A Articles

Mall Floor "Strewn with Diamonds" after Raid

April 25, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Diamonds were strewn across the floor of a shopping mall, when a raider was grabbed by security guards outside a jewelry store in New Zealand.He was one of six masked robbers, armed with hammers and knives, who smashed glass cabinets at Michael Hill Jeweller, in Chartwell Shopping Centre, Hamilton.  The other five escaped.The New Zealand Herald newspaper reports that "the shop...Read More

Huge 116-ct Tsavorite Gifted to Smithsonian

April 25, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - One of the world's largest tsavorite garnets has gone on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, in Washington DC, USA.The 116.76-carat, 177-facet Lion of Merelani is the largest precision-cut tsavorite in the world, and the largest tsavorite gem ever cut in the US.Tsavorite is a precious gemstone first discovered by famed geologist Campbell Bridg...Read More

De Beers Q1 Production Flat at 8.9m carats

April 25, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - De Beers produced 8.9m carats in Q1 of this year, exactly the same as Q1 last year, according to figures released today by parent company Anglo American.Production was up almost 10 per cent on Q4 2022 (8.2m carats). Production in Q3 2022 was 9.6m carats.Overall output was impacted by the transition from open pit to underground mining at Venetia, in South Africa, where production wa...Read More

Tech Talk for Tuesday April 25th 2023

25/04/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 17 pointsat 8:30 AM EDT..First Republic Bank dropped $1.12 to $14.82 despite reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings. The Bank also announced a 41% drop in deposits as well as plans to reduce its work force by 20%-25%.Whirlpool advanced $4.79 to $145.49 after reporting higher than consensus first quarte...Read More

After 8.2m carats, Canada's First Mine is now a Lake

April 24, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - De Beers has filled the decommissioned Victor diamond mine, in northern Ontario, Canada, with almost 12 billion gallons of water and turned it into a lake.Virtually nothing now remains of the mine, which opened in 2008 and closed in May 2019.Over its life, more than 8.2 million carats of diamonds were recovered at Victor. It was identified in 1987 as Canada's first economicall...Read More

Toronto Police Probe Record $15m Gold Heist

April 24, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Police in Canada are investigating the theft of gold and other valuables worth US$15m in what is believed to be the country's biggest ever heist of its kind.A cargo container packed with gold and other "items of monetary value" was stolen from a warehouse near Toronto Pearson International Airport (pictured) that was reportedly unmanned by airport security.Police have revealed...Read More

Tech Talk for Monday April 24th 2023

24/04/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down points at 8:30 AM EDT.Coca Cola added $0.84 to $64.89 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter revenues and earnings. First Solar dropped $5.19 to $211.70 after Citigroup downgraded the stock from Neutral to Sell.Chesapeake Energy added $0.15 to $81.00 after Truist initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a...Read More

Record 108-ct Pink Diamond Recovered in Lesotho

April 23, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Storm Mountain Diamonds (SMD) has recovered the biggest ever pink diamond by far from its Kao mine, in Lesotho.The 108.39-carat Type IIa fancy intense pink stone (pictured) is more than twice the weight of the 47.81-carat Pink Eternity, which was recovered last year and sold for an undisclosed price.Mohlomi Moleko, Lesotho's minister of natural resources, described the newly-r...Read More

Godfather Meets Shtisel in Antwerp Diamond Drama

April 23, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's 500-year-old diamond industry, and the Haredi (ultra-orthodox Jewish) community with which it is inextricably linked, come under scrutiny in Rough Diamonds, an eight-part crime drama now airing on Netflix.Neither get an easy ride, at least in the early episodes. It follows the struggles and strife of the prominent (and fictional) Wolfson family, in a mix of (subtitle...Read More

IGI Moves D Show to Dubai

April 23, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Jewelry manufacturers will display their goods next month at the first IGI D Show outside India.The event, launched in India in 2011 by Antwerp-based International Gemological Institute, will take place in Dubai.Over 100,000 designs from 33 jewelry manufacturers will be displayed at the show's first international edition. Representatives from more than 150 prominent retail bra...Read More

Tech Talk for Friday April 21st 2023

21/04/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 8:30 AM EDT. The Canadian Dollar was unchanged at US73.92 cents following release of Canada's February Retail Sales at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a decrease of 0.6% versus a gain of 1.4% in January. Actual was a decrease of 0.2%.CSX added $0.81 to $31.62 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earn...Read More

Diamond World Rocked by Hezbollah Blacklist

April 20, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - The diamond world has been rocked by the US Treasury Department's blacklisting on Tuesday of companies with alleged links to the financing of the Hezbollah terror group, in Lebanon.A total of 52 individuals and entities, including a few diamond companies, appear on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, accused of supplying cash, precious gems, art, and luxury goods...Read More

Petra Diamonds Hit by Sharp Drop in Sales

April 20, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds suffered a sharp fall in its quarterly sales to 31 March, down almost 52 per cent to 67.8 per cent on Q3 2022.It also sold almost 37 per cent fewer diamonds - 465,138 carats - than during the same period last year.The miner's Williamson deposit, in Tanzania, remains closed after the breach of a tailings dam, which released a five-mile river of gray sludge, damag...Read More

$2.2m Estimate for Unique Platinum Rolex

April 20, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - A unique Rolex Yacht-Master, made entirely of platinum for the company's then CEO Patrick Heiniger, is to be sold with an estimate of ???EUR? ?1m to ???EUR? ?2m ($1.1m to $2.2m).The dial features diamond hour markers with baguette-cut sapphires at six and nine and a triangular-cut sapphire at 12.It was presented to Mr Heiniger, who took over from his father Andre Heiniger in 1...Read More

Tech Talk for Thursday April 20th 2023

20/04/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 33 points at 8:35 AM EDT.Index futures dropped another 3 points following release of the April Philly Fed Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a recovery to -19.9 from -23.2 in March. Actual was a drop to-31.3.IBM advanced $2.60 to $129.00 after reporting higher than consensus first quarter earnings. Las Vegas Sands ga...Read More

TIMELINE-Glencore in hot pursuit of Teck as it seeks copper assets

Apr 19 2023 8:28AM / Reuters

(Adds Justin Trudeau's comments) May 2 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeausaid in an interview to Bloomberg Television last week that anytakeover bid for Teck Resources Ltd would have to getthrough a "rigorous process" to get consent from the government. Here is a snapshot of key events in the saga so far. Date Development March Glencore privately offers to merge with T...Read More

Lucapa Mines Record Volumes During Q1

April 19, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Lucapa says it mined record volumes at its Lulo alluvial mine, in Angola, and the Mothae mine, in Lesotho, in its latest quarterly report.The Australian miner also says it recovered a 150-carat Type IIa D-color white diamond - the 36th +100-carat diamond (pictured) since Lulo began commercial production in 2015.It also recovered two other +100-carat diamonds at the mine, which is h...Read More

$1m Heist at Argentine Gold Mine

April 19, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - Thieves fled with gold worth $1m after breaking into a mine in the in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina.Canadian miner Patagonia Gold Corp lost around a month's production in the heist, at the gold room of its Cap-Oeste Project.The thieves took dore bars - a semi-pure alloy of gold and silver which is transported to the refinery - containing 500 ounces of gold (currently tr...Read More

NDC Busts Diamond Myths in New Report

April 19, 23 / John Jeffay

(IDEX Online) - The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) says it's "busting myths" in a new 54-page report called Diamond Facts.It aims to address misinformation about both natural diamonds and lab grown diamonds with a series of 11 questions and detailed answers.The NDC says it will begin rolling out related videos, aimed primarily at consumers, on its social media channels in the coming weeks.Topi...Read More

Tech Talk for Wednesday April 19th 2023

19/04/2023 / Staff reporter

U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 24 points at 8:30 AM EDT.United Airlines gained $0.51 to $43.55 after reporting a lower than consensus first quarter loss. The company also offered positive second quarter guidance. Netflix slipped $0.55 to $333.15 after reporting slightly less than consensus first quarter earnings. Intuitive Surgical advanced $21.90...Read More

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