RAPAPORT... The Indian trade fell by most key measures in November,according to data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council(GJEPC). Polished exports slid to their lowest level since December 2016, when demand dropped in the aftermath ofIndia's banknote demonetization, while rough shipments alsodropped significantly. The year-on-year slumps come amid weaker demand forsmaller goo...Read More
RAPAPORT... This was the year in which synthetic diamonds wentmainstream. De Beers launched its Lightbox brand, the US Federal TradeCommission (FTC) relaxed its rules for describing lab-grown diamonds, andthe likes of Macy's and JCPenney started stocking synthetics for theholiday. Two of those three stories feature in the top 10 most-read articles onDiamonds.net this year.Martin Rapaport's takes o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russian diamond miner ALROSA reported that global jewelry sales rose 4% overall in the third quarter of 2018. North America, the largest diamond jewelry market, showed a 4% sales increase in Q3 compared to the same period last year. "According to key retailers, stable growth was driven by increased demand from the local population," the firm said. "In the Asia Pacific...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers sold rough diamonds with a provisional value of $540 million in the 10th sales cycle (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) of 2018. The miner's two previous sales had both been below $500 million. The miner reported confirmed sales of $442 million in the ninth cycle, compared with an initial provisional figure of $440 million. Bruce Cleaver...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 5.7 percent in the U.S. market in October, when compared to the same month a year ago, as the graph below illustrates. The rise is the second-lowest seen so far this year, but is nonetheless a solid increase. Overall sales in October, the last month for which figures are available, were an estimated $5.8 billion, accordi...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers sold $540-million worth of diamonds in the tenth sales cycle of this year, bringing its total sales for the year to about $5.39-billion.The most recent sight yielded the strongest results for a final sales event in at least three years and compares with $455-million worth of diamonds sold in cycle ten of 2017 and $422-million sold in the same period of 2016.AdvertisementThe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished trade dropped in November, according todata from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. Exports fell 11% amid a loweraverage price, with volumes down 1%. Rough shipments also declined. However,polished trading is up for the year to date, with rough mostly flat. Millions unless stated otherwiseRead More
De Beers Group is pleased to announce it has officially launched its education partnership with the National Gemstone Testing Centre (NGTC), China's leading authority in the testing and inspection of gems and jewellery, extending the accessibility of De Beers Group's diamond education courses to students in China.The partnership, which was officially launched at the Beijing Jewellery Show in China...Read More
Image: Petra Diamonds.This year will likely go down in history as the one when lab-grown diamonds, made for decades as an inexpensive alternative to mined stones for industrial purposes, finally cracked the consumer market, largely thanks to millennials' evolving shopping tastes.The entry of new actors in the synthetic sector, particularly giant producer De Beers and its Lightbox brand, has creat...Read More
RAPAPORT... A pink diamond recently submitted to the Central GemLaboratory (CGL) in Tokyo was found to be a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)synthetic stone, treated only with Low Pressure-High Temperature (LPHT). The marquise brilliant-cut, 0.192-carat diamond is an unusualfind, as stones of this nature are generally treated with a multistep process thatfirst uses High Pressure-High Temperature (HP...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with online giant Tencent that will enable its customers to completetransactions using WeChat Pay, the Hong Kong-based jeweler said Monday. Beginning next year, Chow Tai Fook will allow customers to payfor purchases via the app's electronic-payment platform in designated stores inmainland China. It will gradually rollout...Read More
(IDEX Online) -Vicenza's Museo del Gioiello, the first such museum in Italy, and one of only a few in the world exclusively dedicated to jewelry, has opened a new collection which will be on display until the end of 2020. The museum is managed by the Italian Exhibition Group SpA (IEG) in partnership with Vicenza Municipality. The opening event was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Vicenza, Ma...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe's Mining Minister Winston Chitando said De Beers and Vast Resources will be allowed to explore for diamonds, making them the first listed companies to mine in the country for several years. However, a spokesperson for De Beers told Reuters that it was not mining in Zimbabwe and did not intend to, while Vast Resources said it could not comment. Earlier th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Angolan mining company Sociedade Mineira da Catoca is to invest $330 million over the next three years in large sample collection works in the area of the future Luaxe mine, according to the company's Director General Benedito Paulo. The work is due to begin in the first half of next year, with the collection of data on the quality of diamonds and their price levels, upon wh...Read More
RAPAPORT... A pink diamond recently submitted to the Central GemLaboratory (CGL) in Tokyo was found to be a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)synthetic stone, treated only with Low Pressure-High Temperature (LPHT). The marquise brilliant-cut, 0.192-carat diamond is an unusualfind, as stones of this nature are generally treated with a multistep process thatfirst uses High Pressure-High Temperature (HP...Read More
Consultancy firm Americas Market Intelligence or AMI issued this week a lengthy report on the risks of mining in Latin America. One of the chapters focuses on security hazards and reveals that such perils are not necessarily provoked by illegal groups.According to AMI, sometimes local community members that opposed mining operations can cause security risks by deploying roadblocks and aggressive o...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Hex Group's sale of its Lower Orange River (LOR)project has brought the South African diamond miner back to profitability,after losses from the operation reached ZAR 197 million ($13.7 million) a yearago. Company profit came to ZAR 52 million ($3.6 million) for thefirst fiscal half ending September 30 versus a loss of ZAR 199.2 million ($13.8million) during the same period last y...Read More
RAPAPORT... US e-commerce sales grew 19% in the first five weeks of theholiday season, making it the biggest online-shopping period of all time,according to Adobe Analytics. Revenues came to $80.3 billion between November 1 andDecember 6, compared with $67.7 billion a year ago, thedata provider told Rapaport News Thursday. Sales by smartphone grew 55% to $23.7 billion. Shopping onmobile devices a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds' stock price rose more than 11% Friday afterthe company announced it had unearthed a 46-carat white diamond at itsLiqhobong mine in Lesotho. The stone - which the miner recovered undamaged - willgo on sale at the company's next tender at the end of January, it said Friday. The company also noted an increase in prices for itssmaller, lower-value stones at its Decembe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines has unearthed the largest knowngem-quality diamond found in North America, it said last week. The company recovered the 552.74-carat yellow diamond in Octoberat its Diavik mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. It beats theprevious record the 187.7-carat Diavik Foxfire set at the same mine in 2015. The stone, which is about the size of a chicken's egg, was passi...Read More