By: Ira EpsteinGold neutral, the battle ground around current levels..Read More

I read a critique on Litecoin recently. The basic premise was that Litecoin is just a testing ground or testnet for Bitcoin. The author seemed to insinuate that Litecoin had little value other than testing new technologies prior to Bitcoin implementing them and was not a valuable standalone cryptocurrency. Mike Novogratz also chimed in recently, calling Litecoin a "glorified testnet." Gold has an...Read More

Recent developments suggest the outlook is good for silver, and the developments are both fundamental and technical in nature. Here are the details...by Clive Maund of Streetwise ReportsThere were several developments last week that taken together suggest that the short-term bearish scenario set out in the Gold and Silver Interim update about a week ago is not going to materialize and instead th...Read More

RAPAPORT... Graff has unveiled the 67 polished stones it cut from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, including a record-breaking 302-carat diamond.The jeweler has named the square emerald-cut, 302.37-carat, D-color diamond the Graff Lesedi La Rona. It has yet to receive final certification for the stone, but expects a "very high clarity grading," a Graff spokesperson told Rapaport News ...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer two rare jewels with royal connectionsat its auction in Geneva next month. An Art Deco necklace will feature in the Magnificent Jewelsand Noble Jewels sale May 14. The Van Cleef & Arpels piece includesdiamonds, as well as 11 cabochon Colombian emeralds with a total weight of more than 75carats. It was created in the 1930s for H?(C)l??ne Beaumont, an Americ...Read More

RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has named IrisVan der Veken executive director, the first woman to hold the position. She replaces Andrew Bone, who left the organization in March."[Van der Veken] is a strong, dynamic and value-driven leader, and her wealth of experience and expertise will be tremendously beneficial in strengthening our strategic decision-making and ensurin...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers recorded its largest rough-diamond sale sincemid-2018 as demand was steady following a slow first quarter. Sales rose 10% year on year to $575 million in the thirdsales cycle of the year, including last week's sight in Botswana. That figurewas 16% higher than the $496 million it sold in the previous cycle, De Beerssaid Tuesday. "As we move into the second quarter of the year,...Read More

Baffin Island holds some of its treasures in plain sight with rocks that produce rare gems sitting exposed to the elements, scientists say. A new study from the University of British Columbia shows the area is home to a mineral that is prized by jewelers and collectors. Study co-author Philippe Belley said in an interview that cobalt-blue spinel, "which is a ridiculously rare gemstone" gets a lot...Read More

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2019 annual congress in Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, from November 18 to November 20. Pre-congress meetings will be held November 16 and 17, and the congress will follow the World Pearl Forum, which is due to take place on November 14 and 15. The CIBJO Annual Congress will be hosted by DANAT, the Bahrain Institute for Pearl...Read More

RAPAPORT... With an inconvenient leading letter, fluorescence falls outside of the 4Cs. Yet that hasn't stopped it from becoming an essential element when it comes to haggling the price of diamonds. In the grading world, fluorescence refers to "the visible light some diamonds emit when they are exposed to ultraviolet rays," according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Most of the time,...Read More

De Beers Group sold $575 million for the third sales cycle of its rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) of 2019. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: ""As we move into the second quarter of the year, we saw a continuation of stable demand for our rough diamonds during the third cycle of 2019." Looking at the bigger picture, however, De Beers is still underperforming...Read More

RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond prices are too high, and reducing them is a must.Not only is such a move necessary to ensure profitability formanufacturers, it would also raise market sentiment, which has beenuncharacteristically weak for a first quarter.In the long term, miners would gain from a correction as well, as itwould stimulate demand and prevent a market freeze that is inevitableif rough price...Read More

RAPAPORT... Phillips has appointed Graeme Thompson worldwide head ofjewelry, as it works to expand the recently created department internationally. Thompson, who will be based at the company's Hong Kongoffice, has been tasked with creating a strategy for the auction house's internationalbusiness. He will be responsible for developing a global team in New York,London, Hong Kong and Geneva. He...Read More

Backtracking from a promise made last year that for "safety" reasons the identity of its customers will not be revealed, the state-controlled firm Namdia announced it had selected the 16 firms that will buy diamonds from Namdia from 2019 to 2021. The Namibian buyers are: Schachter and Namdar Namibia; DYS Diamond Manufacturer Namibia; Tate Diamonds and Pluczenik Diamond Company. Four Belgian compan...Read More

The London-based jeweler Lawrence Graff paid an unprecedented $8.75 million for the 13.33 carat pink rough diamond that was found in February of this year by Gem Diamonds in its Letseng mine in Lesotho. The amount paid by Graff constitutes a record price per carat paid for a diamond from the Letseng mine. Meanwhile, the Letseng mine has acquired a famed reputation for some of the world's most ex...Read More

Cyclone Idai, which hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in March of this year, has also left its mark on Zimbabwe's diamond mining projects. The cyclone claimed at least 268 lives in Zimbabwe and left a trail of destruction in its wake. ZCDC chief executive Dr Moris Mpofu told The Sunday Mail Business last week that the company was now "regrouping to recover from the aftermath of Cyclone Idai and...Read More

Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarxFitch produces an ESG exposure score with elements rated on a scale of one-to-five where three is neutral in that a risk is minimally relevant or it is well-managed, and four and five are relevant toRead More

Eastern promise for PolarXSPONSOREDpolarx"We are implementing a successful cocktail of electrification," he said.Read More

U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 5 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the March Consumer Price Index at 8:30 AM EDT. Consensus was an increase of 0.3% versus a gain of 0.2% in February. Actual was up 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, consensus for the March Consumer Price Index was an increase of 0.2...Read More

On January 25th President Trump announced an end to the 35-day partial government shutdown. This day came as a relief to many of the 800,000 government employees and contractors who were left scrambling to cover their bills until their paychecks kicked in again. A lot of people did just fine during the government shutdown, thanks to emergency savings and the added safety net of a working spouse. B...Read More