(IDEX Online) - A lucky couple who tied the knot or popped the question during coronavirus lockdown will win a $5,000 dream honeymoon.Video of contestants' proposal or wedding ceremony will go to a public vote in the Love Locked Down Video Contest launched by Zillion Jewelry Insurance.Couples without a footage of the moment can still submit a brief video account."During this unprecedented tim...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than half of US consumers think holiday gifts this year should be meaningful, and see diamonds as the top representation of that notion, according to a survey by De Beers.Some 56% of both men and women believed a meaningful gift was a better choice than one that was practical, functional or fun. Respondents also classified diamonds as a gift that symbolized intimacy, connecte...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) closed its trading floor on Wednesday after a member who had been inside the hall tested positive for Covid-19.The bourse has already disinfected the room in preparation for it to reopen on Sunday, an IDE spokesperson told Rapaport News Thursday. The trading floor shut initially on March 15 because of the global pandemic, and restarted on May 24 w...Read More
Dear Subscribers,After careful consideration we are returning to our policy of publishing the Rapaport Price List on a weekly basis. The diamond markets are returning to activity and it is important that we have the flexibility to change our benchmark prices when and how we see fit.We will not publish a weekly TradeSheet with discount prices as this additional price sheet has caused confusion and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook expects sales in Hong Kong to remain weak after reporting a sharp slump in revenue and profit due to the coronavirus. Consumer demand was slow in the municipality in April and May as tourists stayed away, contrasting with a slight recovery in mainland China following the relaxation of lockdowns."In Hong Kong and Macau, the market will remain challenging in the forese...Read More
RAPAPORT... New York's Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) unlocked its doors on Tuesday, with social distancing in place, after the city entered phase one of its reopening plan."Based on my conversations with members, I felt it was the highest priority to be open as soon as possible, as many members rely on the trading floor as a necessity for their businesses and livelihoods," DDC president Reuven K...Read More
Market activity slow, but sentiment improving as retail reopens and US unemployment reduced to 13.3% for May. Growing interest in investment diamonds, with higher prices for D-IF, 0.50 ct. and 1 ct. (3X, none) goods. Tiffany & Co. signals robust recovery in China after 1Q revenue -45% to $556M with loss of $65M vs. profit of $125M, e-commerce sales +23%. Signet Jewelers 1Q revenue -41% to $852...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's Bank Leumi has entered the bidding to acquire Union Bank's diamond-lending business, signaling a potential return to the industry following a six-year absence.The move pits the lender against Peninsula, another Israeli credit provider, which announced last week it was in advanced talks to buy the portfolio. "We submitted an offer to purchase [Union Bank's] portfolio," a B...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook expects sales in Hong Kong to remain weak after reporting a sharp slump in revenue and profit due to the coronavirus. Consumer demand was slow in the municipality in April and May as tourists stayed away, contrasting with a slight recovery in mainland China following the relaxation of lockdowns."In Hong Kong and Macau, the market will remain challenging in the forese...Read More
RAPAPORT... The pandemic of 2020 has caused what may be the greatest economic upheaval in the history of modern society. No one is unaffected, from the catastrophic loss of life, to the tens of millions around the world who have lost the income they need to survive, to the businesses everywhere that have been wiped out or reduced to ashes. This is an international challenge that must be met w...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Face masks are being sold online to raise funds for Jewelers for Children. New York-based jewelry companies SDC Designs and SHR Jewelry Group are tapping into their manufacturing resources to help a charity that has donated nearly $57m to kids' programs since it was founded in 1999. "Everyone is going to need access to masks as our industry follows guidelines set by the CDC,"...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has shelved its 2020 congress due to the coronavirus pandemic.The event, which was originally scheduled for October 5 to 7 in Dubai, will instead take place in 2021, CIBJO said Tuesday. The organization's board made the decision at a virtual conference. It's the first time it has postponed the congress, noted CIBJO president Gaetano Cavali...Read More
RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has closed its equipment division, effective June 9, as part of a restructuring of the Belgian grading laboratory.The organization will increase its focus on its grading and education services, CEO Ellen Joncheere said in a statement Tuesday. The equipment division - which specializes in machines for detection, examination and manufacturing - will continue to sell diam...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers reportedly sold just $35m of rough diamonds at it May Sight, with demand decimated by coronavirus. The equivalent sale last year brought in $416m. The May figure for Sight 4 was disclosed to news website Bloomsberg by a well-placed source but has not been confirmed by De Beers.It did not announce the figure, as would be normal practice.The company is currently adoptin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales plunged 85% to $40.1 million in May as the miner allowed customers to defer purchases.Rough sales slumped 86% year on year to $36.2 million, while polished revenues fell 22% to $3.9 million, the Russian miner reported Wednesday.However, total sales of rough and polished were still nearly triple April's $15.6, showing the beginning of a rebound in demand."In...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's will auction a special collection of jewelry by designer Anna Hu, with the proceeds going to support healthcare workers fighting against the coronavirus pandemic.The sale of the three pieces will benefit Diamonds That Care, Alrosa's new social-responsibility initiative. Hu is in the process of creating the jewelry using brown diamonds from Alrosa's Yakutia mines, Christ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Thousands of British protestors have taken to the streets demanding the removal of a statue honoring Cecil Rhodes, founder of the De Beers diamond empire. It follows widespread Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a police officer in the USA. On Sunday crowds in Bristol pulled down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston and threw it...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry is to close more than one in 10 of its 3,200 stores after reporting Q1 total operating losses of $291m.Most of its retail outlets closed during lockdown and almost two thirds have yet to re-open.It says that to emerge as a "stronger and more efficient organization" from the pandemic it will have to close more than 380 sto...Read More
RAPAPORT... HRD Antwerp has closed its equipment division, effective June 9, as part of a restructuring of the Belgian grading laboratory.The organization will increase its focus on its grading and education services, CEO Ellen Joncheere said in a statement Tuesday. The equipment division - which specializes in machines for detection, examination and manufacturing - will continue to sell diam...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales plummeted 85% to $40.1 million in May as the miner allowed customers to defer purchases.Rough sales slumped 86% year on year to $36.2 million, while polished revenues fell 22% to $3.9 million, the Russian miner reported Wednesday.However, total sales of rough and polished were still nearly triple April's $15.6, showing the beginning of a rebound in demand."I...Read More