RAPAPORT... Customers will soon be able to pay in Bitcoin at eight BirksGroup stores in Canada, the retailer said. The jeweler claims to be the first luxury retailer in Canadato accept the cryptocurrency. The service will be available at the end ofNovember in select locations, including its recently opened GraffDiamonds and Patek Philippe boutiques in Vancouver, the company noted Tuesday. Th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Production at the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine is likely to exceedexpectations for 2018 before increasing steadily over the next three years, accordingto part owner Mountain Province. The company is confident total output at the Canada asset willbe above its upper forecast of 6.6 million carats this year, it said Tuesday.It will then rise to a range of 6.6 million to 6.9 million carats in each o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Registration for the next International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI), to be held January 28 - 30, 2019, is proceeding at a brisk pace, according to the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) which is organizing the event. The IDE noted that buyers had registered from all over the world, and included a high percentage of new participants. Moreover, official delegations are being org...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. reported that production guidance for the for the Gahcho Ku?(C) Mine in the three-year period 2019 to 2021 provides evidence of "a sustainable and smooth mining rate as the mine performance maintains a steady state". For fiscal year 2019, 6.6 million carats - 6.9 million carats were recovered, with production costs of $110 - $120 per tonne pro...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe does not plan to change its ownership rules for diamonds, its mining minister said on Monday, hitting hopes among some investors of a more friendly approach. The country's indigenization law states that the government must hold 51% of diamond and platinum mines. Zimbabwe changed its empowerment law in March limiting the rules that mandate majority state...Read More
(IDEX Online) - CEDEX, the first certified Blockchain based diamond exchange that focuses on bridging the gap between the traditional diamond industry and the innovative financial markets, has launched the beta version of its diamond commodity exchange. The move comes seven months after raising more than $20 million in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). CEDEX says it platform connects...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co's shares dropped 12% Wednesday after diminished spending by Chinese tourists led to weaker-than-expected sales. Comparable-store sales - at branches open for at least a year - grew 3% in the third fiscal quarter ending October 31, but analysts had predicted a rise of 5.3%, according to Reuters. While total revenue climbed 5% to $1 billion, profit fell 5% to $95 m...Read More
RAPAPORT... Customers will soon be able to pay in Bitcoin at eight BirksGroup stores in Canada, the retailer said. The jeweler claims to be the first luxury retailer in Canadato accept the cryptocurrency. The service will be available at the end ofNovember in select locations, including its recently opened GraffDiamonds and Patek Philippe boutiques in Vancouver, the company noted Tuesday. Th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co.'s share price ended the day down almost 12% on Wednesday with analysts disappointed that it missed revenue and same store sales targets. Tiffany attributed the performance to lower demand from foreign tourists, particularly from China, who spent less in the U.S. and in Hong Kong. In the third quarter, worldwide net sales increased 4% to $1.0 bil...Read More
The Gahcho Kué diamond mine that Canadian miner Mountain Province owns in partnership with Anglo American’s De Beers is set to produce between 6.6-million and 6.9-million carats in the 2019 financial year – a level also forecast for 2020.The mine, located in the Northwest Territories, will process between 3.1-million and 3.2-million tonnes of ore in 2019 and 2020, at a productio...Read More
Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX, NASDAQ: MPVD) issued a statement today saying it expects the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine, its joint venture with De Beers, to produce between 6.6 and 6.9 million carats in 2019, recovered after processing 3.1 to 3.2 million tonnes of ore.This guidance for the new fiscal year estimates that production costs would be up to CAD$120 per tonne of ore processed and of CAD$50 to...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's brought in $60.4 million at its MagnificentJewels auction in Hong Kong Tuesday as a sapphire necklace went for $15million. The Peacock Necklace, which had a presale estimate of $12million to $15 million, became the most expensive Kashmir sapphire necklace percarat in auction history, Christie's said. The piece contains 21 cushion-cutKashmir sapphires weighing a total of...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's Renaissance Jewellery (RJL) has acquired Jay Gems, aUS-based supplier of Disney-themed jewelry, for $26 million. The move expands the Mumbai-based company'spresence in the US, Jay Gems said Monday. RJL will gain access to Jay's three subsidiaries:Jewelmark, a manufacturer that focuses on bridal and fine jewelry for specialtystores; Simply Diamonds, which caters to independ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering, the owner of Gucci, Boucheron and Pomellato, plans to end its seven-year partnership with luxuryplatform Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), and bring its e-commerce activitiesin-house. The Paris-based retailer, which has worked with YNAP since2013, will move all its sales to a new website in the first half of 2020, itsaid Monday. It's in the process of building that platform, it ad...Read More
RAPAPORT... E-commerce sales jumped 20% year on year to$7.9 billion on Cyber Monday, making it the largest US online shopping day of all time, accordingto projections from Adobe Analytics. The prior Saturday and Sunday also set a record for thebiggest online shopping weekend in the US, raking in a combined $6.4 billion,the research group said Monday. Thanksgiving Day online sales grew 28% to...Read More
RAPAPORT... Among the standout trends that have taken shape in the diamond trade this year is the poor performance of small and cheaper stones. But the drop in the so-called melee market has not been sudden. Supply levels in the midstream were high during the 2008 financial crisis and have remained so since. Inventory climbed significantly in 2017 as three new mines came on stream, leaving the mar...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The holiday sales season in the United States got off to a record-breaking start, according to figures for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. A record $6.22 billion was spent on Black Friday, reported Adobe Analytics, which tracks sales at 80 of the top US 100 retailers. That is 24% higher than the $5.03 billion spent during Black Friday in 2017. Adobe expe...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA held an auction of polished diamonds in Israel from November 4-13, with companies from Israel, the US, Belgium, Hong Kong, India and Russia were among the participants. The company presented colorless polished diamonds ranging in size from 5 carats, fancy colored stones over 1 carat, as well as polished diamonds of 0.3-0.99-ct category in batches completed by color....Read More
LONDON – Zimbabwe does not plan to change its ownership rules for diamonds and platinum, its mining minister said on Monday, denting hopes among some miners the country will open up ownership as it announces mineral frameworks in coming weeks.Zimbabwe in March changed its empowerment law limiting the rules that mandate majority state ownership to diamond and platinum mines, rather than to th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering, the owner of Gucci, Boucheron and Pomellato, plans to end its seven-year partnership with luxuryplatform Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP), and bring its e-commerce activitiesin-house. The Paris-based retailer, which has worked with YNAP since2013, will move all its sales to a new website in the first half of 2020, itsaid Monday. It's in the process of building that platform, it ad...Read More