(IDEX Online) - Botswana is threatening to walk away from its deal with De Beers unless it can agree "more favorable" terms.Both sides signed up to an agreement in 2011, whereby the government sells most of the country's rough production through Debswana, a 50-50 partnership with De Beers.But several attempts to renegotiate the deal have ended in failure.On Sunday Botswana's President Mo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora, the world's biggest jewelry brand, reported record full-year sales of $3.82bn, representing seven per cent growth.The Danish charm maker, with over 6,500 outlets in 100 countries, said it was confident it could adapt to the uncertain environment and drive strategic priorities, although it forecast slower organic growth for the coming year. Last year's...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were unchanged in pre-opening trade.Index futures moved lower following release of the January Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 0.4% versus a decline of 0.1% in December. Actual was an increase of 0.5%. On a year-over-year basis, consensus was an increase of 6.2% versus a gain of 6.5% in Decembe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Men are much more likely to be splashing the cash this Valentine's Day than women.Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of men said they'd splash out over $300 on a jewelry gift, compared with only 29 per cent of women.Overall, just over half (56 per cent) said they'd spend over $300, according to a survey of 18 to 70-year-olds by the MVEye market research company.Neck...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia says it is planning to help legalize alluvial diamond exports in the Central African Republic (CAR), the world's fifth poorest country.Alexander Bikantov, Russia's ambassador to (CAR) told the state-run Sputnik news agency that "revenues from diamond sales would allow Bangui (the country's capital) to solve the existing set of social and financial problems."CA...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Boxing legend Floyd "Money" Mayweather has been showing off his latest purchase - a white gold chain weighing 2.7kg (5lbs 12 oz).It's encrusted with 8,500 diamonds (300tcw), cost $1m and was made to order by US celebrity jeweler Johnny Dang.Undefeated Mayweather, 45, is coming out of retirement for an exhibition fight against Brit Aaron Chalmers in London on 25 February....Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 9 points in pre-opening trade. Caterpillar dropped $3.37 to $244.30 after Baird downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral. Check Point Software added $6.02 to $133.18 after reporting higher than consensus quarterly results.Five Below gained $2.46 to $204.10 after Roth MKM upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy. &...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Thirty-one workers were sacked for stealing diamonds from Anjin Investments in Zimbabwe's Marange fields last year.Rough gems were taken during ore processing at Chiadzwa in what is described by The Manica Post newspaper as a "well-orchestrated" operation.The perpetrators, among them some security officers, passed the stolen diamonds on to diamond dealers."A total of 31 employ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers are being warned about distraction thefts after two separate incidents in which thieves switched fakes for genuine goods.In one case, on 1 February, a "customer" reached into a display case and pointed at a pair of diamond earrings.It was only later that staff at the store, in Canton, Ohio, USA, discovered the switch from surveillance video.In another, in the Indianapolis&...Read More
(IDEX Online) - At least nine workers died in a collapse at one of Burkina Faso's many unregulated artisanal gold mines.Rescuers found four bodies last Tuesday night (7 February) at the mine in the western Tuy province, and another five the following morning.Burkina Faso, in west Africa, is the world's 12th biggest gold producer (102.8 tonnes in 2021). There are an estimated 800 ar...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade.The Canadian Dollar added US0.30 to 74.73 cents after release of Canada's January employment report at 8:30 AM EST. Consensus was an increase of 15,000 versus a gain of 104,000 in December. Actual was an increase of 150,000. Consensus for the January Unemployment Rate was an increase to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Debswana saw rough sales increase by almost a quarter in 2022, as buyers shunned Russian goods.Total revenue last year hit a record $4.588bn, up 24.2 per cent from $3.466bn in 2021.That's equivalent to a 48.3 per cent rise in local currency (pula) because of the stronger US dollar, according to a Reuters news report.Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana g...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Angolan government plans to sell shares in Endiama, the national diamond miner, as part of a series of economic reforms.It will initially make five or 10 per cent of its shares available with a listing initially on the Angolan stock exchange and subsequently with a secondary foreign listing, according to a Reuters news report. But that figure could increase to 30 per cent.Endia...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond tech firm Sarine has launched a website for consumers designed to build trust and confidence in natural diamonds.It takes them on the journey from a diamond's rough origins to its final, polished form and addresses tracaeability and sustainability issues in the industry. In 2019 Sarine introduced Diamond Journey, a provenance-tracking program for the industry with...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 27 points in pre-opening trade.Walt Disney gained $6.03 to $117.81 after reporting higher than consensus fiscal first quarter revenues and earnings. The company also announced a planned reduction in employees.MGM International added $2.25 to $43.68 after reporting higher than consensus fourth quarter results.Affirm dro...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A parcel of 129,400-carats of rough diamonds that has been at the center of a 12-year dispute in Zimbabwe is to be returned to UK miner Vast Resources.They'd been in custody of the Zimbabwean Reserve Bank since 2010. Vast is preparing to sell the diamonds through a tender once it receives a signed order from the High Court of Zimbabwe.It began formal proceedings to recove...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fancy color diamonds increased in value by an average of 3.9 per cent in 2022, more than double the 1.7 per cent rise in 2021.Yellows drove most of that increase, according to the Fancy Color Diamond Index published today by the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).They were up by an average of 5.6 per cent across all sizes, colors and intensities, with the sharpest increase of a...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 19 points in pre-opening trade. Enphase advanced $16.35 to $244.81 after reporting higher than consensus fourth quarter earnings. The company also offered positive guidance.Prudential Financial dropped $2.81 to $99.99 after reporting a fourth quarter loss.Chipotle fell $76.86 to $1,646.00 after reporting lower than co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US fell for a third consecutive month in December, as consumers kept a careful eye on their Christmas purchases. They fell by 1.9 per cent according to the latest figures from the Department of Commerce, although that figure will almost certainly be revised. As it stands, it indicates some degree of recovery after sales fell by 4.2 per cent in October...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds reports a six per cent dip in its full-year revenue for 2022, down to $188.6m.The UK-based miner, which owns 70 per cent of the Letseng diamond mine, in Lesotho, says average per carat prices also dropped slightly, down four per cent to $1,755.Letseng, renowned for its large, top color, exceptional white diamonds, is the highest average dollar per carat kimberlite diam...Read More