(IDEX Online) - Namibia's state-owned diamond dealer reported a 41 per cent slump in profits, down to $6.4m.Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) blamed the global pandemic, even though its financial year ended on 29 February. It also cited lower profit margin, foreign exchange losses, increased operating expenses and competition from lab-grown diamonds.Namdia buys diamonds from a partner...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. plans to achieve 100% traceability of diamonds and precious metals in the coming years as part of a sustainability pledge it released this week.The retailer aims to track all diamonds weighing 0.18 carats or more to the mine of origin or its suppliers' approved mines by 2025, it said Tuesday. It also plans to trace all gold, silver and platinum to the mine or rec...Read More
Polished prices firm amid shortages and improving holiday orders. Trading restrained due to continued rise in Covid-19 cases. Jewelers preparing 4Q marketing with emphasis on e-commerce strategies to drive growth. Retailers pushing dealers for memo. More manufacturers insisting on cash deals. Steady rough buying during sight week as Surat cutters try to increase production and fill polished supply...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) and National Jeweler have launched a diversity survey to help comprehend the position of Black Americans in the fine-jewelry industry.The study, which will address hiring practices, inclusion policies and how racial discrimination is handled, is an effort to understand what opportunities are available for Black Americans, and their experience in the diamond and...Read More
Las Vegas, September 24, 2020As the diamond industry begins its recovery from the initial impact of Covid-19, its once-lagging progress toward digital is being vastly accelerated. While this will not be a rapid transition for a trade that has traditionally thrived on face-to-face networking and handshakes, a growing number of companies are putting increased resources into focusing on their online...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers is cutting the price of stones under a carat at its current Sight, say sources.The company started discounting larger rough last month at its August Sight, which brought in $320m, by far the highest figure since the pandemic struck.De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer by value, is reportedly now discounting smaller stones as well - under one carat - accordin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Zimbabwe's state-owned diamond miner has hired Mark Mabhudhu as CEO in an effort to help it achieve its goal of reaching $12 billion in revenue from its mining projects by 2023.Mabhudhu will step down as executive director of the diamond division at Vast Resources to begin his new role at Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) immediately, Vast said Tuesday. Vast is currently in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has sold $46 million worth of rough at its first diamond sale since March, enabling the company to repay some of its debts amid insolvency proceedings.The miner expects to sell approximately $8 million of smaller rough in a second sale this week. If it achieves that total, the combined revenue from the two sales would exceed Dominion's reserve price of $52 millio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Total sales of jewelry and watches in the US continued their recovery with a remarkable nine per cent bounce in July. Perhaps we should no longer be surprised by extremes in the way markets behave during a global pandemic. Overall sales plunged by a record 50 per cent in April - worse than the 1929 Wall Street Crash - the first full month to suffer the impact of global lockdowns a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A new set of standards for grading polished diamonds has been drawn up and published by the ISO.The Geneva-based organization certifies the quality of a vast range of 23,000 products, services and systems across the world.It has now issued a ground-breaking 55-page document for the diamond industry specifying the terminology, classification and methods are used for grading and desc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - More than 1,000 police officers were deployed in a crackdown on diamond smuggling in China earlier this month, customs bosses have revealed.The gems were being brought in through Hong Kong to Shenzen, home to over 2,000 diamond factories, to evade a four per cent import tax.Further details of the operation, on 1 September, have now been disclosed, according to the China...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucky Kevin Kinard unearthed a diamond weighing over nine carats on a day trip to a park in Arkansas, USA. He was sifting at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, the world's only dig-your-own-diamond attraction, situated on a disused mine. The 9.07-ct stone found by Kevin, 33, is the second largest since the park opened for amateur diamond hunters in 1972. The...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers lowered prices of rough diamonds below 1 carat as the positive sales momentum that began last month continued during this week's sight, sightholders told Rapaport News.The reductions for the September sight are between 5% and 10%, and follow the miner's August price cut for rough above 1 carat.De Beers and rival Alrosa had maintained prices throughout most of the pandemic...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sixteen diamond workers have taken their lives during the Covid crisis in Surat, according to media reports in India.Many despaired after losing their jobs during lockdown. Some returned to their villages in Gujurat, only to find that agricultural work couldn't sustain their families.Last month the body of Jaysukh Gajera, president of Surat Diamond Polishers' Association,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co yesterday secured a January court date for its legal battle against the French luxury conglomerate LVMH.The expedited four-day hearing would still make it technically possible for the $16.2bn acquisition to go ahead before antitrust approvals expire.LVMH pulled out of its delayed purchase of the New York-based jeweler two weeks ago, citing pressure from the French...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds has held its first traditional sale February.Prices per carat were in line those achieved by comparable stones at the equivalent sale in 2019, the company said.Mountain Province operates the Gahcho Kue mine (pictured) in Canada's Northwest Territories, in a joint venture with De Beers Canada Inc.The sale, in Antwerp on Saturday, realiz...Read More
RAPAPORT... A US court has approved Tiffany & Co.'s request to fast-track its lawsuit against LVMH, scheduling a four-day trial starting January 5, 2021.The timeline means a ruling would come after the final deadline for LVMH's takeover of Tiffany, but before antitrust approvals for the deal begin to expire. The US jeweler had asked for the trial to take place even sooner, before the deal...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) will introduce new grading reports that are more durable and easier to read, and have additional layers of security to protect against counterfeiting.The new certificates, which the lab will debut in October, will include the IGI seal, as well as Certieye, a tamper-evident security label, the institute said Monday. The reports will also be...Read More
RAPAPORT... Miners have seen "encouraging" signs of recovery in the diamond market as they resume rough sales following an extended period of weak demand.Mountain Province garnered $8.9 million from the sale of 210,661 carats from its Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada, at an average price of $42 per carat, at its first tender since the onset of Covid-19. The average price at the sale, which did no...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered an additional two large, high-quality diamonds from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho.An "exceptional" quality, 166-carat, type II diamond was unearthed last week, the same day the company found a yellow diamond weighing 77 carats, the miner said Monday. The 166-carat stone is the 12th over 100 carats Gem Diamonds has recovered this year.Earlier this month the min...Read More