(IDEX Online) - BlueRock Diamonds, the British miner that operates the Kareevlei mine, in Kimberley, South Africa, has gone into administration.Operations at the mine remain have been halted. Share trading was halted in February, when its debt-ridden subsidiary Kareevlei Mining. which operates the mine, was placed in business rescue, with little prospect that it would continue as a going concern.L...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points at 8:35 AM EDT. Index futures moved higher following release of the May U.S. Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT Consensus was an increase 0.1% versus a gain of 0.4% in April. Actual was an increase of 0.1%. On a year-over year basis, consensus was an increase of 4.0% versus a gain of 4.9% in April. Actual was...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet has trimmed its full-year outlook by around seven per cent and announced plans to close around 150 of its 2,800 outlets as the "engagement gap" kicks in.The parent company of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, JamesAllen.com, Rocksbox and others has revised down total sales forecasts from $7.67bn-$7.84bn to $7.1bn-$7.3bn."We expected the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook, the Chinese jeweler with over 7,000 outlets, reported a drop in annual revenue and profit, but said it had still delivered a "resilient performance", in the face of "challenging macroeconomic externalities".The company said in its annual results that it was encouraged by the "gradual resumption of business in our key markets" after the end of zero-tolerance Covid loc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An ultra-rare 10.57-carat Eternal Pink came within a whisker of its $35m estimate at Sotheby's New York. It sold for $34.8m. The auction house said the cushion mixed cut diamond - certified as fancy vivid purplish pink and internally flawless - carried the highest price per carat estimate ever placed on any diamond or gemstone ($3,311,258). But the per carat reco...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points at 8:30 AM EDT. Illumina dropped $2.19 to $200.53 after the company's Chief Executive Officer resigned.Chinook Therapeutics jumped $15.88 to $39.89 after Novartis agreed to purchase the company for $40 per share. Value of the offer is $3.5 billion.Carnival advanced $0.72 to $13.81 after JP Morgan upgraded the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Selfridges is selling lab growns at its flagship Oxford Street department store, in London, in a high-profile endorsement for the sector.The Diamond Lab, a UK lab grown jewelry brand has a pop-up concession for a month at the Wonder Room, Selfridges' watch and jewelry hub.Vrai, the e-commerce division of US-based Diamond Foundry, already sells via the Selfridges website, but d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The world's largest gem quality ruby, the 55.22-carat Estrela de Fura, has sold for a record $34.8m at Sotheby's New York. The highest price paid previously for a ruby was $30.3m, for the 25.59-ct cushion-cut Sunrise Ruby, a Burmese gemstone which sold at Sotheby's Geneva in May 2015. Sotheby's said before last Wednesday's Magnificent Jewels a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Light of Peace, a 126.76-carat D-color, internally flawless diamond, sold for $13.6m at Christie's New York.It led the Magnificent Jewels auction (on Wednesday 7 June) which realized a total of $50.7m.The Light of Peace (pictured) was offered without reserve, with an estimate of $10m to $15m.The Type IIa, pear brilliant-cut diamond started life as a 434.6-carat rough...Read More
(Updates throughout to add context about LME reforms and statusof nickel market) LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange(LME) said on Friday it had received the first application toapprove a new nickel brand for delivery against its nickelcontract since it cut the waiting time for listing to threemonths from six to nine months in March. The 146-year-old exchange has struggled to revi...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 8:35 AM EDT.The Canadian Dollar dropped 0.13 to US74.88 cents following release of Canada's May Employment report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus called for a gain of 21,300 employees versus an increase of 41,400 in April. Actual was a drop of 17,300. Consensus called for an increase in the May Unemployment Rate to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brilliant Earth, the US-based "ethical jeweler", is partnering with Tracr, the traceability platform developed by De Beers.It's following in the footsteps of grading labs GIA, which announced a cooperation in April, and GSI, which did likewise last month to strengthen consumer confidence in natural diamonds.Tracr, first launched in 2018, uses blockchain technology to track the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Eight major diamond manufacturers have joined forces with the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) to promote the industry and educate consumers.Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK), Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (HK), Rosy Blue, Venus Jewel, Diarough, Dianco, Jewelex and Shivam Jewels have all agreed strategic partnerships.Diamond broker Bonas Group, the largest global independent diamon...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 8:35 AM EDT.GameStop dropped $5.41 to $20.70 after the company's CEO was fired.Cardinal Health added $0.18to $83.45 after the company raised its share buyback program by $3.5 billion.Semtech advanced $5.23 to $27.66 after reporting a surprise first quarter profit. Carvana jumped $4.03 to $19.58 after offering...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds today said it had postponed its June tender of 380,000 carats, in a further indication of a midstream slowdown.The UK-based miner reported a sharp drop in sales at its May tender - down 42 per cent on its March sale - and withdrew almost 76,000 predominantly high-value carats because of weak demand.Petra says it now plans to offer both the goods from its June t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A huge sapphire cluster that was originally valued at a record-breaking $100m has now been dismissed as nothing more than a museum piece. The monster gemstone - weighing 310 kg (1,550,000 carats) - was found by workers digging a well in a gem trader's back garden in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka in July 2021. But officials from the country's National Gem and Jewellery Autho...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A lab grown company in Ukraine has produced "unique" two-colored diamonds - in the blue and yellow of the country's flag. Meylor Global grew the diamonds using the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) method, by incorporating nitrogen and boron as metal catalysts. "Precise color zoning is the result of years of research and experiments where chemicals and cyclin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Malabar Gold & Diamonds has won its legal case against a businessman who was trading under its brand name in Islamabad, Pakistan. Muhammad Faizan had the Malabar name and logo above his showroom. He also managed social media pages using its brand name, its brand ambassadors, and its product images.The Mumbai-based company has 317 stores the Middle East, the Far East, the U...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 3 points at 8:35 AM EDT. Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the U.S. April Trade report at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a deficit of $75.6 billion. Actual was a deficit of $74.6 billion.The Canadian Dollar added 0.04 to US74.65 cents following release of Canada's April Merchandise Trade Balance r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana remains "confident" of reaching a new sales agreement with De Beers, despite repeated threats by President Mokgweetsi Masisi to walk away from negotiations.Government spokesperson William Sentshebeng said last week that talks were "ongoing, and we are confident that they will result in a deal that will benefit both parties".Botswana is seeking an increase its share of the...Read More