RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has provided $25,000 in scholarships that will fund distance-education courses for graduates of the Diamond Council of America (DCA).The money will enable individuals who have graduated from at least one course at the DCA to continue their education at the GIA in a number of courses, the DCA said Monday. Students may use scholarships to pay fo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers reported a fall in rough sales for a third consecutive month as India's Covid crisis hit midstream capacity. Provisional sales at its fourth sight of 2021 were $380m, the lowest this year. Sales in January peaked at $663m, a three-year-high. They fell to $550m in February and again to $450m in March. De Beers said it was still offering sight holders increased flexibi...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales were flat in April as consumer spending slowed following stimulus-driven purchasing the previous month, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said.Revenue was unchanged over March's figure and rose 51% year on year, reflecting coronavirus-related store closures during April 2020, according to data the US Census Bureau reported last week. By contrast, March saw a 10% mont...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers registered its weakest sales total since August as rough demand wobbled during India's Covid-19 wave.The fourth sales cycle of 2021 saw proceeds of $380 million, down from $450 million in the third cycle, the miner reported Wednesday. Revenues included the sight that took place in early May, as well as auctions."We continue to see robust demand for diamond jewelry in the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA has highlighted another fraudulent attempt to pass off an "impostor" lab-grown diamond as a higher-value natural stone.The lab has already reported a number of gems being submitted for grading with fraudulent inscriptions.In the latest incident a 3.075-carat lab-grown was submitted for update in Antwerp, bearing the girdle girdle inscription of a 3.078-carat natural stone.The a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa saw a sharp rebound in profit in the first quarter as the mining company capitalized on a strong recovery in the diamond market.Net profit soared to RUB 24.02 billion ($325.9 million) from RUB 3.06 billion ($41.5 million) a year earlier, the Russian miner reported Tuesday. Revenue jumped 44% year on year to RUB 89.31 billion ($1.21 billion). Strong retail demand in the US a...Read More
RAPAPORT... A 204.36-carat, fancy-intense-yellow diamond with a high estimate of $5.5 million is set to lead the New York sale at Christie's next month.The cushion modified brilliant-cut, VVS2-clarity stone, called The Dancing Sun, is the largest polished diamond originating in North America, having been cut from a 552.74-carat rough unearthed at the Diavik mine in Canada, Christie's said last wee...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has seen a rise in submissions of lab-grown diamonds with counterfeit inscriptions that make the stones appear natural.Clients using the GIA's update or verification services are increasingly sending in goods that prove to be synthetic, the organization said Monday. These stones have falsified girdle engravings that reference a genuine na...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto will unveil a record number of diamonds over one carat at its final pink-diamond tender, including the largest fancy-intense pink it has ever offered for sale.The 3.47-carat stone, known as the Argyle Eclipse, will headline the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, which has run since 1984. The tender comprises 70 rare polished colored diamonds originating from the Australian mine, Ri...Read More
RAPAPORT... Forevermark will change its name to De Beers Forevermark, enabling the retail brand to capitalize on the miner's reputation and sustainability efforts, a spokesperson confirmed to Rapaport News last week."Creating a stronger association between the De Beers name and Forevermark will deliver benefits for Forevermark partners and customers alike, by providing a deeper connection to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A record-breaking 204.36-carat fancy intense yellow diamond is to be auctioned by Christie's New York, with a high estimate of $5.5m.The Dancing Sun (pictured) is the largest polished diamond produced in North America since the first mine opened there 30 years ago. It has been graded by GIA as natural color, VVS2 clarity, excellent polish and symmetry.It was cut from the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The final collection of pink and other rare diamonds from the iconic Argyle mine is to be sold, with bids closing on 1 September.It marks the end of an Tera for the deposit in the in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia, which has provided the overwhelming majority of pink diamonds globally since 1982.Seventy diamonds with a combined weight of 81.63 carats will be...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The flaws that reduce the value of a diamond are helping scientists how our planet was formed.They've developed new techniques that allow them to tell the age of a diamond from tiny "microinclusions" of fluid trapped during its formation.A team at The Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA, has examined diamonds from Africa and identified three distinct periods in which the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A personalized wristwatch made for the artist Pablo Picasso is to be auctioned.The letters of his name are spelled out by the hour markers of the otherwise unremarkable Swiss stainless steel timepiece, made by the little-known Michael Z. Berger Co in 1960.As Bonhams Paris point out in their auction notes, Picasso had the good fortune to have a name of exactly 12 letters. "It i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An historic pearl and diamond tiara from the Spanish royal family sold for $1.6m at Sotheby's Geneva.It was a gift to Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo from her father on her marriage in 1867 to Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta, who was later elected King of Spain as Amadeo I (1870 until his abdication in 1873). She became Queen Maria Vittoria of Spain and died nine years later, aged jus...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported preliminary rough and polished sales of $401m in April, as demand remained "sustainably robust".By comparison, last April saw sales slow to a virtual standstill - $15.6m - as Covid caused a global shutdown.Alrosa's monthly sales from January to April 2021 have averaged $390m.Last month the Russian state-owned miner said it would give shareholders their biggest-...Read More
Diamond market restrained due to supply bottleneck as Covid-19 spike in India curbs manufacturing. Trading shifting to Antwerp and other centers. Surat production focusing on larger goods as factories struggle with absenteeism and social distancing rules. Steady interest in 1 to 2 ct., D-J, VS-SI diamonds. Good US demand; April jewelry sales +255%, Mastercard reports. China seasonally quiet. Rough...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has unearthed a 138-carat rough diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, it said Thursday.The company found the stone at the site's Mining Block 46 portion of the mine, which is adjacent to the area where Lucapa is conducting its exploration for the primary source, or mother lode, of the deposit's diamonds. The stone is the seventh over 100 carats Lucapa ha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds has agreed to pay $6 million (GBP 4.3 million) to settle violence claims at its Williamson mine in Tanzania.Some 71 anonymous claimants brought accusations of human-rights breaches at the site over several years. UK-based nonprofit Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) documented at least seven deaths and 41 assaults by security workers at Williamson since...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has taken out an additional $33 million loan from its largest investor to cover the loss of income caused by the cancellation of its May diamond tender.The miner will receive the short-term loan on top of its existing $25 million revolving-credit facility from Dunebridge Worldwide, whose owner is a 32% shareholder in the company, Mountain Province said Wednesday. Moun...Read More