RAPAPORT... Fancy blue diamonds outperformed other major colorcategories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color ResearchFoundation (FCRF) said.Prices for fancy blues jumped 5% year on year for the threemonths ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterlyFancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) on Monday.By contrast, prices of fancy pink diamonds declined 1.7%,...Read More
(Bloomberg) - Alrosa PJSC, the world's largest diamond miner by output, is increasing its marketing efforts and targeting new opportunities in gem cutting at a time when the market is showing signs of starting to stabilize.The Russian firm, which typically hasn't promoted stones outside Russia, last year contributed $25 million to the Diamond Producers Association for marketing and may increase s...Read More
RAPAPORT... The London Diamond Bourse (LDB) has appointed three newmembers - including a millennial - to its board, the exchange said last week. Kathy Chappell, the LDB's special adviser for ethicalissues, has joined the board, as has Charles Silverton, managing director ofSilverton Diamonds. They are joined by David Troostwyk, director of polished-diamondcompany Salotro. Troostwyk also estab...Read More
LONDON – Billionaire Beny Steinmetz is back to mining diamonds.The Koidu mine in Sierra Leone, controlled by the billionaire’s family trust, has started mining again after halting production for almost a year. It’s the latest step in a recovery for a business that’s spent much of the last few years in deep trouble.AdvertisementWhile the mine produces some of most valuable s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies said that in Q1 2018, it recorded higher revenues of $16.7 million. Although year-on-year improvement was marginal, it was "still noteworthy as recurring revenues continued to climb even as the quantities of rough stones entering the pipeline declined by 10%, compared to the corresponding period in 2017. "The significant growth in revenue on...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israeli startup Carats.io received first-round funding forits diamond cryptocurrency venture, the company said Monday. The enterprise, which is working in partnership with theIsrael Diamond Exchange (IDE), raised $1.6 million from Net Capital Ventures, anIsrael-based venture-capital fund.Carats.io has created the first digital coin -named CARAT -backed by real, certified dia...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), together with India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), have launched a know-your-customer (KYC) exchange platform, called MyKYCBank. The sides described it as a powerful new tool to bring greater compliance and transparency to diamond transactions which provides a centralized platform for companies in the dia...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds has appointed industry veteran Paul Bosmato succeed Stuart Brown as CEO from July 1, the company said Monday. Bosma (pictured) - who worked for De Beers for 14 years - joinedFirestone as mineral-resources manager in 2014, and was promoted to generalmanager of its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho in 2016. His responsibilities haveincluded overseeing the asset's ra...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Firestone Diamonds plc, which has diamond operations in Lesotho, has appointed Paul Bosma to replace Stuart Brown as Chief Executive Officer from 1 July following Brown's decision to step down as CEO and company director. Bosma has more than 24 years' experience in the mining industry, of which 14 years have been in the diamond sector where he worked for De Beers,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Titan Company's sales grew in fiscal 2018, driven by successful marketingactivity, as well as government regulations that favored the more organized jewelrysector, the retailer said. Revenue from all categories rose 21% to $2.41 billion (INR 162.45billion) in the financial year ending March 31, while profit surged 58% to $163.9million (INR 11.05 billion), the Indian company report...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Paul Bosma has been appointed to succeed Stuart Brown as CEO of Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds, with effect from July 1.Bosma has more than 24 years’ experience in the mining industry, of which 14 years have been in the diamond sector working for diamond major De Beers.AdvertisementBosma joined Firestone in 2014 as the mineral resources manager on the p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales grew 28% year on year to $405.3 million inApril amid strong demand for goods and an optimistic market, the miner said. "In January to April, world markets saw consistent high demandfor rough diamonds," Yury Okoemov, deputy CEO of Alrosa, noted last week. Diamond trading slowed in April in line with seasonaltrends, Okoemov explained. However, demand and sales were ro...Read More
RAPAPORT...Within 48hours of its Thursday opening, exhibitors were already hailing the GemGen??ve tradefair as a success, with words like "jolly," "friendly" and "good vibe" pepperingtheir descriptions. The Geneva-basedshow, founded by dealers Ronny Totah and Thomas Faerber, welcomed 147exhibitors that spanned the full spectrum of the industry. Booths includeddiamond, colored-gemstone and estate j...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dennis Ulrich is retiring from his position as CEO ofRichline Group, the company said Saturday. Dave Meleski, the current president of Richline, willsucceed Ulrich, who has held the position at the Warren Buffett-owned company for11 years. "I am leaving Richline in the very capable hands of DaveMeleski," Ulrich said. "Dave and I have worked very closely, in all aspects ofthe busin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two leading industry organizations launched a digitalknow-your-customer (KYC) platform at a major banking summit in Mumbai on Friday.The summit - titled "Diamond & JewelleryFinancing 2018: Mitigating Risks Efficiently" - addressed the financialindustry's concerns about the diamond sector in the wake of recent fraud cases.The new platform, released by the Antwerp World Diamond...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA sold $396.2 million of rough stones last month, and $1.978 billion worth in the January-April period. "In January-April, world markets saw consistent high demand for rough diamonds," said ALROSA Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov. "In April, the diamond trade traditionally slowed down due to seasonality. Nevertheless, demand and sales results were good enough for this month, sup...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The second edition of CARAT+ recorded a total of 3,829 visitors during the three-day event, up from 2,927 last year, the organizers said. Among the visitors were diamond professionals, buyers and members of the press from 50 countries, including India, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom. "Despite this y...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. reported earnings from mine operations of C$24.6 million and net income of C$700,000 in its financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31. Included in the determination of net income is an unrealized foreign exchange loss for the quarter of $10.3 million on the translation of the company's USD-denominated long-term debt, the m...Read More
Russian diamond mining major Alrosa and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) entered a new extended cooperation agreement late last month. The agreement was signed in Moscow by Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov and AWDC CEO Ari Epstein, the miner reported in a press release. The new deal both extends their existing cooperation and expands the extent of their future cooperation to address new diamond mar...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) have cancelled this year’s World Diamond Congress, which was due to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel, in June, as a result of a weak response to registration for the event.The organisations noted that registrations were, in part, influenced by the r...Read More