RAPAPORT... Luxury fashion house Gucci has made a move into high jewelrywith the inauguration of its first boutique and a collection by creativedirector Alessandro Michele. The store, which is dedicated exclusively to jewelry,opened on July 2 in Paris's historic Place Vend??me, and will display the new HortusDeliciarum collection. The line features more than 200 pieces, mainly one of akind. Each...Read More
Reuters reported that U.S. neighborhood and community shopping center retail vacancy rate fell 0.1 to 10.1 percent n the second quarter, marking the first decline since the beginning of 2016. Reuters quoted data provided by the US real estate research firm Reis Inc. Reis reported that despite store closures from bigger retailers, store openings had led to strong occupancy growth this quarter. &n...Read More
In a guest blog by Gabriela Flores on the website of the International Institute for Environment and Development, she lists what is needed to change the conversation about artisanal mining and conflict diamonds "Millions of people in some of the world's poorest countries depend on diamond mining for a living. Yet a focus on dealing with so-called 'blood diamonds' stops a wider conv...Read More
A survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of TD Ameritrade showed these findings: Marriage is a pivotal milestone for more than half of Young Americans todayThough 1 in 4 are opting out of marriage altogetherFour in 10 Millennials plan to foot the bill for their own weddingsWhile only 7 percent of parents expect that they won't contribute...Read More
RAPAPORT... Global rough-diamond output grew 2% to $14.47 billion lastyear, reflecting higher production in Botswana, according to data the KimberleyProcess (KP) released last week.The average price increased 4% to $97 per carat, outweighinga 2% decline in production volume to 148.4 million carats, the figures showed. Russia remained the world's principal source of rough, despiteits recoveries fal...Read More
@import url(https://ofc.rapaport.com:449CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(styles/editnewscuteeditor.css);RAPAPORT... India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)has expressed disappointment with the nation's latest Union Budget, adding that failure to reduce high duties on gold and diamonds will result in furtherjob losses....Read More
RAPAPORT... Luxury fashion house Gucci has made a move into high jewelrywith the inauguration of its first boutique and a collection by creativedirector Alessandro Michele. The store, which is dedicated exclusively to jewelry,opened on July 2 in Paris's historic Place Vend??me, and will display the new HortusDeliciarum collection. The line features more than 200 pieces, mainly one of akind. Each...Read More
Angola's Minister of Natural Resources and Oil announced during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal, that Angola's national diamond company Endiama will be privatized and its stock will be partially floated on the stock exchange. Minister Diamantino Azevedo told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that the Angolan government is reorganizing the activities of the Ministry and its state-owned c...Read More
Russian diamond company Alrosa earned revenue of $10.3-million in its latest auction of special size rough diamonds weighing more than 10.8 ct, in Hong Kong.It sold 112 gem-quality rough diamonds with a total weight of 1 910 ct.AdvertisementBuyers from Hong Kong, India, Israel, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Russia participated in the auction."Despite the challenging situation in the d...Read More
JSE-listed Trans Hex announced on Friday a share buyback programme to purchase the issued share capital of shareholders at R1 apiece, which will effectively delist the company from the JSE.This offer excludes the shares of Cream Magenta 140, Metcap 14 Proprietary and RAC Investment Holdings – the consortium.AdvertisementThe consortium holds 79.73% of the company’s issued share capital....Read More
Diamond market quiet as US dealers takevacation. America supporting the trade with steady retail sales and expectedboost from Independence Day weekend. Midstream under pressure with tightliquidity, slow orders and excess inventory. Weak sentiment continues aspolished prices soften. 1 ct. RAPI -1.4% in June. Manufacturers buying polishedrather than rough, as they need to focus on profitability inst...Read More
Cautious sentiment amid ongoing liquidityconcerns and sparse orders. Heavy monsoon rains affecting business, with delaysin delivery and worker arrivals. Fewer foreign buyers in Mumbai. Good demandfor top-make SIs and lower piqu?(C) goods. Manufacturers keeping production 30% to40% below last year's levels. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... High-end online retailer Net-a-Porter isset to launch an invitation-only digital platform, selling exclusive jewelry toits most loyal members. From later this month, customers whohave been awarded EIP (Extremely Important People) status by Net-a-Porter willbe able to access EIP Priv?(C), a "private and personalized online space" within the Net-a-Porterwebsite. The digital "destination"...Read More
RAPAPORT... When it comes to the size of a diamond, looks can be deceiving, admits Garry Holloway. Two stones with an identical carat weight might not look the same size due to light leaking out of the stone. "Most diamonds are cut too deeply, and therefore measure small [in millimeter terms] for their carat weight," explained Holloway, founder of Melbourne-based Holloway Diamonds. "Deep-cut...Read More
Watch and jewelry sales were finally back in the black in April, but overall, market growth in the US retail jewelry sector remained subdued, compared to the sales results of the same month in 2018. Year-over-year, total jewelry and watch sales grew 1.5 percent in April. Please note that the US government publishes sales data of jewelry two months "after the fact." Interesting enough, while total...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mary Lou Keen, trade-show manager at theAmerican Gem Trade Association (AGTA), is retiring after three decades at the organization. Keen has been responsible for developing AGTA's presenceat a range of national events - including the AGTA GemFair Tucson, the AGTASpectrum Awards and the AGTA pavilion at the JA New York Summer Show. She wasalso pivotal in debuting the AGTA GemFair Las Ve...Read More
Kathryn Parker and Flavio Cereda, equity analysts at Jefferies, wrote in a research note quoted on Insideretail.asia, that sentiment within Hong Kong has almost unanimously worsened since March due to the lingering effects of the trade war reducing high-quality tourism traffic into the territory, the rebalancing of prices after Mainland China's VAT cut, ongoing Hong Kong protests and closer m...Read More
The 19th Congress of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) will take place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok from 12th to 15th October 2019, enabling industry experts to share their latest knowledge and insights with members of the trade and industry professionals. The biennial ICA Congresses are organized in member countries across the world. Thailand will be the first country to...Read More
A group of investors from Europe and Canada at the Timantti Diamond Project near Kuusamo, Finland, in May 2019. The photo shows part of the Grey Wolf Kimberlite excavated after removing less than two meters of overburden. If it is up to the exploration company Arctic Star Exploration Corp. of Vancouver, Ca., the Timantti Diamond Project, near Kuusamo, Finland, will become a diamond mine,...Read More
RAPAPORT... High-end online retailer Net-a-Porter isset to launch an invitation-only digital platform, selling exclusive jewelry toits most loyal members. From later this month, customers whohave been awarded EIP (Extremely Important People) status by Net-a-Porter willbe able to access EIP Priv?(C), a "private and personalized online space" within the Net-a-Porterwebsite. The digital "destination"...Read More