(IDEX Online) - The appointment of Rishi Sunak as Britain's new prime has again provoked calls for the Koh-i-Noor diamond to be returned to India.On Monday Mr Sunak, 42, (pictured) became the country's first leader of Indian origin, fueling hopes that he may respond more favorably to calls for him to intervene.The iconic 105.6-ct Type IIa D-color gem, center-piece of the late Queen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra produced and sold fewer diamonds in the first quarter, ending 30 September, according to the company's latest operating update.Revenue was down nine per cent year-on-year to $104.3m. It sold 520,011 carats, down 10 per cent.The UK-based miner said it had benefitted from a weaker rand, and it was closely monitoring current macro-economic uncertainties.Petra, which has min...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 31 points in pre-opening trade.Canadian focus today is on the Bank of Canada's announcement at 10:00 AM EDT. Consensus is that the Bank of Canada will raise its lending rate to major Canadian banks by another 0.75% to 4.00%.Alphabet $GOOGL dropped $5.00 to $99.56 after reporting less than consensus third quarter reven...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields will resume basic mining operations at its Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique following an evacuation due to a rebel attack at a neighboring site.Key personnel have returned to the site and all mining and processing will be restarted in phases as the company assesses the threat in each license area, it said Tuesday. Security workers and the Mozambique police have been stati...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has extended its latest sale after experiencing "unusual market conditions" in certain rough categories, the miner said Tuesday in a trading update.The company noted "some buildup in inventory [in the industry] pre-Diwali." This prompted it to delay the closing of the tender for some of its gem- and near-gem-quality goods, especially in the 1- to 5-carat ranges, man...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has chosen Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o as its first global ambassador. She will star in the company's new brand campaign and support its Building Forever project to advance women and girls in diamond communities.The Where It Begins campaign follows Nyong'o from her discovery of a rough diamond through to its transformation into jewelry, De Beers said Monday. Meanwhile,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swarovski plans to roll out its lab-grown diamond jewelry collection to 200 stores throughout the US and Canada over the coming year.The Austrian crystal house will also launch jewelry featuring Swarovski Created Diamonds online beginning in November, it said Monday. The expansion follows a successful pilot in key markets across the US, where sales exceeded the company's expectations,...Read More
RAPAPORT... More jewelers and designers are launching unisex collections, expecting gender-neutral styles to be a "massive" trend this holiday season.In this episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, Rapaport Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz and Acting Editor Rachael Taylor discuss the move by several leading brands to introduce genderless jewelry and whether this will prompt other companies to follow su...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Breitling says its new $20,000 Super Chronomat Automatic 38 Origins is the first "fully traceable" watch.The gold is sourced from a single artisanal mine, all the diamonds are from lab-grown supplier Fenix, and buyers get a blockchain-backed NFT as a guarantee of provenance.Sourcemap, which provides transparency solutions for over 100,000 luxury goods companies, is verifying...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucky sapphire hunter Matt Betteridge found an 834-carat monster thanks to heavy rains in Queensland, Australia.He was out "specking" - scanning the ground for precious gems - when he chanced upon the stone, which was the size of a "small child's fist". It's been valued at AUD $12,500 (USD $8,000).Speckers often go out after wet weather because rain washes away the topsoi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has appointed actress Lupita Nyong'o as its first global ambassador, to front its new Where It Begins campaign.The first Kenyan and Mexican to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, said it would allow her to extend her advocacy for women and girls around the world."This campaign brings to life the transformative power that I feel when I wear De...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Swarovski is to roll out its lab grown range of diamond jewelry across 200 stores in the USA and Canada.The launch of the Created Diamonds collection follows a successful pilot program, the company said.Earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets featuring diamonds 0.25-cts and larger will be available online from next month and in stores next year. The family-owned crystal and...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 12 points in pre-opening trade.Cadence Design Systems $CDNS added $0.63 to $160.85 after reporting higher than consensus third quarter profits and revenues. Discover Financial Services $DFS dropped $1.23 to $94.63 after reporting lower than consensus third quarter results. United Parcel Services $UPS added $7.65 to $1...Read More
RAPAPORT... Watchmaker Breitling plans to create "end-to-end traceability" for its entire product portfolio by switching exclusively to lab-grown diamonds and artisanally mined gold over the next few years.The company will feature synthetic stones produced by Fenix Diamonds in India and accredited by SCS Global Services, Breitling said last week. The watchmaker will use only lab-grown in its timep...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A huge pink diamond weighing 170.2 carats is to be sold next month at a rough tender by Sodiam, Angola's state-owned diamond trading company.The stone, named the Lulo Rose (pictured), was recovered by the Australia-based miner Lucapa and is believed to be the largest pink diamond found in the last 300 years.There is speculation that as a polished gem it could sell for as much...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemfields has halted operations at its Montepuez ruby mine, in Mozambique, and evacuated the site after an attack on a nearby facility by rebels.Thousands of people have died since the start of the brutal Cabo Delgado conflict in October 2017, aimed at establishing an Islamic state in Mozambique.Gemfields said in a statement that "an attack attributed to insurgent activity has been...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 14 points in pre-opening trade.The Shanghai Composite Index dropped $61.37 to $2,977.56 and the Hang Seng Index fell to $10,300.43 following news of changes in China's political leadership.Medtronic gained $0.97 to $84.23 after announcing a split of its operations into two separate entities. Tesla dropped $6.46 to $207...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has released its sales schedule for next year, with the miner holding its usual 10 sights across the 12-month period.The miner sells most of its rough to sightholders through a contract system under which clients make certain purchasing commitments in return for consistent supply. In April 2021, the miner introduced a new sales agreement offering more bespoke supply for m...Read More
RAPAPORT... US consumers will purchase fewer gifts this holiday season as they contend with higher prices and weaker financial situations, according to a survey by Deloitte.Americans will buy an average of nine presents for their loved ones this year, compared to 16 items in 2021, as household incomes reach their lowest level in a decade, the consulting firm noted last week. Some 37% of those surv...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive Indian diamond merchant Jatin Mehta has gone to court in Britain to challenge the freezing of his assets.He is accused of defrauding15 lenders out of more than $1bn lent to his companies Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd and Forever Precious Diamonds & Jewellery Ltd in 2013 and of then laundering the money to fund his lab grown diamond business. He denies all accusati...Read More