(IDEX Online) - The election results for the Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship of GJEPC was announced today. Pramod Kumar Agarwal has been elected as the Chairman and Colin Shah has been elected as the Vice Chairman of GJEPC for the period of 2018 to 2020. Thanking the industry and GJPEC members for electing him, the new GJEPC Chairman said, "It is my proud privilege to be nominated and el...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies will open its first technology lab inIsrael in February, offering advanced, automated gem services, the company said Sunday.The lab will supplyservices using Sarine's automated technology for clarity and colorgrading of polished diamonds, as well as authentication for simulant, natural,synthetic and treated stones. The information will all be integrated into theSari...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine Technologies Ltd has announced the opening of the Sarine Technology Laboratory, the first in the company's network of advanced, automated gemological labs. The Sarine Technology Lab will initially offer services in Ramat Gan, Israel, commencing in February. Services will include automated, accurate, consistent, and objective grading of a polished diamond's C...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has agreed to buy an additional 8.2%stake in the Catoca Mine in Angola for $70 million, the Russian miner said Friday.Angolan President Jo??o Louren??o approved a redistribution of 16.4% of the enterprise's holdings, which were split equally between Alrosa and Angola's state mining company Endiama.The deal is expected to close before the end of March, after which Alrosa and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 910-carat diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho, claiming it's the fifth-largest rough ever found. "This is a landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds' stakeholders, including our employees, shareholders and the government of Lesotho, our partner in the Let??eng mine," said Gem Diamonds CEO Clifford Elphick. The D-color, type IIadiamond is th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation ended 2017 with lower than expected production and sales, as tough market conditions and operating glitches at the Renard mine marred its first year of operations. The company recovered 1.64 million carats of diamonds in 2017, compared to 1.69 million initially planned for the year. It garnered sales of $149.5 million (CAD 186.2million) at an a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Birks Group's November and December sales declined 4% due toongoing renovations at two flagship stores and weak consumer sentiment in Canada, the jeweler reported Friday. The Montreal-based company noted comparable store sales grew 2% during the period, reflecting growth in locations that were open for more than a year and thus discounting the impact of the stores undergoing renovation...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) plans to reveal two newcryptocurrencies createdspecifically for the diamond industry by startup CARATS.IO, the exchange said Monday.CARATS.IO will host a seminar during the International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI), taking place February 5 to 7, to introduce the new cryptocurrencies and explainhow they can benefit the trade. "By cooperating with this...Read More
RAPAPORT... Birks Group's November and December sales declined 4% due toongoing renovations at two flagship stores and weak consumer sentiment in Canada, the jeweler reported Friday. The Montreal-based company noted comparable store sales grew 2% during the period, reflecting growth in locations that were open for more than a year and thus discounting the impact of the stores undergoing renovation...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales fell in 2017 as an influx of lower-value rough reduced the average price it achieved. Combined rough and polished sales amounted to $4.27 billion for the year, Alrosa said Thursday, leaving the total 5% below the amount reported for 2016. There was pent-up demand for small diamonds at the beginning of 2017 after Indian cutters reduced their...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) haselected Pramod Kumar Agarwal as its chairman, and Colin Shah as vice chairmanfor the 2018 to 2020 period, the Indian trade organization announced Friday. Agarwal (pictured) was the Rajasthan regional chairman of the GJEPC,and has been the chairman of the GJEPC's Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery,Jaipurfor the past five yea...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) is marking 10 years of efforts to transform artisanal diamond mining into an economically viable, socially and environmentally responsible activity to benefit miners, their communities and their governments, and consequently, the diamond and jewelry industry. Through DDI's innovative and effective programming, more than 200,000 miners...Read More
RAPAPORT... Vrai & Oro, a subsidiary of lab-grown diamond producer Diamond Foundry, will be shutting its Los Angeles store after onlysix months in business, the online jewelry retailer announced in a blog postlast week. Founder and creative director Vanessa Stofenmacherattributed the closing to the challenges of retail. Prior to opening the store,Vrai & Oro, which Diamond Foundry bought in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers of America (JA) has praised the United States Supreme Court decision to take up South Dakota's petition to the Court to re-consider the Quill decision from 1992. That decision established the current system under which states are prohibited from collecting sales and use taxes from sellers that do not have a physical presence in-state, leading to the current uneven...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Angolan President Jo??o Louren??o has signed a decree permitting the redistribution of a 16.4% stake in Angola's Catoca Ltd Mining Co to Wargan Holdings Limited that is 100% owned by ALROSA. At a later stage, a 16.4% stake in Catoca will be equally distributed between ALROSA and ENDIAMA E.P., Angola's state-owned national diamond mining company. The decree...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The International Gemological Institute (IGI) announced that IGI - North & South America has been granted re-certification by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) against its 2013 Code of Practices. The New York-based organization attained this designation by meeting the highest ethical, social and environmental standards as established by the RJC. RJC member...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) has announced that the ICA-organized Gemstone Industry & Laboratory Conference (GILC) will be holding a discussion on color nomenclature and origin on January 29 at the Tucson Gem Show. After an introduction by newly elected ICA President, Clement Sabbagh, the main topics of discussion will center on color nomenclature...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales fell in 2017 as an influx of lower-value rough reduced the average price it achieved. Combined rough and polished sales amounted to $4.27 billion for the year, Alrosa said Thursday, leaving the total 5% below the amount reported for 2016. There was pent-up demand for small diamonds at the beginning of 2017 after Indian cutters reduced their...Read More
Russian miner Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's top diamond producer by output, received Friday approval from Angolan President Joao Louren??o to expand its stake in local producer Catoca.The deal, worth $70 million, gives Alrosa a further 8.2% stake in Catoca Mining, providing the diamond giant with access to a production base outside Russia.Deal gives Alrosa a further 8.2% stake in Catoca Mining, p...Read More
GABORONE – Botswana’s Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) posted a 4% jump in sales to $567-million in 2017, the highest annual sales since its formation in 2013, the company said on Thursday.The State-owned company sold 3.41-million carats of diamonds in 2017, managing director Marcus ter Haar told Reuters, adding that the year was characterised by healthy demand and prices in the first ha...Read More