(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto's Australian Diamonds program has launched its latest campaign in India highlighting a new range of affordable bridal and fashion jewelry from the company's Argyle diamond mine in Australia. Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women's cricket team, is the official ambassador for the new campaign, helping promote the popularity of diamonds in fashion and bridal...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items climbed in greater Chinain May, driven by improved consumer sentiment and a higher rate of tourism toHong Kong, according to government sources. In China, retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry increased6% year on year to $3.05 billion (CNY 20.3 billion) for May, the NationalBureau of Statistics of China reported recently. Sales for the January...Read More
RAPAPORT... A mob of 300 to 500 people overran Gemfields Group'semerald-exploration operations in Ethiopia on Friday, forcing staff members toflee. Employees, contractors and service providers at Web GemstoneMining (WGM) were safely evacuated to a town a two-hour drive away, the companyreported Monday. Two WGM team members suffered minor injuries, with the gemstoneproducer expecting both of them t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has completed the final phase of its credit-outsourcingprogram for its non-prime receivables, for which it received $445.5 million, itsaid Monday. CarVal Investors, a global alternative-asset manager, agreedin March to acquire approximately 70% of the retailer's existing creditaccounts. Signet secured a contract with Castlelake, another investment firm,for the remaining...Read More
RAPAPORT... Angola plans to allow miners to sell up to 60% of roughdiamonds to companies of their choice, including to their own tradingdivisions, Reuters reported last week. The changes are part of the country's reforms to its diamondsector under President Jo??o Louren??o, who came to power inSeptember. Producers must currently sell through state-owned tradingcompany Sodiam. As a result, Catoca,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) has releasedits first educational video on yellow diamonds, claiming they are the biggestgrowth opportunity for colored diamonds in the "affordable" jewelry market. In the video, the group's educational director, Thomas Gelb,covers topics including what causes color in diamonds, the ranges of coloravailable, and where the stones occur in th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered an 89-carat yellow diamond from the Mothae diamond project in Lesotho. The diamond was recovered from current bulk sampling program at Mothae as construction of the new 150 tonne per hour commercial diamond plant continues on schedule for H2 2018 commissioning, the miner said. The bulk sampling program is designed to expand and improv...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa sold $10.4 million worth of rough at a large-stone auction in Hong Kong, the miner said last week. The 100 diamonds - each over 10.8 carats - weighed acombined 1,550 carats, and garnered an average price of $6,710 per carat. Stonessold for more than one and a half times their original asking price, thecompany noted. A total of 28 companies from Hong Kong, Belgium, Israel,India,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Rapaport editorial team analyzes De Beers' synthetics launch, Martin Rapaport's criticism of the miner's disclosure rules, and other surprises from the Las Vegas shows.Rapaport's reporters, fresh from their visit to the shows,reflect on the mood of the key JCK Las Vegas fair and the other events thatgraced the Nevada city last month. Sonia Esther Soltani, Rapaport's Editor inChief,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered an 89-carat yellow roughdiamond from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, it said Friday. The miner found the stone during bulk sampling in theasset's southeast zone. The diamond is not part of the miner's original forecastfor the Mothae resource, it said. "Having recently recovered a 25-carat yellow diamond fromthe previously untested neck zone in our bulk...Read More
RAPAPORT... Angola plans to allow miners to sell up to 60% of roughdiamonds to companies of their choice, including to their own tradingdivisions, Reuters reported last week. The changes are part of the country's reforms to its diamondsector under President Jo??o Louren??o, who came to power inSeptember. Producers must currently sell through state-owned tradingcompany Sodiam. As a result, Catoca,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Stornoway Diamond Corporation reports that operations at the Renard Diamond Mine have been temporarily suspended due to a local forest fire. As at 06.30 EST on Monday, the fire was located 12.6 kilometres south of the Renard Mine, but just 3.6 kilometres south of the Clarence and Abel Swallow Airport and within 0.1 kilometre of the mine's access road. It covers an area of 18 kilom...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA announced that Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) is participating in the Institute's M2M program. As part of a pilot initiative, a selection of ODC rough diamonds that have been evaluated by GIA for its M2M program will be offered at the ODC July 2018 Spot Auction. "The M2M platform allows ODC, and our customers, to finally share with the consumer the story of the proud herita...Read More
Quebec diamond mine owner and operator Stornoway Diamond Corporation said on Monday that mining operations at the Renard diamond mine have been temporarily suspended, owing to a forest fire.On Monday morning, the fire was located 12.6 km south of the mine, but just 3.6 km south of the Clarance and Abel Swallow Airport, and within 100 m of the mine’s access road.AdvertisementThe fire covers a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Strong rough demand and the sale of a 95-carat diamond drovean increase in revenue at Mountain Province's June tender, the miner said. The company sold 356,000 carats of rough from its Gahcho Ku?(C)mine for $30.3 million, at an average of $85 per carat, it reported last week.The purchase price for the 95-carat stone was more than double the miner'sprevious record for a single stone, th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucara Diamond Corp. will focus on the high-value section ofits Karowe mine that produced the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, after a surveyindicated the area contained more large stones than previously predicted. A sample of 13,562 carats from the south lobe's EM/PK(S)unit yielded 47 diamonds weighing more than 10.8 carats, including one over 100carats and six greater than 50 carats, Luc...Read More
RAPAPORT... The 2018 World Diamond Congress will take place in Mumbai inlate October, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) said last week. The meeting of the WFDB and the International DiamondManufacturers Association (IDMA) - at which the organizations discussindustry issues every two years - was originally scheduled for June inTel Aviv. The groups canceled the meeting due to low regist...Read More
RAPAPORT... Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) has signed on to use theGemological Institute of America (GIA)'s M2M tracking program for some of itsrough stones. ODC's July spot auction will be its first to featurediamonds that have been evaluated by the GIA, the diamond-grading organizationsaid Friday. Okavango, a Botswana government-owned rough supplier, is entitled to 15% of production coming...Read More
(IDEX Online News) - The IDEX polished diamond price index was stable in June, rising very slightly during the month. The Index began the month at 124.90 and ended at 125.49. Outlook Diamond trading was robust during June, as seen by the ongoing robust demand for goods reported by De Beers and ALROSA. De Beers sold a provisional $575 million of rough at its fifth sight of this year, making...Read More
(IDEX Online News) - Round diamonds saw a small number of changes in smaller stones of half a carat and less in June. There were decreases of 1-3% in diamonds of 0.90-0.99 carats, I-J, IF-VVS1, and also in 4.00-4.99 carats, D-F, VS2, while 5.00-5.99 carat stones, F-H, VS2, saw declines of 1-3%. Increases were noticeable in diamonds of 3.00-3.99 carats, G-I, VVS2-VS1, of 3%. Fancy diamonds also saw...Read More