. A 2021 asses...Read More
Equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points at 8:35 AM ESTIndex futures dropped 6 points following release of the December Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was a drop to +4.0 from +9.1 in November. Actual was a drop to -14.5.Today is "Triple Witching Day', the last trade day in December for listed index and equity options and futur...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Bucherer, the Swiss watch retailer, is to sell Rahaminov diamonds online and in its US stores.The move comes after Rolex acquired the Lucerne-based family business, with its 100 outlets, from 87-year-old chairman Jorg G. Bucherer in September.Rahaminov, known for diamond cutting, sales and trading was founded in Italy in the 1940s by the Rahaminov brothers, who were diamond cutters...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa has reported a 7 per cent drop in net profit during the first nine months of 2023, down to $975m (RUB 87.9bn).Russia's state-controlled miner said Q3 revenue was $871m (RUB78.5bn), down 7 per cent on the Q2 revenue of $936m (RUB 92.51bn) previously reported. But it was up 55 per cent on revenue for Q3 2022.Alrosa halted rough sales during September and October in a move...Read More