(IDEX Online) - De Beers heiress Rebecca Oppenheimer is selling her remarkable off-grid home, a property described as "Guggenheim Museum meets UFO".The self-sustaining six-bedroom, mansion, set in 85 acres of land in Tenino, Washington, USA, has a saltwater pool, barn, chicken coop, honey bees (and bee keeper), and is powered by solar and geothermal systems.The 8,462-square-foot main hou...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's cut and polished diamond exports slumped in March, down a third from February to $1.6bn.That's a sharp reverse in fortunes from February, when foreign sales surged 20 per cent to ?, ?2.37bn, fuelled by China's post-Covid recovery and an associated revenge buying frenzy.The overall gross export of polished diamonds during March was down 33.05 per cent year-on-...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 19 points at 8:35 AM EDT.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of March U.S. Housing Starts at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a slip to 1.420 million units from 1.450 million units in February. Actual was 1.420 million units The Canadian Dollar added 0.05 to US74.80 cents following release of Canada's Ma...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA is joining Tracr, the blockchain platform developed by De Beers, to strengthen consumer confidence in natural diamonds.Consumers buying a diamond traced from source by Tracr and graded by GIA will receive enhanced information on the stone's provenance.Tracr is the only distributed diamond blockchain that starts at the source and operates at scale.It has registered mo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers in India have shattered a world record with a ring made of 50,907 diamonds. The Eutierria Ring has more than twice as many diamonds as the previous record holder, The Touch of Ami, with 24,679 diamonds. Both rings were made in India.The new ring, created by H.K. Designs and Hari Krishna Exports, was certified last month by Guinness World Records as the ring with the m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - US customs officers seized three shipments of counterfeit jewelry within 24 hours, with a total value, if genuine, of over $4.4m. The first two shipments, both from Hong Kong and destined for a private residence in Jeffersonville, Indiana, contained 400 bracelets and almost 1,000 jewelry sets, all bearing suspect Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks. The third, also also from Hong Kong,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - LVMH is to buy a majority stake in Platinum Invest Group, owner of the French jewelry manufacturers Orest and Abysse.Financial details of the deal, due to be completed in the summer, were not disclosed.The Paris-based luxury goods group says the move will "supplement and enhance Tiffany & Co.'s existing manufacturing and production."LVMH bought Tiffany for $15.8bn in Janua...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 8:35 AM EDT. Index futures were unchanged following release of the April Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was a decline of 15.0. Actual was a gain of 10.8Shanghai Composite Index advanced 47.46 in overnight trade to a 10 month high at 3,385.61.Prometheus Bioscience $RXDX jumped $79.4...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province reported an 11 per cent increase in carats recovered, and a 42 per cent increase in sales during Q1.But the Canadian miner said production at the Gahcho Kue mine, close to the Arctic Circle, was below expectations, as a result of "lower than planned process plant and loading unit availability".Mark Wall, president and CEO said: "We are working with our operator an...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Seven out of 10 US jewelers reported sales in February were the same or better than the same month last year. That's according to a sample of 177 retailers who were asked to assess sales for the month by the Instore magazine. Fourteen per cent said they'd enjoyed an increase of more than a quarter.Another 28 per cent said they'd seen some increase, and 27 per ce...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The buyer of the world's most valuable necklace - a $55m creation including a flawless 407-carat yellow diamond - has been revealed as Indian billionaire Nita Ambani.She's the wife of Mukesh Ambani, who is heir to the Mumbai-based multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, and whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $84.7bn.The necklace, known as L'Incomparable,...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 7 points at 8:35 AM EDT.Index futures moved lower following release of March Retail Sales report at 8:30 AM EDT Consensus was a drop of 0.5 % versus a drop of 0.4% in February. Actual was a drop of 1.0%. Excluding auto sales, consensus was a drop of 0.4% versus a drop of 0.1% in February. Actual was a drop of 0.8%.Spi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Christie's Geneva is to auction the largest ever collection of creations by JAR, the fine jewelers founded by Joel Arthur Rosenthal.Twenty-five pieces, produced over 40 years, will be offered for sale at the Magnificent Jewels auction on 17 May.JAR's trademark is to pair unusual gemstones with non-traditional materials, drawing on nature for inspiration and pushing the bo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Amazon and De Beers are collaborating to develop lab grown diamonds for use in super-secure quantum communications.They will allow computer networks to transmit vast amounts of data over long distances, far outperforming current fiber-optic systems.Element Six, the De Beers subsidiary that specializes in industrial applications of lab grown diamonds, is working with Amazon Web Serv...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The future for BlueRock Diamonds, the British miner that operates the Kareevlei mine, in Kimberley, South Africa, looks bleaker than ever.The company says it is unlikely that it will continue as a going concern. In February it suspended trading in its shares after its debt-ridden subsidiary Kareevlei Mining. which operates the mine, was placed in business rescue."The board has expl...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers yesterday reported $540m of rough sales during Cycle 3, boosted by "encouraging positive trends" in consumer demand, especially in China.The provisional figure is 8.5 per cent higher than Cycle 2, but 4.5 per cent lower than Cycle 3 of 2022.Last month De Beers announced a drop of 24 per cent in its Cycle 2 sales, as uncertainty persisted and many sightholders delayed purch...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 12 points at 8:35 AM EDT.Index futures moved higher following release of the March Producer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase 0.1% versus a decline of 0.1% in February. Actual was a drop of 0.5%. On a year-over-year basis, Consensus was an increase 3.1% versus 4.9% in February. Actual was an increas...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 31 points in pre-opening trade. S&P 500 futures advance 27 points following release of the March Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. March CPI was expected to increase 0.2% versus a gain of 0.4% in February. Actual was an increase of 0.1% . On a year-over-year basis March CPI was expected to increase 5.1% versus a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A masked raider calmly removed a gun from his bag and fired five shots at workers in a booth selling jewelry at a swap meet in Utah, USA.He then used a hammer to smash open glass display cabinets and steal what police describe as a "large quantity" of merchandise.One employee was grazed by a bullet but did not require medical treatment, said West Valley City Police in a statement a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two Rolex Daytona watches owned by Paul Newman are expected to fetch at least $1m each when they're auctioned in June by Sotheby's New York. They're among 300 lots from his estate and that of his actress wife Joanne Woodward.Newman, best known for The Hustler, died in 2008. He was well known as a keen car racer and watch collector. The watches were f...Read More