South Africa-based explosives leader BME will be showcasing its African presence, expertise and technology at the 2019 Investing in African Mining Indaba from February 4th to 7th in Cape Town; it will also highlight its strengthened presence in West Africa, which is poised to become one of the top five gold-producing regions in the world."The mood is even more buoyant than it has been in previous...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Mothae mine in Lesotho is performing better than expected since reaching commercial production in the fourth quarter. The asset is producing 3.94 carats per 100 tonnes,compared to the initial resource guidance of 1.92 carats per 100 tonnes, theowner, Lucapa Diamond Company, said last week. Lucapa commenced the commissioning phase during the fourthquarter ending December 31, and re...Read More
RAPAPORT... The first Rapaport Diamond Podcast Short looks at theholiday season just gone, following a mixed bag of sales results from themajors.Signet Jewelers and Tiffany & Co. both reported a dropin revenues for the crucial period, yet there were some positive signs,including an improvement in e-commerce sales at Signet. Plus, strong figuresfrom the owner of Cartier and Van Cleef &...Read More
(IDEX Online) - CIBJO's new Responsible Sourcing Blue Book highlighted a well-attended seminar at the Vicenzaoro January jewelry trade show in Vicenza, Italy, on January 19, which also featured the precious coral sector as a case study for sustainability. The seminar comprised the opening session of the 21st Symposium of the Federation for European Education in Gemmology (FEEG), which...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Delgatto Diamond Finance Fund will be holding a roadshow at the Antwerp Diamond Club on January 28 on Delgatto's asset-based financing programs for the diamond and jewelry industries. With bank financing to the diamond industry declining, US-based Delgatto offers immediate loans based on companies' diamond inventory. Delgatto provides diamond firms...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The International Gemological Institute (IGI) will host its first Jewelry Design Course in Antwerp due to continued popularity with students. Being held from March 25-April 5, the course has been held in the past in Shanghai, India and Dubai, with the Antwerp course being the first European location for the program. "Developed to bring out a budding designer's innate...Read More
JOHANNESBURG – Zunaid Moti, who owns chrome businesses in South Africa and Zimbabwe, was released from detention in Germany after being held in Munich since August.Moti has returned to South Africa after an arrest warrant issued by Russia was canceled, according to an emailed statement from his company, the Moti Group.Advertisement“The full exoneration of Moti makes the fact of his det...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), organized an India Pavilion at the Vicenzaoro Winter show which ends tomorrow, with a total of 355 sq m housing 19 exhibitors showcasing jewelry and loose stones. Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC, said, "India's total exports of gems and jewelry to Europe accounted for $3.94 billion in 2018. Europe has b...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Mothae mine in Lesotho is performing better than expected since reaching commercial production in the fourth quarter. The asset is producing 3.94 carats per 100 tonnes,compared to the initial resource guidance of 1.92 carats per 100 tonnes, theowner, Lucapa Diamond Company, said last week. Lucapa commenced the commissioning phase during the fourthquarter ending December 31, and re...Read More
Quebec-based diamond miner Stornoway Diamonds has appointed Hubert Lacroix and Angelina Mehta to its board of directors.Lacroix has more than 30 years of experience in business and law and has expertise in corporate governance. He served as president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada from January 2008 to June 2018, as special counsel at Stikeman Elliott from 2005 to 2008, and as executive chairperson at...Read More
If diamond miner equities are a proxy, the sentiment surrounding the diamond industry is currently at historic low levels. Just in the last two years, a basket of diamond producer stocks was down 28.9% in 2018, following a decline of 17.3% in 2017 (see Figure 1 below). This is in part due to idiosyncratic operational challenges that most all of the miners are dealing with in one way or another, ho...Read More
Following the reopening of its offices in New York last year and the announcement of growing sales in the US, Alrosa (MCX:ALRS) decided to recruit an experienced female executive to lead operations in American territory. Rebecca Foerster, former Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at Leo Schachter Diamonds, was appointed President Alrosa USA Inc.Besides her previous position, which...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's diamond industry has urged companies to preparefor the possibility of the UK leaving the European Union (EU) without a customsdeal.Trading between the EU and the UK will be subject to customschecks if the two parties fail to finalize an agreement before the split, whichis scheduled for March 29. In that scenario, known as a "no-deal" or "hard"Brexit, organizations would...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished exports fell in December, according to datafrom the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). However, shipmentsfor the full year increased amid a higher average price, while volume dropped. Thisreflects traders' shift toward larger goods amid weakness in the small-stone sector.India Trade Data for December 2018 $ Millions unless stated otherwiseRead More
RAPAPORT... Three industry members have found homes in executivepositions at Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA), Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group and RoyalAsscher. Steven Kaiser was elected chairperson of the JSA board,replacing Stewart Wicht, the recently retired CEO of Rolex Watch USA, whocompleted his term. Kaiser will serve a three-year term alongside other boardmembers, including Alan Zimmer o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA raised total revenue of $463 million last year at the 32 international auctions it held for special size (over 10.8 carats) rough diamonds. The company traditionally holds auctions in six countries: Russia, Belgium, Israel, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The largest number of auctions in 2018 was held in Moscow, with 11, while another four...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Royal Asscher Diamond Company said that Helen Dimmick will be working closely with the Asscher family, Royal Asscher's international marketing team, future retailers and suppliers in order to develop market relevant sales, products and training for UK retail jewelers. "The intention in creating these materials is to bolster retailer confidence, attract customers and inj...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Bonas-Couzyn NV and International Mining and Dredging Holdings (Pty) Ltd (IMDH) announced that from February they will be offering IMDH's Namibian marine-mined rough diamonds for sale in Bonas-Couzyn's Antwerp offices. IMDH is involved in offshore exploration, dredging and marine mining as well as specialized vessel & tool design. Its Namibian subsidiary, Nutam Operation...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA has appointed Rebecca Foerster as President ALROSA USA Inc. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing at New York's Leo Schachter Diamonds, one of the largest diamond suppliers in the United States. Foerster will be involved in all aspects of the work of ALROSA'S USA office in New York. Principally, she wi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Three industry members have found homes in executivepositions at Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA), Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group and RoyalAsscher. Steven Kaiser was elected chairperson of the JSA board,replacing Stewart Wicht, the recently retired CEO of Rolex Watch USA, whocompleted his term. Kaiser will serve a three-year term alongside other boardmembers, including Alan Zimmer o...Read More