The supervisory board of Russian diamond miner Alrosa has approved the acquisition of diamond polisher Kristall from the Russian Federation.Kristall, which processes more than 200 000 ct/y from feedstock supplied by Alrosa, is valued at 1.89-billion ruble.Advertisement"Despite the fact that Alrosa is currently a key supplier of rough diamonds to Kristall, it accounts for as little as&nbs...Read More
RAPAPORT...USpolished-diamond imports dropped 21% to $1.6 billion in July, according to thelatest data from the Commerce Department. This year's downwardtrend has continued, with polished imports falling 10% for the first seven months.The average price of shipments has also decreased during 2019. US Trade Data for July 2019Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales fell 22% year on yearto $569,059 in the second fiscal quarter amid production of smaller,lower-quality stones. The company sold 3,760 carats, including a 20.66-caratgem-quality rough, for an average price of $151 per carat during the periodending September 30, it said last week. Although the volume of sales from its Krone-Endora at Venetia proj...Read More
RAPAPORT... Blockchain technology company Everledger has closed a $20million Series A funding round, led by China-based internet giant TencentHoldings. Everledger, which supports blockchain technology for manycompanies in the diamond industry, will use the money to fund its growth. The company, whose clients include G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab, Chow Tai Fook and Hari Krishna Exports, alsoreceived in...Read More
RAPAPORT... The timing of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & GemFair was unfortunate, coming amid a wave of anti-government demonstrations inthe city. But for many participants, the political tensions were masking thebigger issue: Chinese demand has slowed, compounding the wider problemsin the diamond industry."The protests are an excuse [for not attending], but reallythe market is not good,"...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sodiam chairman Dr. Eugenio Bravo da Rosa took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the World Federation of Diamond Bourses Presidents Meeting this morning.Sodiam is the state-owned Angolan National Diamond Trading Company, which controls the purchase, sale and import and export of diamonds in Angola.The participation of the Angolan delegation underscores the country's...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The DMCC has opened the Dubai Design Academy (DDA) to increase the standard of jewelry design in the emirate. The Academy will equip students with innovative design development training and practical experience in the latest CAD designing and manufacturing technology.The DDA has formed an educational partnership with Gemvision USA to offer professional courses for various levels of...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has unearthed a blue diamond weighing 20.08 carats atits Cullinan mine in South Africa, it said Monday. The type IIb stone comes from the same mine that producedthe 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond in 1905, and follows a string of important discoveries at the site this year. In April, the company recovered a209.9-carat white diamond, while in March it found a 100.83-car...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Cullinan diamond mine continues to give up its treasures. The latest noteworthy find from the celebrated mine is a 20.08-carat gem quality Type IIb blue diamond.Petra Diamonds Limited, which operates the South African mine, said in a statement that Cullinan remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds. The miner added that it once again confirms the prevalence of exc...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales fell 22% year on yearto $569,059 in the second fiscal quarter amid production of smaller,lower-quality stones. The company sold 3,760 carats, including a 20.66-caratgem-quality rough, for an average price of $151 per carat during the periodending September 30, it said last week. Although the volume of sales from its Krone-Endora at Venetia proj...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has led a $20 million investment in technology company Everledger, which provides blockchain services to the diamond industry.Everledger will use the money from the Series A funding round to finance its growth. The company, whose clients include G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab, Chow Tai Fook and Hari Krishna Exports, alsoreceived investments from Graph...Read More
RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds, which owns the Kareevlei mine in SouthAfrica, has sold a 10.6-carat rough diamond for $103,000 at its Septembertender. The stone, fetching $9,571 per carat, is the sixth diamond the miner has sold this yearfor more than $50,000. Those goods have brought in $600,000 combined. "The recovery and sale of yet another high-value diamondcontinues to underpin the...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Indian government has lowered the rate of goods and services tax(GST) for certain diamond work in a move that will help buoy the struggling sector, the nation's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said. GST on diamond "job work" - manufacturing or otheractivities that a company outsources to a third party, such as diamond cuttingor jewelry making - will drop t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Former Diamond Trading Company group sales operations CFO Richard J. Whitby has joined ALTR Created Diamonds as CFO. Whitby spent more than a decade working for De Beers. "Lab-grown diamonds are a major innovation that is breathing new life into the diamond industry, and I look forward to applying my expertise to the future of this field at this exciting time," Whitby said in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Indian government has announced a 3.5-percent cut in the Goods and Service Tax (GST) on work related to diamonds to 1.5 percent. The move is an attempt to shore up the ailing diamond industry.According to the Business Standard, the cut is expected to release Rs 1,500 crore ($212 million) in blocked working capital into the pipeline. The government made similar cuts for the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) Presidents Meeting kicks off in Dubai today. Besides the regular business of the WFDB and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), there are special sessions on lab-grown diamonds and blockchain technology planned for the meeting.The "Lab-Grown Diamonds: A Call for Action," panel will feature Israel Diamond Exchange...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Indian government has lowered the rate of goods and services tax(GST) for certain diamond work in a move that will help buoy the struggling sector, the nation's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said. GST on diamond "job work" - manufacturing or otheractivities that a company outsources to a third party, such as diamond cuttingor jewelry making - will drop t...Read More
London-listed Petra Diamonds has recovered a 20.08 ct blue gem-quality Type IIb diamond from the Cullinan mine, in South Africa's Gauteng province."Today's recovery not only demonstrates the quality of Petra's asset base, as the Cullinan diamond mine remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, but it again confirms the prevalence of exceptional stones in the Cullinan orebo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Consumers would willingly pay a premium for a diamond that had been verified by an independent thirdparty as being responsibly sourced, according to an MVI Marketing survey. Approximately one third of consumers would shell out anextra 5% on top of the retail price for a diamond that has been verified asresponsibly mined, or sustainably lab-grown, or for which the country of origin...Read More
RAPAPORT... A Burmese ruby ring from a private European estate sold formore than 18 times its low estimate, setting a new house record at ChiswickAuctions. An undisclosed buyer purchased the 10.51-carat, natural, unheated stone for GBP 462,500($576,817). The London-based auction house had estimated it would fetch at least GBP 25,000 ($31,179). "Natural rubies above five carats are very rare,...Read More