RAPAPORT... China has arrested 121 people suspected of bringing CNY 3.88 billion (around $570 million) in diamonds into the country through illegal channels since 2015, according to a state-owned newspaper.Officials seized more than 2,520 diamonds, more than 4,000 broken diamonds, and 158 pieces of diamond jewelry during the raid in early September, China Daily reported last week. Authorities...Read More
Trading quiet due to Chinese and Jewish holidays and Covid-19 uncertainty. Expectations low for Oct. 1 Golden Week Hong Kong retail sales. Global brands focusing on China and e-commerce as mainland luxury shoppers limit travel, impacting seasonal sales at Hong Kong, New York and London flagships. Government crackdown on diamond smugglers ensures level playing field for legitimate traders looking t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond factories will remain open in Surat, India, over the Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, to fulfil export orders.Manufacturers in the world's cutting and polishing capital say they can't afford to turn away business and take the traditional two-to-four-week break.An estimated 650,000 artisans will carry on working over the festive period (Diwali is 14 November th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong slid in August as coronavirus cases surged.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts plunged 38% year on year to HKD 2.46 billion ($317.5 million) for the month. While the figure showed a slowdown in the decline reported over the past few months, it did not necessarily indicate a recovery, Hong Kong's Census and...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports fell 50% to $806 million in July, according to data from the Commerce Department. The decline was steeper than June's 34% drop. US Trade Data for July 2020Read More
RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds expects output to more than double in 2021 amid the expansion of its Kareevlei mine in South Africa, it said Tuesday.The company plans to produce between 34,000 and 46,000 carats next year, compared with 13,800 to 18,000 this year. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the miner had forecast total output of only 16,000 carats to 21,500 carats for 2020. The guidance for 2...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A struggling artisan in India found a 30-carat bag of diamonds, worth over $12,000 . . . and handed them back to their owner.Rajesh Rathod admitted he did consider keeping the gems to sell after stumbling upon them near a diamond market in Varachha, Surat, on 25 September.The coronavirus pandemic has seen his wages working in the diamond industry almost halved to around a $12...Read More
(IDEX Online) - BlueRock reported a first-half operating loss of $1.9m but revealed plans to more than double production at its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa.The UK-based miner was forced to halt operations for seven weeks because of COVID-19, but mitigated losses through an agreement with brokers Bonas-Cousyns to sell its diamonds in Antwerp and achieve higher per-carat prices.BlueRock said it...Read More
RAPAPORT... G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab has partnered with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) to apply artificial intelligence to its gemstone analysis.Determining a gemstone's authenticity and country of origin currently relies heavily on human judgment, G? 1/4 belin noted Wednesday. By collaborating with CSEM, the Swiss lab will use machine learning to increase the reliabi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's exports of lab-grown diamonds surged by a record 40 per cent in August.They represent a tiny fraction of its overall diamond production, but have shown sustained growth during the pandemic, while sales of natural stones have suffered badly.Year-on year exports of lab-growns were 37 per cent up in June, 22 per cent up in July and 40 per cent up in August, according to t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The French luxury conglomerate LVMH yesterday countersued Tiffany & Co, claiming the takeover agreement had become invalidated by the coronavirus pandemic. LVMH backed out of its delayed ?, ?16.2bn purchase three weeks ago, citing pressure from the French government over a tariffs war with the US and saying the deal was "no longer possible". Tiffany responded by suing LVMH.&nb...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Raiders broke in through the roof of a Kay Jewelers store - part of the Signet group - and fled with an estimated $1m of jewelry.Police responded to an emergency call after the alarm went off in the early hours last Friday morning, but looked through the windows and saw no evidence that anything was amiss.When staff arrived for work hours later at the store in Hinnesville, Georgia,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will sell a 118.88-carat, royal-blue, unheated Burmese sapphire in Hong Kong next week, the largest of its kind the auction house has offered in 20 years. The cushion-shaped stone, surrounded by pear-shaped diamonds weighing a total of 16.06 carats, will lead the October 7 Magnificent Jewels sale, Sotheby's said Monday. A pear-shaped, 4.84-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, internally...Read More
RAPAPORT... Watches of Switzerland Group has acquired pre-owned and vintage timepiece company Analog Shift in an effort to capitalize on the rising popularity of the secondhand market.The brands first collaborated in 2018, when the UK-based watch group offered a curated selection of Analog Shift's pre-owned timepieces at its newly opened New York City flagship store. That collection became one of...Read More
RAPAPORT... LVMH has filed a countersuit against Tiffany & Co., claiming a legal right to pull out of the companies' tie-up due to Covid-19 and the US jeweler's "mismanagement" of the crisis.The pandemic constitutes a "material adverse effect" that allows LVMH to renege on the $16 billion takeover deal, LVMH argued Tuesday. The catastrophic period will have serious and long-term effects o...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales and profit plummeted at Indian diamond manufacturer Asian Star in the first fiscal quarter as the coronavirus froze the company's activities.Revenue slumped 80% year on year to INR 1.64 billion ($22.2 million) for the three months ending June 30, the Mumbai-based company said earlier this month. Net profit plunged 98% to INR 4.3 million ($58,356).The figures, which include t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The last sale of pink diamonds before the iconic Argyle mine closes will have a Japanese theme.The invitation-only tender will take its inspiration from Ichi-go ichi-e - Japan's cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment.The mine in the remote East Kimberley region Western Australia has been the source of 90 per cent of the world's pink diamonds fo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Consumers are more likely to buy jewelry in the next six months than at any other time during the pandemic, says De Beers.Its monthly research into diamond spending during the COVID-19 crisis reveals what it calls a "glimmer of optimism".Both men and women are more likely to purchase or receive diamond jewelry in the next six months, compared to previous coronavirus waves. Wo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers is cutting the price of stones under a carat at its current Sight, say sources.The company started discounting larger rough last month at its August Sight, which brought in $320m, by far the highest figure since the pandemic struck.De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer by value, is reportedly now discounting smaller stones as well - under one carat - accordin...Read More
Polished prices firm amid shortages and improving holiday orders. Trading restrained due to continued rise in Covid-19 cases. Jewelers preparing 4Q marketing with emphasis on e-commerce strategies to drive growth. Retailers pushing dealers for memo. More manufacturers insisting on cash deals. Steady rough buying during sight week as Surat cutters try to increase production and fill polished supply...Read More