RAPAPORT... Brian Land has left his position as executive director ofthe Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) after completing an 18-month contractwith the trade group. The CJA hired Land on a temporary basis in August 2017 tomanage its merger with Jewellers Vigilance Canada, which took effect in Octoberof last year. Carla Adams, a manager at CJA, will serve as interim directoruntil the orga...Read More
RAPAPORT... Fossil Group has appointed former Pandora chiefmerchandising officer Beth Moeri as executive vice president of portfoliobrands. Moeri, who was an executive at the Danish charm jeweler for morethan six years, will be responsible for Fossil's portfolio of licensed watchand jewelry brands, including Armani Exchange, Emporio Armani, Diesel, KateSpade New York, Michael Kors and T...Read More
RAPAPORT... India increased its dominance in the cutting and polishingsector in 2017 due to relatively low costs that gave it a competitive advantageover China, according to Bain & Company. The Indian diamond-manufacturing industry grew 11% in 2017,outpacing the Chinese market, which increased 2%, Bain reported. That leftIndia with more than 90% of the market, versus China's low-single-di...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has increased its production forecasts for 2018 and the coming years, as the miner anticipates solid consumer demand. The diamond company expects output for the current year to reach 35 million to 36 million carats, the highest level since 2008, whereas it recovered 33.5 million carats in 2017, parent company Anglo American said Tuesday. Recovery levels will dip to betwee...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has raised its forecast for output for this year to 35 million to 36 million carats, the highest level in a decade since demand was battered by the global financial crisis of 2008. The figure was revised upwards from 34 million to 36 million carats. The updated figure compares with production of 33.5 million carats in 2017, according to a press statement from Anglo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A little more than a month before the start of the winter edition of the Vicenzaoro show, which takes place from January 18th to 23, the Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A. (IEG) has unveiled the new brand identity of the exhibition which is to be officially launched at the fair. FutureBrand, a brand consultancy company, was selected by IEG to rebrand the show and has done so al...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has announced changes to its management personnel, with Executive Director, Brian Land leaving the role and the Association following the completion of his scheduled 18-month contract. He will continue to be involved with the CJA as a freelance writer, while Carla Adams, currently a manager in the Association office, will discharge t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Online diamond bridal jewelry retailer JamesAllen.com has officially opened its new brick and mortar retail store in Georgetown, Washington DC. The firm said the store offers an OmniChannel experience by providing a new, complementary way for JamesAllen.com customers to explore, research, and purchase its products. JamesAllen.com was acquired last year by Signet Jewe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - In the third departure of a senior figure in less than a year, Dominion Diamond Corp Chief Executive Officer Patrick Evans left the company last week. Evans left on December 5, but will remain as an adviser to the Canadian miner until the end of next year. He is being replaced by COO Shane Durgin. Evans was named as CEO 13 months ago following the company's acqui...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Mining Charter has significant room for improvement to enable meaningful participation of women in mining, says Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA) chairperson Lindiwe Nakedi.Soweto-born Nakedi, who owns Gubhani Exploration – a surface exploration drilling company that is currently the only 100% black women owned drilling company in South Africa...Read More
Global miner Anglo American (LON:AAL) is ending 2018 on a high note, the company reported Tuesday. Anglo expects total production for the year to be 2% above of previous guidance, with costs decreasing by 5%."We are also confident about the outlook, with production expected to increase by 3% in 2019, with cost inflation fully absorbed by our productivity and cost improvements," chief executive M...Read More
RAPAPORT... Somewhere between the volatility of cryptocurrencies and thestability of diamond prices lies an opportunity for investors. That is, atleast, what several new initiatives to create diamond-backed crypto-coins arebetting on.In fact, developers of these coins, or "tokens," areconfident the asset class will offer a solution to challenges facing both thecrypto market and the diamond trade....Read More
RAPAPORT... Stones must have a stable color to qualify as padparadschasapphires, according to a ruling by the Laboratory Manual HarmonisationCommittee (LMHC), a global alliance of gemological groups.Gemstones that turn pink during a color-stability test donot meet the requirements for the term, LMHC concluded at a meeting in Lucerne,Switzerland, last month. The committee comprises representat...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co., Swarovski and Pandora are the preferredjewelry brands among more affluent immigrants in the US, according to a survey byMVI Marketing. Researchers asked 702 Asian-American, Hispanic andLatino-American consumers with an annual household income of $80,000 or more to name the threebrands whose jewelry they own. Tiffany was top, with 42% of respondents sayingthey ha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Zales Jewelers is embroiled in a dispute with a customerover whether the repair program that came with his diamond ring covered thesetting, or just the stone. Gordon Henry Lovette has sued the Signet Jewelers-owned retailer,claiming it failed to honor a lifetime-repair plan. Zales refusedto fix a loose stone in Lovette's ring earlier this year, even though he hadbrought it in for...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA sold $266.6 million of rough diamonds in November, and $4.1 billion worth in the first 11 months of 2018. ALROSA's total sales in November of rough and polished diamonds were down 18% on the year to $274 million, with polished diamond sales of $7.4 million. Meanwhile, total diamond sales in the January-November period increased by 3.7% on the year to $4.2...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 78-carat white diamond from the Mothae mine in Lesotho. The diamond (pictured above) is the largest special size stone recovered through the new 1.1Mtpa Mothae treatment plant following the commencement of commissioning and recovery of commercial diamonds and highlights Mothae's potential to regularly recover large diamonds, the miner s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Somewhere between the volatility of cryptocurrencies and thestability of diamond prices lies an opportunity for investors. That is, atleast, what several new initiatives to create diamond-backed crypto-coins arebetting on.In fact, developers of these coins, or "tokens," areconfident the asset class will offer a solution to challenges facing both thecrypto market and the diamond trade....Read More
Mining production lifted marginally, by 0.5% year-on-year, in October, primarily on the back of strong growth in platinum group metals (PGMs), diamonds and manganese ore output, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).Production of PGMs, which occupy the second-highest weighting in the minerals basket at 23.5%, increased by 21.4%, adding 4.3 percentage points to the headline number.Adverti...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa noted an improvement in demand for lower-value roughin November, even as total diamond sales dropped. Proceeds slid 18% year on year to $274 million for themonth, the miner said Monday. However, sales value and volume were higher thanin October, which "may be indicative of strengthening demand for low-cost,small-sized rough diamonds, which has been declining over the past few mo...Read More