(IDEX Online) - A Patek Philippe owned by the last emperor of China sold for $6.2m at Phillips Hong Kong, smashing its pre-sale high estimate of $3m.It belonged to Aisin-Gioro Puyi, last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who was forced to abdicate when he was just six during the Xinhai Revolution, and whose life and times are dramatized in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor.The platinum Refc96...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The withdrawal of the 2,000 rupee bank note is expected to fuel a consumer spending frenzy in India on diamonds, gold and other luxuries.The Reserve Bank of India announced on 19 May that its highest-value note - worth around $24 - will no longer be legal tender after 30 September.The notes can be deposited or exchanged, but economists say many people will be wary that the tax auth...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) is backing the coins and bars produced by New York-base Diamond Standard as an investable asset.NDC says it will actively promote Diamond Standard products, showcasing them in jewelry stores through a retailer affiliates' program, and providing publicity material to emphasize the role of diamonds in diversified portfolios.Diamond Standard laun...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Manufacturers in Surat are reportedly extending their summer vacations as the recession hits and consumers in the US and Europe boycott Russian goods.Slow demand is forcing many units to lay off staff, reduce working hours or insist on longer vacations to avoid overproduction.There are also concerns that the G7 and EU countries - which have not so far sanctioned Russian goods...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Five members of the same family have been found guilty of the theft of historic jewels worth $129m from The Green Vault museum, in Dresden, Germany.They made off with a total of total of 4,300 diamonds in November 2019, in what has been described as the world's biggest gem heist.They started a fire before the raid to cut the electricity supply, and used axes to smash dis...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A woman has been reunited with her diamond ring, 13 years after she accidentally flushed it down the toilet.Mary Strand, 71, was astonished to learn that workers at a wastewater plant near her home in Minnesota, USA, had found it while fixing a machine.Metropolitan Council, the authority that operates the plant, launched a "needle in a haystack" Facebook campaign to find the owner,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rolex reportedly paid a record $2.5m at auction to buy back one of its own watches.The 1958 Milgauss steel sports watch, described as being in mint condition, smashed the estimate of $556,000 to $1,110,000 when it sold at Phillips Geneva.The buyer's identity has not been confirmed, but Bloomberg says the winning bidder bought the watch on behalf of Rolex, probably for its arch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra reported sharp drops in both revenue and prices at its May tender, and said it held back parcels of over 75,000 carats because of weak demand.The UK-based miner is currently operating only two of its four mines. The Williamson deposit, in Tanzania, remains out of action after the breach of a tailings dam and loss-making Koffiefontein, in South Africa, is being closed for good...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Light of Peace, a 126.76-carat D-color, internally flawless diamond valued at up to $15m, is to be sold by Christie's New York without reserve.It started life as a 434.6-carat rough gem from Sierra Leone, which was bought by the Zale Corporation of Dallas in 1969 and cut into what was then the Zale Light of Peace and 12 smaller gems.Funds raised from showing the diamond we...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine has reported a 12 per cent drop in Q1 revenue compared with the previous quarter.It blamed a combination of the global slowdown and teething troubles with its new Meteorite Plus technology, for the high-speed automated processing of small rough diamonds. The Israel-based diamond tech company realized $11.5m in Q1 2023, compared to $13.1m in Q4 2022.The expected post-loc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has opened a new flagship store in Hong Kong, featuring a fa ade inspired by the transformation of a diamond from rough to polished.The top part is made of textured metal that shines like a natural diamond. The lower section comprises colorful glass panels casting a unique triangular water chestnut pattern.The interior of the two-story 170 square meter store echoes the Old...Read More
(IDEX Online) - G7 leaders concluded their summit in Hiroshima, Japan, yesterday without a clear mandate to sanction Russian diamonds.They pledged to "work closely together to restrict trade" in diamonds, but did not announce the sanctions some had expected.They reaffirmed their "commitment to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The sale of IGI (International Gemmological Institute) to asset manager Blackstone has been completed in a deal worth $569.65m in total.The network of 29 grading labs and 18 gemology schools, employing almost 1,000 people, primarily in India, was 80 per cent owned by China-based Fosun International Ltd. The remaining 20 per cent belonged to CEO Roland Lorie - whose father Marc...Read More
IDEX Online) - Alrosa says it has resumed mining at its Zarya kimberlite pipe for the first time in 16 months. The new 300-meter deep deposit in Yakutia, eastern Russia, cost $188m and is one of the company's biggest investment projects in recent years.Alrosa announced on its Telegram channel that the processing plant re-opened earlier this month.Zarya pipe produced 38,000 carats, in 201...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The UK announced sanctions on Russian diamonds on Thursday (18 May) ahead of the ongoing G7 summit, where news of further trade restrictions is expected. "For the sake of global peace and security, we must show that brutal violence and coercion does not reap rewards," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured). "We must redouble our efforts to defend the values of freedom, democrac...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The ultra-rare 11.16-carat pear-shaped Bulgari Laguna Blu - certified as the highest grade blue diamond ever by the GIA - was auctioned for just over $25m at Sotheby's Geneva on Tuesday.It became the most valuable gem ever to be sold by Bulgari, after a four-minute bidding war between three parties on the phone and one in the showroom.It was the highest price paid in the Magni...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager, is reportedly poised to buy IGI (International Gemological Institute) in a deal worth up to $550m.Fosun International Ltd, one of the first enterprises in China to develop overseas markets, bought an 80 per cent stake in the network of 20 grading labs and 14 gemology schools back in September 2018 for $108.8m.Roland Lo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa yesterday announced the appointment of Pavel Marynichev as its new CEO.He replaces Sergey Ivanov, who was sanctioned by the US, together with his father, after Russia invaded Ukraine last February.Ivanov, who was due to serve until 2025, is stepping down early after six years at the helm. He told Kommersant, the politics and business newspaper that he'd focus on high-te...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers Group today announced a 20 per cent drop in rough sales for cycle 4, as global uncertainty persists and China's post-lockdown recovery falters.Provisional revenue from sightholder sales and auctions was $480m, down from $604m for the same period in 2022. Sales for cycle 3 were $542m, up from $497m in cycle 2.De Beers has postponed its main and interim auctions - which...Read More
(IDEX) - UK miner Vast Resources says it is finalizing the recovery of a parcel of 129,400-carats of rough diamonds in Zimbabwe after a 12-year dispute. The company successfully sued the country's Mines and Mining Development ministry early this year and now plans to sell the diamonds through a tender. It surrendered gems from the Marange diamond fields amid claims it had exploited...Read More