(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported a 49 per cent fall in profits last year as the pandemic hit demand and forced the closure of its less profitable mines.But Q4 showed strong indications of a recovery, with revenue, earnings and profit all significantly up.The Russian state-owned miner saw 2020 profits tumble from $850m to $432m and output was down 22 per cent to 30m carats.It said increased sales in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid again in January amid a fourth wave of the coronavirus and a later Lunar New Year.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts fell 32% year on year to HKD 3.37 billion ($434.3 million) during the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Wednesday. Sales across all retail categories s...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, March 2, 2021, Las Vegas... The diamond industry was optimistic in February as the US and China saw solid jewelry sales. Polished trading was steady during the month, though seasonally slower than in January. Polished prices were stable despite a gradual increase in inventory levels. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds rose 0.8%. RapNet Diamond Index...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has raised its production outlook for 2021 after rough-diamond demand picked up at the start of the year.The Russian miner plans to recover 31.5 million carats this year, an increase from its previous forecast of 28 million to 30 million carats, it said Tuesday. That would result in a 5% jump in output versus the 30 million carats Alrosa produced in 2020."When we report out...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has raised its production outlook for 2021 after rough-diamond demand picked up at the start of the year.The Russian miner plans to recover 31.5 million carats this year, an increase from its previous forecast of 28 million to 30 million carats, it said Tuesday. That would result in a 5% jump in output versus the 30 million carats Alrosa produced in 2020."When we report out...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jeweler's guard dog dozes through an armed "raid" on a store in Thailand.Fortunately for owner Worawut Lomwanawong and Lucky, his docile husky (left of picture) it was only a training exercise by police in the city of Malay. In real life the perpetrator may well have been able to flee unchallenged.Mr Lomwanawong posted CCTV on Lucky's Facebook page and had well over a m...Read More
RAPAPORT... French luxury group Kering has purchased a 5% stake in pre-owned luxury e-commerce platform Vestiaire Collective, aiming to capitalize on the growing secondhand market.Kering, which owns fashion houses Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent as well as jewelry labels Boucheron and Pomellato, will also hold a seat on Vestiaire's board, it said Monday. The funding - contributed together with US-bas...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has signed a cooperation agreement with eBay, aiming to boost the sector's online sales and educate members about e-commerce.The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ES Online Services (India), part of the eBay group, calls for the global e-tail giant to create a micro-site for the Indian jewelry trade. The page, calle...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Beyonce is joining jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz to select two black students for scholarships at the GIA.They became friends through a shared love of jewelry and established The Beyonc?? (C) Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship.It will fund tuition and expenses for two successful applicants to the GIA's Graduate Gemologist distance learning program, wh...Read More
RAPAPORT... Ukrainian jewelry influencer Tatyana Pfaifer has launched an international competition for industry members, pledging to give $100,000 in prizes.The Jewellery Masterpiece Awards will honor excellence and artistry in the jewelry world on an annual basis, said Pfaifer, who runs the @Jewellery_Masterpiece Instagram and Facebook pages. She is inviting entries from jewelry artists, des...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Anya Taylor-Joy wore over $2.3m of Tiffany & Co diamonds as she won a Golden Globes award for The Queen's Gambit.The 24-year-old actress appeared at last night's virtual event with a $250,000 platinum and diamonds pendant, a pair of $1.9m platinum and diamond earrings and a $160,000 platinum and diamond ring.US-born Taylor-Joy (pictured) paired the pieces with a green...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa will auction a 242.31-carat diamond in Dubai later this month, one of the largest gem-quality rough stones the Russian miner has unearthed in the past decade, it said Friday. The opening price will be in excess of $2 million.The March 22 sale will mark Alrosa's 100th large-diamond auction. The company rarely trades Russian-mined rough diamonds of this magnitude - those that...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies moved into the black in 2020 as deep cost cuts enabled the supplier of diamond-manufacturing equipment to weather the Covid-19 crisis.The Israel-based company reported a net profit of $2.4 million for the full year, compared with a loss of $1.4 million in 2019. This came despite a 20% drop in revenue to $41 million, Sarine reported Monday."The group took aggres...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered yet another large rough stone as its African mines continue to produce high-value diamonds.The company found a 114-carat, D-color, type IIa diamond at its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, it said Friday. The stone was the third above 100 carats Lulo has produced in the past eight weeks, after the miner discovered diamonds weighing 104 and 113 cara...Read More
(IDEX Online) - February saw another mixed bag of prices movements. Larger rounds - those over three carats - fared well but smaller fancies suffered.RoundsThere was mixed activity in goods of 0.70-cts and smaller during February, with slightly more downward movement in the 0.80 to 1.00-ct sizes, and a clear upward trend in larger goods of 3.00-4.99-cts. Price rises dominated among 0.50...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province is preparing to resume operations after a Covid outbreak closed its Gahcho Kue mine for almost a month. At least 19 workers at the site (pictured), in Canada's remote Arctic tundra, tested positive for the virus.The unscheduled closure is a further blow for the miner, which reported diamond sales down almost 18 per cent to to $208.2m in its full-ye...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is to sell one of the largest diamonds it has recovered since 2000.It says the 242.31-carat gem-quality stone could fetch well over $2m.The rough stone will be offered for sale at the Russian state-owned miner's 100th auction of large diamonds, which will take place in Dubai on 22 March. Viewings are from 14 to 21 March.Two other notable diamonds- weighing 190.74-carats...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers posted a $102m loss for 2020 as the pandemic took its toll, compared with a $45m profit the previous year.It's the first time it's dipped into the red since 2008, when parent company Anglo American provided an $800m rescue package of interest-free loans. Underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for last year fell to...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America (DMIA) has elected Stuart Samuels of Premier Gem Corp. as president. He succeeded Ronnie Vanderlinden on February 9 for a two-year term.The DMIA also named five vice presidents: Saul Goldberg, Eli Haas, Hertz Hasenfeld, Matthew Schamroth and Parag Shah. Russell Kwiat will take over as secretary and Marc Knobloch as t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Singer Beyonc?(C) Knowles-Carter and designer Lorraine Schwartz will pay for two Black industry professionals to earn a graduate gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).The performer will choose the recipients of The Beyonc?(C) Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz GIA Scholarship, the organization said Friday. Each will receive full tuition and paid expenses for...Read More