(IDEX Online) - Tiffany says it bought the largest fancy vivid yellow diamond ever found in Canada - for an undisclosed sum - and has created from it two emerald-cut gems, weighing over 15 carats and 20 carats.The octahedron diamond, weighing 71.26 carats, was found at the Ekati mine, in Northwest Territories, in 2021.Tiffany bought the rough stone last summer, and showed it to VIP clients at priv...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe's biggest diamond producer is now conducting almost all its sales in Dubai, in a move it has described as a "game changer".The state-owned ZCDC (Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company) has sold 4m carats there so far this year, up from 850,000 carats in the whole of 2022."For us, Dubai has been a game changer," sales and marketing manager Enock Moyo told Bloomberg News...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Production at Canada's three diamond mines hit a record high of US $1.58bn (CAN $2.17bn) in 2022, according to the government department Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).That's a 28 per cent increase for Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Kue, all located in Northwest Territories.But it's unlikely the figure will be exceeded. Diavik, operated by Rio Tinto, is ramping dow...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A man stood motionless in a storefront window, posing as a mannequin, then stole jewelry and other items after it closed.Police in Warsaw, Poland, released this picture (above) of the 22-year-old suspect holding a handbag in a clothing store, with two genuine dummies.They arrested the man, who is accused of stealing items from the store's jewelry counter, as well as a change o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto is to hold The Beyond Rare Tender, showcasing polished pink and red diamonds from the now-closed Argyle mine in Australia, and yellow stones from Diavik, beneath a frozen lake in northern Canada.A total of 48 lots will be offered for sale in a series of invitation-only events staring next month.The first collection comprises 87 diamonds, weighing 29.96 carats in total, an...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers CEO Al Cook has written an open letter to G7 leaders urging them to adopt the World Diamond Council's (WDC) proposal to outlaw Russian diamonds.It is one of four frameworks being considered - the others are from Belgium, India and France - to enforce sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The G7 nations, responsible for 70 per cent of g...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto reported a 37 per cent drop in Q3 production at its only diamond mine, Diavik, in Canada's Northwest Territories.It said the completion of an underground pipe, and an area of the open pit at the mine, 200 miles from the Arctic Circle, were to blame for the lower output.Rio Tinto said Q3 production for the three months to 30 September was 757,000 carats, down from 970...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Prada has launched its first jewelry collection featuring lab grown diamonds.The luxury Italian fashion house says it uses gems that are grown to order in the new edition of its Eternal Gold collection, and has them "Prada-cut" in the shape of its triangular logo It also says it is now committed to using lab growns across all its fine jewelry collections by the end of the year...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The G7 nations are today due to consider four options to implement a ban on Russian diamonds.They will discuss the technicalities and legalities of preventing goods, primarily from Alrosa, entering the supply chain.Belgium, India, France and the World Diamond Council have all put forward proposals.Belgium wants mandatory third-party blockchain technology to certify the provenance o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra saw revenue almost halved at its latest tender.The UK-based miner sold a total of $40.5m at its Tender 2 (September/October), down 49 per cent on $79.3m at Tender 1 in August.Three quarters of the goods by volume - 344,554 carats - were sold in September, ahead of the Indian moratorium (15 October to 15 December) for $30.2m. The remaining 99,475 carats have now sold for...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa could sell its 41 per cent stake in the Catoca diamond mine, in Angola, according to media reports.The sanctioned Russian miner is said to be negotiating an exit from its joint venture with Endiama, Angola's state-owned miner, which also holds a 41 per cent stake, according to the Africa Intelligence website.The remaining 18 per cent is owned by Leviev International - L...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Leonardo DiCaprio has invested $2m in ID Geneve, a new and environmentally-conscious Swiss watch brand.The Hollywood actor, who starred in the 2006 movie Blood Diamond, has previously provided financial backing for Diamond Foundry, the US lab grown company.ID Geneve is Switzerland's first luxury watchmaker to be awarded B Corp Certification based on its entire social and envir...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Ukraine has removed the Indian diamond manufacturer Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK) - one the largest in the world - from its list of international sponsors of war.The Mumbai-based company was accused last month of "continuing to cooperate with the aggressor, purchasing diamonds in Russia," despite Western sanctions.SRK responded by insisting it had not bought rough diamonds f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A necklace featuring a huge 93.94-carat Paraiba tourmaline is to be auctioned by Sotheby's Geneva, with a $1.44m to $2.44m estimate.The Blue Lagoon comes from Mozambique and is described as "slightly greenish blue, richly saturated with very fine clarity".It has been set by Geneva-based Adler Joailliers in a diamond lariat necklace with 36.50 carats of marquise cuts,13.95 cara...Read More
(IDEX Online) - More than 40 per cent of the estimated 1,500 diamond factories in Botad, India, have shut down because of the slump in global demand.And another 20 per cent are expected to follow suit when the Navratri festival (15 to 24 October) ends, according to the Botad Diamond Association.Around 70,000 people in Botad and its surrounding villages work as diamond cutters and polishers.It is f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Another LVMH luxury brand is embracing lab growns, with the launch by Fred of a range high jewelry pieces featuring bright blue gems, surrounded by white, natural diamonds.In April TAG Heuer said it was producing a Carrera Plasma watch, incorporating almost 12 carats of lab growns, with a $376,000 price tag.Paris-based Fred says it took years of research to develop its Audacious Bl...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Namibia's state-owned diamond marketing company has reported a 63 per cent hike in revenue to a record $210m.Namdia sells 15 per cent of the run-of-mine production from Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdeb), a 50/50 joint venture between De Beers and the Namibian government. Revenue for 2021/22 was ?130m.The split is due to be renegotiated when the current 10-year deal expires...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Israeli authorities are expected to confirm that diamond boss Isaac (Itzik) Siton and his wife were among over 1,400 victims of the Hamas massacre on Saturday 7 October.Isaac, manager of the Grandview Klein factory, in Namibia, was on a family vacation at kibbutz of Be'eri, in southern Israel.More than 120 people were murdered there and more are feared to have been abducted an...Read More
(IDEX Online) - LVMH reported a slowdown in growth generally for Q3, and for watches and jewelry in particular.Revenue for the sector was ?,,2.52bn ($2.65bn), up three per cent on the same period in 2022. That compares to growth in Q1 of 11 per cent and in Q2 of 14 per cent. Overall growth for the first nine months of the year was nine per cent.The French luxury conglomerate reported nine per cent...Read More
(IDEX Online) - WD Lab Grown Diamonds, the second largest lab grown producer in the USA, has filed for bankruptcy.The Washington DC-based company is the first major casualty of the plunge in lab grown prices.It filed for Chapter 7 protection last Wednesday (11 October) in a Delaware bankruptcy court, with disclosed liabilities of $44m with assets of $3m.WD pioneered chemical vapor deposition (CVD)...Read More