A Articles

G7 Nations "Days Away from Diamond Sanctions Decision"

November 11, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Details of the G7 nations' long-awaited sanctions on Russian diamonds and how they will be implemented could be decided as soon as Monday (13 November) according to Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat.He told the Financial Times: "In order for [EU] member states to be unanimous for the ban on diamond trade, some were requesting that the G7 were giving, let's say,...Read More

Tech Talk for Friday November 10th 2023

10/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 10 points at 8:30 AM EST.Trade Desk plunged $22.57 to $54.24 after the company lowered fiscal fourth quarter expectations.Lions Gate Entertainment added $0.13 to $9.20 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal second quarter revenues and profits. Groupon plunged $4.54 to $9.00 after reporting a third quarter loss. I...Read More

235-ct Gem: Lucapa Announces Another Huge Recovery

November 09, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Lucapa says it has recovered a 235-carat diamond at Lulo, Angola, just a week after announcing a 208-carat stone from the same mine.Both diamonds are Type IIa and are the 39th and 40th +100-ct recoveries since the alluvial mine began commercial operation in January 2015.Several weeks ago Lucapa recovered another +100-ct gem from Lulo, this time weighing 123 carats."Lulo continues t...Read More

Tech Talk for Thursday November 9th 2023

09/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 8 points at 8:30 AM EST.Walt Disney advanced $1.25 to $85.75 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal fourth quarter earnings.Take Two jumped $7.52 to $150.99 after reporting higher than consensus quarterly revenues. Lyft dropped $0.53 to $10.19 after acknowledging a decline in active rider growth.Twilio gained $4....Read More

Tech Talk for Wednesday November 8th 2023

08/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 2 points at 8:30 AM EDT.Traders are cautious ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech later today.Gilead added $1.29 to $82.00 after reporting higher than consensus third quarter earnings. The company also offer positive guidance for the fourth quarter. Rivian advanced $0.48 to $17.90 after reporting hig...Read More

Botswana Edges Towards Deal with HB

November 07, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - The Botswana government appears poised to go ahead with plans to buy a 24 per cent stake in HB Antwerp and to let it sell 10 per cent (at least 600,000 carats annually) of its rough production.The deal was thrown into doubt in September after Vancouver-based Lucara pulled out of its own 10-year agreement with HB after just a year, alleging "a material breach of financial commitment...Read More

Cutwise Provides Extra Security Layer for iTraceiT

November 07, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Belgian traceability firm iTraceiT is to incorporate super-accurate digital reports, produced by the Cutwise Group, into its diamond passports.   It says that adding Cutwise's DiLog ID to its own blockchain technology provides an extra layer of security.   The DiLog ID creates a "a photoreal rendered image of the polished Diamond" to produce unprecedentedly accu...Read More

Fura Signs Guaranteed Ruby Supply Deal

November 07, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Gemstone miner Fura Gems has agreed a pioneering deal to provide Bangkok-based China Stone with a guaranteed supply of premium rough rubies from its Montepuez mine, in Mozambique. It will allocate 0.25-ct to 0.75-ct gems for the next three years, allowing China Stone to improve production planning for watch and jewelry manufacturers.Dev Shetty, Fura's CEO, says the deal i...Read More

Tech Talk for Tuesday November 7th 2023

07/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 9 points at 8:35 AM EDT.Index futures were unchanged following release of the September U.S. Trade report. Consensus was a deficit of $60.00 billion versus a deficit of $58.30 billion in August. Actual was a deficit of $61.5 billion.Trip Advisor gained $1.92 to $18.03 after reporting higher than consensus third quarte...Read More

Debswana Rough Sales Down by 21%

November 06, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Debswana's rough diamond sales fell by more than 21 per cent in the first nine months of this year, according to the Bank of Botswana. Weak global demand saw revenue fall from $3.578bn for the same period in 2022 to $2.811bn. Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, produced 24.1m carats last year and is the biggest contributor to the De Beers Gr...Read More

Slight Improvement in US Watch and Jewelry Sales

November 06, 23 / IDEX Online

(IDEX Online) - US watch and jewelry sales declined again for an eighth consecutive month during September.But the drop was among the lowest we have seen of late, according to the latest Department of Commerce figures.For the third month in a row, sales have shown slight signs of improvement, up from -4.0 per cent to -2.3 per cent and now -2.0 per cent.Consumer spending is gradually picking up in...Read More

De Beers Agrees Pay Deal with Venetia Mineworkers

November 06, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - De Beers has averted the threat of strike action by agreeing a five-year pay deal with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).A walkout by a third of the workforce - around 1,500 NUM members - would have hit production at the Venetia mine, which accounts for 40 per cent of De Beers' output in South Africa. The NUM was demanding a 9 per cent wage increase, against De Beer...Read More

Tech Talk for Monday November 6th 2023

06/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade.Dish Networks dropped $0.19 to $5.30 after reporting a surprising third quarter lossBerkshire Hathaway added $1.74 to $353.55 after reporting higher than consensus third quarter operating earnings. BionNTech gained $1.31 to $97.09 after reporting a surprising third quarter profitBirkenstoc...Read More

208-ct Diamond Recovered at Lulo, Angola

November 05, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Lucapa has recovered the third largest diamond ever from Lulo, Angola, since the mine opened  in January 2015.The 208 carat Type IIa gem is the second +100-ct diamond in under a month, and the 39th in the lifetime of the deposit.The largest recovery at the Lulo alluvial mine - which commands the highest price per carat for alluvial diamonds in the world - was a 404 carat Type...Read More

Stargems Signs up for Sarine's AutoScan Plus

November 05, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Stargems has become the first tender house to sign up for traceability technology by Sarine that quickly registers large parcels of diamonds.The Dubai-based business is using the AutoScan Plus software, which inegrates with Sarine's Diamond Journey to track every move a diamond makes.Sarine describes it as a game-changing way of registering rough diamonds at source with minima...Read More

IDEX Polished Price Index: Signs of a Slowdown in Decline

November 05, 23 / IDEX Online

(IDEX Online) - There were signs of a slowdown in the 18-month long decline of polished diamonds prices during October.The Index fell by 1.60 per cent, compared to just over 3 per cent in September, which was the single biggest monthly drop of the current crisis.Price drops through October were gradual, and showed none of the volatility of the previous month.The supply of rough is c...Read More

Tech Talk for Friday November 3rd 2023

03/11/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 17 points at 8:35 AM EDT. S&P 500 futures gained 19 points following release of the October U.S. Employment Report at 8:30 AM EDT. October Non-farm Payrolls was expected to drop to 188,000 from 336,000 in September. Actual was a drop to 150,000. October Unemployment Rate was expected to remain unchanged from Septem...Read More

UPDATE 2-Panama lawmakers scrap plan to annul copper mine concession

Nov 2 2023 4:26PM / Reuters

(Recasts with modifications made to legislative proposal, addsbackground) By Valentine Hilaire and Elida Moreno Nov 2 (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Panama scratchedprovisions from a proposed bill that would cancel a recentlyapproved mining concession extending the life of a controversialbut lucrative copper mine by at least two decades, legislatorstold Reuters on Thursday. The fate of the Cobre Panam...Read More

US Diamantaires Urged to Stand with Israel

November 02, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) is urging US diamantaires to show their support during a four-day sales event in New York.It says it has suffered a "significant drop in activity" since the war began in Gaza, following Hamas's massacre of 1,400 people on 7 October.IDE is calling on diamond traders across the US to show their support for the Israeli industry and stock up on go...Read More

Christie's Auctions Hepburn's Roman Holiday Necklace

November 02, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - The pearl necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 movie Roman Holiday is to be auctioned by Christie's Geneva in an online sale that opens tomorrow (3 November).The British actress, who later starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), wore simple, single-strand pearl necklaces as a signature part of her look.Her jewelry collection was a testament to her philosophy that...Read More

Share to Youtube Share to Facebook Facebook Share to Linkedin Share to Twitter Twitter Share to Tiktok