(IDEX Online) - The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has announced plans to hold its second African Diamond Conference (ADC). The conference will take place in Durban, South Africa on May 5-6.The last ADC took place in Brussels in 2017.The AWDC website describes the event as a high-level gathering for African mining ministers, the diplomatic corps, global diamond industry, civil society and aca...Read More
CAPE TOWN – Angolan State-owned diamond mining company Endiama plans to sell as much as 30% of its shares in an initial public offering in 2022.The sale is part of a government plan to increase transparency in the diamond sector and bolster production, chairperson Jose Manuel Ganga Junior said in an interview in Cape Town. Angola is the world’s seventh-biggest diamond producer.Advertis...Read More
RAPAPORT... Danish jeweler Pandora expects revenue to fall 3% to 6% in 2020 following a drop in consumer sentiment in China."The performance in the Chinese market is not satisfactory, and continued to deteriorate in [the fourth quarter]," the company noted. "Traffic into physical stores declined by double-digit rates, only partly offset by increased traffic online."The forecast does not take...Read More
Dominion Diamond Mines ULC has appointed Patrick Merrin as its interim CEO. Merrin, COO - Mining of The Washing Companies, takes over from Shane Durgin who has left Dominion. "Having Patrick step in as interim CEO, in addition to his recently announced role as COO - Mining for The Washington Companies, will provide for a seamless transition in leadership and continued strong oversight m...Read More
(IDEX Online) Alrosa has moved its March auctions for rough and polished diamonds from Hong Kong to other trading centers. The decision comes amid the ongoing spread of the coronavirus in the region.An auction for special size rough diamonds will take place in Moscow from March 2-18. The Israeli trading center of Ramat Gan will host a polished diamond auction although the dates have yet to be fina...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. is the jewelry brand women are most likely to buy for themselves, MVI Marketing found in a survey.Some 35% of female consumers would spend their money on products from the luxury-jewelry brand, while 22% would buy Pandora, 18% would pick Swarovski and 17% would go for Gucci. Other brands mentioned in the survey included Cartier, Rolex, Alex and Ani, and Tory Burch.Nea...Read More
(IDEX Online) - For Valentine's Day, Domino's Australia is giving one lucky pizza lover the chance to win a one-of-a-kind diamond "en-crust-ed" engagement ring valued at over AU$9,000 ($6,000). The ring in question features an 18-karat yellow and white gold base topped with diamond "cheese' and 'pepperoni' rubies. The ring has over 1 carat of diamonds. For a chan...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue from watches and jewelry at Swatch Group fell 3% to CHF 7.97 billion ($8.19 billion) last year, reflecting weakness in Hong Kong and the negative impact of the strong Swiss franc.The consortium, which owns watch brands Omega and Tissot and luxury jeweler Harry Winston, saw a sales slowdown in Hong Kong during the second half of 2019 amid social unrest in the municipality,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will offer $2 million in scholarship funds to aspiring students in 2020, it said Tuesday.Students interested in gemology and jewelry-manufacturing arts programs, distance-education courses and lab classes can apply for funding. The scholarships cover classes at the GIA's campuses in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York a...Read More
MOSCOW - Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest diamond mining company, will hold its March auctions in Moscow and Israel after Hong Kong postponed two jewellery shows because of the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Wednesday.Demand for diamonds in China, the world's second-largest market after the United States, had already weakened last year because of trade tensions and democ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue and profit at Titan Company rose in the third fiscal quarter, driven by strong sales during the Diwali festival and wedding season in India.Consolidated sales - including subsidiaries - increased 10% year on year to INR 65.5 billion ($919.9 million) in the three months ending December 31, while profit climbed 15% to INR 4.74 billion ($66.6 million), the Indian jeweler said...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue from watches and jewelry at Swatch Group fell 3% to CHF 7.97 billion ($8.19 billion) last year, reflecting weakness in Hong Kong and the negative impact of the strong Swiss franc.The consortium, which owns watch brands Omega and Tissot and luxury jeweler Harry Winston, saw a sales slowdown in Hong Kong during the second half of 2019 amid social unrest in the municipality,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds Limited has announced the discovery of an exceptional 183-carat white Type IIa diamond from the Let?... ?eng mine in Lesotho on February 3.The miner also announced that it also recovered two different high quality diamonds, one of 89 carats and the other of 70 carats, from the mine. The Let?... ?eng mine is the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in t...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, February 4, 2020, Las Vegas... Diamond market sentiment was positive for most of January but weakened as the outbreak of the coronavirus in China resulted in a shutdown of retail stores over the important Chinese New Year period. Prices were supported by shortages, particularly of 0.30- to 0.49-carat, D-F, IF-VVS2 goods, with inventory of fine-cut RapSpec A3+ diamonds...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a white diamond weighing 183 carats at its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, the first stone over 100 carats the miner has found this year.The company unearthed the type IIa, "exceptional" stone on Monday. On the same day, it also discovered two other large, high-quality diamonds from the deposit, weighing 89 and 70 carats, it said Tuesday.The 183-carat diamond showe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Edward Asscher, president of Royal Asscher Diamond Company, will take over as president of the World Diamond Council (WDC) in June for a two-year term.Asscher, currently vice president of the WDC, will succeed Stephane Fischler, who will exit during the WDC's annual general meeting in the first week of June, ahead of the Kimberley Process (KP) intersessional in Moscow. Asscher previous...Read More
RAPAPORT... Organizers of two upcoming jewelry trade shows in Hong Kong have postponed the events as the coronavirus continues to spread beyond mainland China.The Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, which was due to take place from March 2 to 6, and the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, scheduled for March 4 to 8, will now run from May 18 to 21. They will happen concu...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gucci has become the latest major brand to skip this year's Baselworld show, citing the new timing of the event as its reason for staying away, according to the fair's organizers.The dates of the 2020 exhibition - April 30 to May 5 - were "too late" for Gucci, a spokesperson for the show's management said Tuesday in an email to Rapaport News. "We very much regret that Gucci will n...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid in 2019 to their lowest level in 10 years, as social challenges continued to hinder tourism and weaken consumer sentiment. Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts fell 22% to HKD 66.2 billion ($8.52 billion) for the year, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Tuesday. That represents...Read More
(IDEX Online) - There should be lots of happy jewelry recipients this Valentine's Day. That's because U.S. consumers say they plan to spend $5.8 billion on jewelry this year. That's according to research from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.Department stores are the most popular Valentine's Day shopping destination, visited by 36 percent. Clo...Read More