(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US have finally turned a corner, the US Department of Commerce, rising by 3.2 per cent in November after nine months of consecutive decline.We saw movement in this direction in October, when sales were down by just 0.2 per cent, indicating that demand is picking up, and the economy is showing signs of stabilizing.There is, however, conflicting news fr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pear-cut 6.01-ct diamond submitted for grading at an IGI lab was found to be a lab grown impostor.It had the GIA laser inscription of a genuine natural diamond and was a close match for its carat weight, physical spread, and primary qualities.But it was soon revealed to be a CVD lab grown by gemologists in Tel Aviv."Everyone in our industry must be vigilant," said Tehmasp Printer...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The EU has sanctioned Alrosa and its CEO Pavel Marinychev, almost two years after Russia invaded Ukraine."In line with the diamond ban we have introduced with the 12th package of sanctions, the EU today lists Alrosa, the largest diamond-mining company in the world and its CEO," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said yesterday (3 January) on X, formerly Twitter. "This is part of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond traders in Surat are reportedly buying a $3.6m private jet to ferry international buyers to the city's newly-opened bourse.There are currently no direct flights between Surat and Mumbai, India's financial hub, and the journey by road takes at least six hours.The vast $355m Surat Diamond Bourse (pictured) finally opened last November, increasing pressure for a quic...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS) attracted 50,000 visitors from India and beyond.Organizers said there were more than 1,000 booths at the B2B & B2C event which took place from 22 to 25 December at the Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre.Vipul Shah GJEPC chairman said the upcoming Gem Bourse in Jaipur would make India a key global hub in the gem and jewelry sector."The theme for the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Exports of Swiss watches surged during November to their "highest-ever monthly level" with sales of almost CHF2.5bn ($2.95bn).That's a growth of 3.1 per cent compared with the previous month, according to new figures from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry Exports (FHS).It represents a year-on-year increase for January to November of 7.7 per cent.The most significant r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Police in New York have arrested a man suspected of a string of armed robberies, including a $375,000 jewelry heist.Federal prosecutors say Franco Alexander Peraza Navas, 30, has been charged with "a wanton spree of at least two gunpoint carjackings and six gunpoint robberies and attempted robberies."He is accused of the raid on a jewelry store on on 103rd St. in Queens. Prosecutor...Read More
(IDEX Online) - It's a new year, and there's a new direction of travel.The IDEX Polished Price Index is finally on the increase after a long and steady decline from its post-Covid peak in March 2022.The last two months of 2023 saw the first green shoots of recovery. In December, for the first time in almost two years we saw an increase in month-on-month prices for all sizes up to 5.0-cts...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Enhanced grading reports for jade, one of the priciest gemstones, have been launched by GIA.It says its new Jade Report provides greater depth and clarity and includes the type of jade (A, B or C) as well as the species - nephrite or jadeite.The commonly-used trade term "Fei Cui" will be listed in the comments section when appropriate with the explanatory note stating that "Fei Cui...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia says it will carry on exporting diamonds, regardless of the G7 sanctions that come inti force tomorrow (1 January).Finance Minister Anton Siluanov (pictured), on a visit to Beijing, told the news agency Tass: "All these restrictions introduced (by Western countries), they affect not only us alone but also those who introduced them. "Exports of diamonds will continue. We...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rounds showed further signs of a recovery during December, although fancies fared less well. There is a general sense that prices are bottoming out after almost two years of relentless decline and that the general trend now will be upwards.Holiday spending in the US was a little disappointing, down 2.0 per cent year on year, but the overall direction of travel seems to be positive....Read More
(IDEX Online) - The "biggest ever" IIJS Signature will be inaugurated in Mumbai on Friday (5 January 2024).Organizers are expecting 25,000 trade visitors, up from 20,000 at the same show last year.This year they say there will be over 1,500 exhibitors and 3,000 stalls, compared with 1,300 and 2,500 in 2022.The majority of visitors are from India, although an expected 1,000 or more will be coming f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The plane that crashed last Wednesday (27 December) in Canada's Northwest Territories was flying workers to build the winter road that supplies Ekati, Diavik, and Gahcho Kue diamond mines with vital supplies from February to March every year.Canada's Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident, involving a 49-year-old Air Tindi de Havilland DHC-...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Lucara has announced the latest in a series of extensions to the finance facility that is funding the underground expansion of its Karowe diamond mine, in Botswana.In July it said it expected the cost of the project to increase by 25 per cent from $547m, the original estimate, to $683m. Underground production is now expected to start in the first half of 2028, r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Eleven shipments of counterfeit jewelry from India, Hong Kong, and Indonesia were intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection VCBP) ahead of the holiday season.The total value of the goods, if they had been genuine, would have been $6.96m.The first shipment, seized on 1 December, contained 783 bracelets, earrings, and necklaces displaying the logos of Fendi, Versace, Cartier, C...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Customs officers in Hong Kong have arrested four people in a crackdown on crime syndicate suspected of laundering money through $64m of bogus diamond transactions.They say it's the first-ever money laundering case they've ever smashed that had centered on "transnational diamond trading".Their investigation revealed that members of a crime syndicate had established diamond...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A rescue operation is under way after a light aircraft crashed close to Rio Tinto's remote Diavaik diamond mine, in Canada's Northwest Territories.The two crew and eight passengers on board a de Havilland DHC-6-300 reportedly suffered only minor injuries when the plane came down yesterday (27 December) 300km north-east of Yellowknife.But strong winds and Arctic conditions...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Consumer spending on jewelry in the US slipped by 2.0 per cent over the holiday period, despite an uptick in the economy, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Overall retail sales for 1 November to 24 December (excluding automotive) increased by 3.1 per cent year on year.Spending on restaurant meals showed the biggest growth, up 7.8 per cent, followed by apparel, at 2.4 per...Read More
(IDEX Online) - There are encouraging signs that more US couples plan to wed, says Signet, the jewelry giant that says bridal accounts for half its total revenue.The number of marriages has been in steady decline for decades, and the Covid pandemic prompted an "engagement gap", with lockdowns limiting opportunities for romance.But Gina Drosos, Signet Jewelers CEO, (pictured) says there are, finall...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The US is closing the loophole that has, for almost two years, allowed the importation of rough diamonds from Russia as long as they are cut and polished in India or elsewhere.A new White House Executive Order broadens existing restrictions immediately to include diamonds and other Russian goods "even if these products are then transformed in a third country".President Joe Biden si...Read More