London-listed Petra Diamonds has sold a 20.08 ct blue diamond, recovered at its Cullinan mine, in South Africa, in September, for $14.9-million.This represents a value of about $741 000/ct.Advertisement"We are very pleased with this result, which is in line with our expectations and confirms the resilience in the value of very high-quality blue diamonds, undoubtedly one of nature's rarest...Read More
Polishedmarket stable and showing rise in demand for 0.30 to 0.50 ct. Reducedmanufacturing has led to shortages of top-quality RapSpec A3+ goods. Roughtrading steady after price cuts at $390M Nov. De Beers sight. Alrosa 3Q profit -44% to $212M with concern over built-up21.7M ct. inventory. Retail outlook optimistic as Dow hits record (+19%YTD to 27,783). Ongoing unrest dampens Hong Kong luxury. Ri...Read More
Mumbai trading back tonormal after Diwali break. Israeli and Korean buyers looking for SI and I1goods. Surat cutters to resume operations on Nov. 18. Manufacturers resistingpressure to reduce polished prices after rough declines. Volatile rupee (INR72/$1) adding to market uncertainty. Jewelers expecting sales to pick up duringupcoming wedding season. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams is set to auction jewelry from the privatecollection of international best-selling author Barbara Taylor Bradford amassed during her 57-year relationship with her movie-producer husband. A radiant-cut, 11.30-carat, fancy-yellow, VS1-claritydiamond ring, flanked by baguette-cut diamonds, will lead the December 4 LondonJewels sale, Bonhams said Wednesday. The stone, which ha...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports fell 15% to $1.95 billion inOctober, reflecting a 22% slide in the average price of shipments. Export volumerose 8% to 2.8 million carats, according to data from the Gem & JewelleryExport Promotion Council. The nation continued to import much lower quantitiesof rough than a year ago as companies worked down their inventory. India Trade Data for O...Read More
RAPAPORT... A sapphire and diamond bracelet fetched more than doubleits high estimate at Sotheby's Geneva auction, selling to a female Asian collector after a bidding war. The piece contains a 47.07-carat, royal-blue Burmesesapphire center stone with high clarity, cut in a cabochon shape and flanked bytwo pear-shaped white diamonds weighing 9.27 carats and 8.60 carats. Created byCartier...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 1927 Art Deco bracelet by Cartier tripled its pre-sale estimate at Sotheby's, realizing $6.13 million. After generating interest from six buyers, the bracelet was bought by an Asian collector. The bracelet, which is set with a 46.07-carat cabochon sapphire, realized one of the highest results for a bracelet at auction. "The magic of Art Deco continues to exer...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The European Commission is enforcing a new customs code for lab-grown diamonds. The European Federation of Jewellery (EFJ) said the code, introduced in the European combined nomenclature (Chapter 71), will be used from January 1, 2020 until the HS6 customs code, which was recently adopted by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), is applied at the European level.The EFJ said in a co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A new survey reveals just how much marketers need to take generational differences into account to make the most of the holiday shopping season. According to insights from the 2019 Holiday Purchase Intentions Survey from The NPD Group, each generation's holiday shopping plans looks very different. So, how do the generations break down?Gen ZAbout one-third will start shopp...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Former IGI head Jerry Ehrenwald has launched a laboratory grown diamond exchange and price index. The Laboratory-Grown Diamond Price Index will use market data from LGDEX.org to publish cash asking prices.The Index will be prepared in collaboration with the GemGuide of Gemworld International."My purpose in establishing the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Exchange is to have an accurate an...Read More
RAPAPORT... Australian jeweler Michael Hill has launched a line oflab-grown diamond engagement rings priced at up to AUD 15,999 ($10,920), in aneffort to appeal to a larger consumer base. "We understand that our customers appreciate having genuineoptions when it comes to diamond jewelry - so now...customers will have anadditional choice in diamonds," the company said. The collection, which c...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' November sales totalled $390 million, the highest for five months, as the roughmarket stabilized and the miner reduced prices to trigger demand.Proceeds from the ninth sales cycle fell 12% compared with the equivalent period last year, the company reported Wednesday. The figure includes lastweek's sight in Gaborone, Botswana, as well as auction sales.The slowdown was less pro...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has appointed Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino as governors to its board, to help steer the organization's mission andstrategic initiatives. Post, a research geologist at the SmithsonianNational Museum of Natural History, is also the curator-in-charge for themuseum's National Gem and Mineral Collection, the GIA said Tuesday. He hasserved as...Read More
RAPAPORT... In a jam-packed program, the Dubai Diamond Conference set the stage well for its main bout: finally, a match-up between the lab-grown and mined diamond producers. At its core, the debate among panelists in the discussion titled "Market Disruption - the Advent of Lab-Grown Diamonds," boiled down to one fundamental question: What makes a diamond valuable? In one corner, representing the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has welcomed two new members to its Board of Governors. They are Dr. Jeffrey Post and Tammy Storino.Dr. Post is a research geologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and is also the curator-in-charge of the museum's National Gem and Mineral Collection.He has also served as chairman of the department of mineral science...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today said it provisionally sold $390 million worth of rough diamonds at its ninth Sight of the year, which took place earlier this month.This compares to sales of $442 million in 2018. Sight 1Sight 2Sight 3Sight 4Sight 5Sight 6Sight 7Sight 8Sight 92019$500 M$496 M$581 M$416 M$391 M$250 M$287 M$297 M $390 M (provisional)2018$672 M$563 M$524 M$554 M$581 M$533 M$50...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-deep-blue diamond ring by Moussaieff fetched nearly$12 million at Christie's Geneva auction Tuesday, becoming the most expensivepiece of jewelry sold this season, the company said. The rectangular-cut, 7.03-carat, VVS2-clarity stone sold toa private collector for $11.6 million, against a presale estimate of $10million to $14 million. In total, Christie's garnered $55.3 mil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds PLC has announced the recovery of the first diamonds from diamond-bearing gravels and unprocessed stockpiles surrounding the Marsfontein Mine. The stockpiles are believed to contain commercial-grade diamonds."I am delighted with the rapid progress the team has made on-site and it is noteworthy that the first diamonds were recovered within two...Read More
HARARE – Zimbabwe will vigorously enforce a policy to force companies to develop their mining assets and not keep the land for speculative purposes, mines minister Winston Chitando said on Wednesday.Chitando said some investors had not developed gold and platinum assets that they had held dating back to the 1960s and the mines ministry had asked some companies to justify why they should keep...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers’ rough diamond sales value for the ninth sales cycle of this year increased to $390-million, compared with the $297-million reported for the eighth sales cycle.Sales were, however, lower than the $442-million recorded for the ninth sales cycle of 2018.AdvertisementCEO Bruce Cleaver commented that with signs of increasing polished price stability, the ninth sales cycle...Read More