(IDEX Online) - The government of Botswana is buying a 24 per cent stake in the Belgian manufacturer HB Antwerp, as its long-term deal with De Beers increasingly appears to be in jeopardy.The move heralded "the dawn of a new era for the diamond industry in Botswana," said the country's President Mokgweetsi Masisi.As part of the deal Okavango, the state-owned diamond company, is also entering...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Four gang members have been jailed for at least seven years each after they were caught red-handed in an armed raiders on a Jared jewelry store in Glendale, Arizona, USA.They zip-tied several employees and customers and stole their personal possessions, as well as merchandise from the store, with a total value of $1.5m.Police arrested the four men after a woman dialled 911 during t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has become embroiled in a second jewelry scandal.He's been forced to hand over precious gems he received during his three years in office.Earlier this month authorities launched an investigation into claims he failed to declare diamond jewelry valued at $3.2m that was seized at at Sao Paulo international airport in 2021.The it...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemfields, the London-based colored gems miner, reported record earnings for 2022, thanks to a post-Covid spike in demand for emeralds and rubies.High demand drove up prices, especially in first half of the year, which resulted in a 32 per cent increase in revenue, to a record high of $341m.But the miner, which owns 75 per cent of the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique and the Kagem...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Bruce Cleaver, co-chairman of the De Beers Group, today said he was confident of reaching a deal with the government of Botswana that was fair to both sides. He said he couldn't reveal details of ongoing negotiations, but what he could say was that they were "offering a win-win deal which is something we can live with, and they can live with". Cleaver (pictured), who stepped d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Luxury watchmaker Jacob & Co is paying tribute to the ultra-expensive Bugatti car company, with a $1m tricolor timepiece.The Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Molsheim Edition takes its name from the $2.9m supercar, the super-accurate tourbillon watch mechanism and Molsheim, the French town where Bugatti was founded in 1909.The one-off 18K gold timepiece features three stripes of bague...Read More
(IDEX Online) - HB Antwerp has announced a partnership with Botswana to foster a new generation of diamond talent.It has signed a a five-year memorandum of understanding with the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST).They will jointly organize traineeships for Botswanan youth, offer scholarships for promising local talent, drive innovative projects backed by digital s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Industry bodies representing both the watch and jewelry sector and fashion are joining forces to tackle social and environmental challenges.The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI 2030) say their alliance will be initiated at the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2023 (pictured), on 27-28 June.WJI 2030, founded in Geneva in October...Read More
(IDEX Online) - One of the world's largest sapphires, an exceptional-quality blue 118.35-carat gem, is to be sold by Phillips Hong Kong, with estimates of $3.2m to $4.5m.It is one of the largest sapphires offered at international auctions in the past three decades, and has been awarded 98 out of a maximum 100 Gubelin points for its "highly impressive size and weight, combined with an attracti...Read More
(IDEX Online) - HRD Antwerp says it has launched a legal action in the Belgian courts against its former partners in Turkey, alleging they damaged its business reputation.It jointly launched the HRD Istanbul branch with Enstitu Istanbul Bilim Akademisi Yonetim Dan manl g A.S. in 2014 until it terminated the arrangement in October 2021.Ellen Joncheere, CEO of HRD Antwerp, (pictured) said at the ti...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brilliant Earth, the US-based "ethical jeweler", reported a slight drop in sales for Q4 2022, down 1.9 per cent to $119.6m.The total number of orders placed by consumers fell by 13.7 per cent, but the average value of those orders rose, also by 13.7 per cent, the company said in its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Results.Gross profit for the quarter was $65.4m (a 54.7 per cent...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds delivered a "solid" set of results in 2022, despite increased costs as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The UK-based miner saw revenue fall by just over six per cent to $188.9m and underlying earnings (EBITDA) down 24 per cent to $43.7m. Profits fell 46 per cent to $20.2m.Gem's Letseng mine in Lesotho, the highest average dollar per carat kimberlite d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana need more diamond experts, said the country's Minister of Minerals and Energy during visit to a new factory in the capital Gaborone opened by Dubai-based StarGems."There must be increased numbers of experts in this particular industry," said Lefoko Moagi, as reported by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.StarGems aims to recruit 500 people to work at the $20m Diamon...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, reported a 5.2 per cent drop in sales for Q4 2022 (three months to 28 January) down $145.1m to $2.7bn.It blamed the devastating storm Elliott during the peak Christmas selling period in the US before, as well as labor strikes, the impact of the weakened British pound, the volatility created by the war in Ukraine, inflati...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Julia Roberts is the new global ambassador for the Chopard, the Swiss jewelry brand.The 55-year-old actress, best known for the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, will represent all the maison's watch, high jewelry and luxury jewelry collections for women.She features in a series of black-and-white portraits of and Chopard Loves Cinema video vignettes, the first of which was r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Burgundy today said it was ditching plans to buy Australia's mothballed Ellendale deposit, a move that would have revived the country's dormant diamond mining industry.The move follows its announcement last week that it was going ahead with $136m deal to buy the Ekati mine, in Canada. Both Ellendale (pictured) and Ekati are sources of high-value yellow diamonds.Burg...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Interpol has lifted the red notice imposed in 2018 preventing fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi from traveling freely.The 195-nation group that facilitates cooperation between police forces says there's a risk he won't receive a fair trial if he is returned to India.Choksi, 63, together with his nephew Nirav Modi, 53, is wanted by authorities in his native India over the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamonds Do Good (DDG), the non-profit that highlights the industry's positive impact, is to honor De Beers Group, Rosy Blue, Val rie Messika, and Lorraine West.They will receive awards at its annual gala, on the eve of JCK Las Vegas in June.The Good Award, DDG's highest accolade, goes to De Beers in recognition of its "commitment to create lasting positive impact f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A ruby and diamond bracelet made by Van Cleef and Arpels for screen icon Marlene Dietrich is to sold by Christie's New York with an estimate of $2.5m to $4.5m.She bought the high glamor piece in 1937 and wore it in Alfred Hitchcock's 1950 movie Stage Fright and to the Academy Awards ceremony a year later.It will be auctioned as part of collection owned by philanthropist a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brave jewelers Malcolm Abelson, 78, and his wife Elise, 73, saw off a raider armed with a hammer who tried to steal merchandise from their store in Manchester, England.The couple were unhurt after grappling the man, who fled empty-handed.He claimed he was interested in a necklace and three diamond bracelets for his girlfriend but snatched them from Ms Abelson and tried to run off.&...Read More