(IDEX Online) - Debswana, which controls most of Botswana's diamond production, saw rough exports down 30 per cent in 2020 as a result of the global pandemic.Foreign sales were down from $3.05bn in 2019 to $2.02bn in 2020, according to the Bank of Botswana.The country is the world's second largest producer of diamonds after Russia, and relies on them for 30 per cent of its revenue nation...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gold-jewelry demand plummeted in 2020 due to the pandemic and high prices, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).The global total dropped 34% to 1,412 tonnes for the year, the lowest since the organization began collating annual data in 1995, it reported Thursday.Demand plunged in the first half and fell less heavily in the third quarter, with an economic recovery in key marke...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Surat's long-awaited bourse - a vast $355m building with 4,400 offices - is finally due to open in September. The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) says it will become the world's biggest diamond trading hub, with an estimated annual turnover in excess of $25bn. It was supposed to open in January 2020, according to its own website.Surat has long been the capital...Read More
Mixed sentiment as trading has slowed from previous weeks. Polished inventory increasing after strong Dec.-Jan. rough buying. High expectations for China retail recovery during Chinese New Year. US Jan. consumer confidence +3%, boosted by stimulus package, says Conference Board. Concerns due to rising Covid-19 infections, 6.7% unemployment, and slow vaccine rollout. US jewelry trade -2.2% in 4Q to...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports continued to recover in December as robust Chinese demand helped offset declines in other countries.Global shipments fell 2.5% year on year to CHF 1.72 billion ($1.93 billion) for the month, the mildest drop since the beginning of 2020, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Thursday.Exports to China soared 45% to CHF 306.6 million ($344.6 million). How...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has reduced its 2021 production plan for a second time, citing operational issues at mines, even as diamond demand looks strong at the start of the year.The company expects to recover 32 million to 34 million carats this year, compared with a previous outlook of 33 million to 35 million carats, parent company Anglo American said Thursday."Ongoing operational challenges" a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has revised down its production guidance for 2021 by three per cent, blaming operational issues and lower output at its Venetia mine, in South Africa, rather than a Covid-related lack of demand.Its forecast is now down by a million carats at 32m to 34m carats, rather than the original 33m to 35m carats.Parent company Anglo American says in its Production Report Q4 2020 tha...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Visitors to the USA's only active diamond mine recovered over 80 carats last year. The Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, in Arkansas, charges day trippers $10 a day to sift the soil - and lets them keep any gems they find. It says 2020 was a record-breaking year, despite an enforced closure form March to May because of coronavirus. The largest find was a 9.07-c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - British jeweler David Morris is breaking the mold by launching a high-end collection online, rather than through a virtual presentation at the Paris haute couture week.It's partnering with Farfetch, the British-Portuguese luxury fashion retail platform to give buyers their first glimpse of its Renaissance range.Among the high-value one-off pieces on offer are the Monsoon Neckl...Read More
RAPAPORT... WD Lab Grown Diamonds is overhauling its brand and expanding its production capabilities, aiming to meet rising demand for synthetics and respond to a sharpened focus on social purpose.The company will change its name to Latitude, and will work toward sustainability certification through SCS Global Services, a third-party certifier and standards developer, WD said Tuesday.This will ena...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and watches at LVMH dropped 24% in 2020 due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.Revenue from the categories fell to EUR 3.36 billion ($4.07 billion), as the luxury retailer - which owns Bulgari and Chaumet - was forced to close stores and manufacturing sites for several months in most of the countries in which it operates. The ban on international travel also hu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Angola's diamond production was reportedly down 40 per cent on its 2020 forecasts, from 10.5m carats to 7.5m carats.Endiama, the state-owned diamond company, says it laid off staff and revised down its forecasts but kept its mines open during the pandemic.It earned about $1.3bn in 2019 from the sale of 9.44m carats, according to Ag?? ?ncia Angola Press. Revenue was down $400m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced its second huge diamond recovery in two weeks from Karowe, in Botswana. The Canadian miner says the unbroken Type IIa 378-carat gem quality top white diamond (pictured) came from milling of ore.It follows the recovery of an unbroken 341-carat diamond from the same part of the mine, long associated with valuable finds, which was announced two weeks ago.It&#...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. has unearthed a white diamond weighing 378 carats at its Karowe mine in Botswana, the second over 300 carats the deposit has produced since the start of the year.The miner recovered the "magnificent," gem-quality, unbroken, type IIa stone from the site's south lobe M/PK(S) area, known for its large, high-quality rough, it said Tuesday.Earlier this month, Lucara ret...Read More
RAPAPORT... Leaders of Israel's diamond sector expressed confidence in a recovery after strong trading in the final months of last year offered hope that the worst of the coronavirus crisis was over. Israel's final 2020 result - a 31% slump in polished exports - was better than many had feared during the height of the downturn, executives noted last week. Sales in December skyrocketed as dema...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has uncovered three synthetic moissanites with forged inscriptions that fraudsters had used to misrepresent them as natural diamonds.The cases at the Johannesburg laboratory marked the first times the GIA had discovered fake girdle inscriptions on diamond simulants, it said in a recent article in its academic journal, Gems & Gemology....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany is poised to expand its offering to include more gold, precious gems and watches, after LVMH's $15.8bn buyout was finally completed earlier this month.The French luxury conglomerate also has its sights set on revamping many of its 320 US stores and expanding its operations in Europe and Asia.The new owners outlining their vision to 14,000 Tiffany employees, said the em...Read More
RAPAPORT... Several small-scale diamond miners have resumed operations after shutting down during the pandemic, offering another signal that the rough market has recovered from last year's lows.Diamcor Mining revived operations at its Krone-Endora at Venetia tailings project in South Africa, having placed the program on care and maintenance in March when Covid-19 spread.The company sold 667 carats...Read More
RAPAPORT... SB360 Capital Partners, an advisory firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, has named Leonard Polivy as its executive vice president for luxury, diamonds and jewelry.Before joining the company, Polivy worked on various large retail transactions and appraisals, and has served as a consultant to wholesale and retail clients in the jewelry sector for a global valuations firm. He will lead th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province saw rough prices rise 8% on a like-for-like basis at its first sale of the year, as demand strengthened.The miner sold 241,827 carats from its Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada - jointly owned with De Beers - for $21.8 million at this month's tender in Antwerp, averaging $90 per carat, the company reported Monday. Average prices at that event, which closed January 22, surp...Read More