(IDEX Online) - A 28.86-carat type IIa D-color diamond has sold for $2.1m, a world record high price for an online-only auction.Christie's say the near-flawless, VVS1-clarity emerald-cut stone (pictured) just exceeded a high estimate of $2m, attracting 31 bids during the two-week sale, which ended yesterday.The diamond's estimate in the Jewels Online sale was $1m to $2m."The sale of this...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's biggest show for the jewelry trade has been postponed from August to January 2021 because of COVID-19.The India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Premiere typically attracts 40,000 visitors and over 1,300 exhibitors.Organizers GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council) are hoping lockdowns and travel restrictions will be over by then.The show, which had been...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Polished diamond prices showed very little movement in June, significantly less than May. There was a scattering of modest increases and decreases among sporadic colors and clarities, but not enough to draw firm conclusions about where the market is heading. Rounds showed marginally more activity than fancies and overall movement was up rather than down, but only jus...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong plunged in May, even as the market showed signs of recovery amid an easing of the city's coronavirus crisis.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slid 70% year on year to HKD 2.02 billion ($261 million) for the month, as the halt to tourism continued, and many locals were unemployed or in difficult financial...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has resumed operations at its International underground mine following a brief suspension after several employees tested positive for Covid-19.Management at the Russian miner's Mirny mining and processing division, which oversees the site, decided to reopen International after the majority of workers tested negative for the virus, Alrosa said Tuesday. A total of 12 employees tes...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has signed an agreement with China's Guangzhou Diamond Exchange (GZDE) that will create new trading opportunities for both parties."This agreement will further advance the strong and long-standing cultural and commercial ties that exist between the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and China," said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of the DMCC and chairman of th...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is reopening its New York grading laboratory following a three-month closure amid the coronavirus pandemic."As the metropolitan area has been cleared to enter phase 2, the institute is safely restarting business operations," IGI North America president Avi Levy said Monday. Initially, the institute will implement a gradual rollout, limiting...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's diamond industry is being urged to accept upon itself a third voluntary ban on rough imports.An appeal has been issued to halt all purchases between 10 and 31 July. It follows similar appeals on 23 April and 19 May.An estimated $7bn of rough and polished diamonds have been stuck in India, the world's cutting and polishing capital, since the country first wen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Swarovski is to axe 600 jobs in response to a "massive" decline in sales.The family-owned Austrian business empire, known for its crystal jewelry and swan logo, will shed almost one in 50 of its 34,500 workforce as it embarks on a restructuring plan.Two hundred jobs will go at its headquarters in Austria's Tyrol region."The international luxury market has been hit hard by the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds is seeking a buyer as debts mounts and revenue slumps.The UK-listed company operates the world-famous Cullinan mine in South Africa, source of the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever - the 3,106.75-carat Cullinan Diamond that became part of the British Crown Jewels. In addition, it operates the Finsch and Koffiefontein mines, also in South Africa, and the Wil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A visitor to one of the world's only dig-your-own-diamond attractions has walked away with a 2.23-carat stone.Beatrice Watkins, 56, was sifting soil at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas, USA, a former commercial mine turned visitor attraction that now admits amateur miners for $10-a-day.She unearthed the biggest diamond this year and is allowed to keep it under rules...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has resumed operations at its International underground mine following a brief suspension after several employees tested positive for Covid-19.Management at the Russian miner's Mirny mining and processing division, which oversees the site, decided to reopen International after the majority of workers tested negative for the virus, Alrosa said Tuesday. A total of 12 employees tes...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) is reopening its New York grading laboratory following a three-month closure amid the coronavirus pandemic."As the metropolitan area has been cleared to enter phase 2, the institute is safely restarting business operations," IGI North America president Avi Levy said Monday. Initially, the institute will implement a gradual rollout, limiting...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers and Alrosa continued to see rock-bottom sales in June as buyers rejected the miners' high rough prices in favor of cheaper goods from smaller suppliers."[The major miners] want to hold on to prices, so people don't see any [incentive] to buy because it's difficult to sell and make money," a sightholder told Rapaport News. "[Manufacturers and dealers] are already sitting o...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's revenue and profit fell in fiscal 2020 as the coronavirus and social unrest in Hong Kong hampered sales.Overall revenue for the Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer dropped 29% to HKD 11.23 billion ($1.45 billion) for the year ending March 31, it reported last week. Net profit plunged 42% to HKD 867.7 million ($112 million).The company's retail revenue in mainland China slid 28%...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandemic or not, Chow Tai Fook has no intention of slowing its expansion into China, with plans to open approximately 450 stores on the mainland during the current fiscal year, managing director Kent Wong told Rapaport News. A vast majority of those new locations will be in tier-4 and tier-5 cities, which have population sizes of around 200,000 to 300,000, and are growing at a fas...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandemic or not, Chow Tai Fook has no intention of slowing its expansion into China, with plans to open approximately 450 stores on the mainland during the current fiscal year, managing director Kent Wong told Rapaport News. A vast majority of those new locations will be in tier-4 and tier-5 cities, which have population sizes of around 200,000 to 300,000, and are growing at a fas...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies has expanded its collaboration with Lucara Diamond Corp. to include provenance traceability for all diamonds listed on the miner's rough-sales platform.Clara, which enables customers to obtain individual rough diamonds with the exact specifications they require, will now provide information on the source mine for each stone, as well as scanned 3D model data through...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (ISDMA) has elected Nissim Zuaretz, founder of D.N. Diamonds, as its president.He will serve a three-year term, succeeding Kobi Korn, who had held the position since 2014, Zuaretz told Rapaport News Sunday. The new president will appoint additional officers in the coming week, he added.The ISDMA represents roughly 200 manufacturers in I...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds plans to sell the company as it struggles with mounting debt.The company owns the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa. It also operates the Williamson deposit in Tanzania, which is currently on care and maintenance until rough prices in the diamond market improve.The miner will offer the business as a whole, and will also consider offers for parts of...Read More