The Bank of Namibia said on Tuesday it expected the domestic economy to fall into a deeper contraction of 1.7% during 2019, down from its initial estimate of 0.3% positive growth in April.The central bank said the economy was expected to recover to positive growth of 0.8% and 1.2% in 2020 and 2021, respectively.AdvertisementThe projected 1.7% contraction of 1.7% for 2019 represents a further deter...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers Group sold $280-million of rough diamonds during the seventh sales cycle of this year.While this was $30-million higher than sales for the sixth cycle, it was significantly lower than the $503-million of diamonds sold in the seventh sales cycle of 2018.AdvertisementCEO Bruce Cleaver said that, considering midstream participants continued to work down polished diamond invento...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Tiffany slipped in the second quarter, aspurchases by foreign tourists decreased in the Americas and Asia Pacific. Revenue fell 3% to $1.05 billion year on year in the threemonths ending July 31, while comparable-store sales - at branches open for atleast a year - slipped 4%, the jeweler said Wednesday. Profit dropped 6% to$136.3 million. Foreign tourists spent less in the US...Read More
Madestones, an Antwerp-based distributor of lab-grown diamonds, has entered into a partnership with Italian jewellery brand Royal Wings, jointly creating an exclusive collection that blends two innovations into a uniquely produced, feather-light 18-karat gold tennis bracelet, set with lab-grown diamonds. Defined as a disruptive product in today's market for high-end jewellery, Royal Wings an...Read More
The US Commerce Department published data showing that retail sales rose a healthy 0.7 per cent in July, calling it a sign of consumer confidence. US consumers spent more at retail stores and restaurants in July. Analysts see this as a sign that consumers are not too worried about the slower growth that have affected the financial markets and that consumer confidence remains level. Retail sales ro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Llewellyn Delport has stepped down as CEO ofTrans Hex following continued operating losses and uncertainty about thecompany's future, it said Tuesday. Delport, who has been with the South Africa-based minersince 2004, will leave August 31. Board chairman Marco Wentzel will head thecompany until it finds a replacement. Last month, Trans Hex issued a warning about its ability...Read More
RAPAPORT... Greek jeweler Folli Follie has confirmed reports it'sconsidering options for offloading its Links of London jewelry business. The ailing company, which purchased the UK-based chain ofjewelry stores in 2006, has appointed financial advisory company Deloitte andSavigny to weigh its options for the sale. Folli has been in troublefinancially since the results of an audit showed it had...Read More
RAPAPORT... New York-based startup Pietra believes it has found the answer to personalizing the online jewelry-buying experience. The company, which is backed by celebrated investor Marc Andreessen along with funds connected to Robert Downey Jr and Will Smith, last week launched Pietra Studio, an online fine-jewelryplatform that directly connects consumers with leading designers to create cus...Read More
RAPAPORT... Retail is a circle, not a line, and every trend comes back again - especially styles with distinctive looks and rich stories. As a new generation of customers discovers the charms of vintage jewelry, the style and craftsmanship of eras past have become not only a driving force in design, but a lucrative business for stores looking to find the right merchandise mix to draw in...Read More
The Times of India (ToI) reported that India's diamond cutting and polishing industry will be deferring purchases of about $2 billion as it is currently sitting on roughly $10 billion worth of rough stocks. ToI said that the purchase of rough stones by diamantaires of Surat and Mumbai between January and July this year has fallen to the lowest in the past ten years. The world's two large...Read More
Four Hong Kong-based international trade shows, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded successfully in August, the HKTDC reported. The four shows - the 30th HKTDC Food Expo; the11th HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair; the fourth HKTDC Beauty & Wellness Expo; the sixth HKTDC Home Delights Expo; and the International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese...Read More
Photo by Sylvia Pond. MyYellowKnife.com reported that nine Indigenous girls and their guardians from the Northwestern Territories (NWT), Nunavut and Northern Ontario were sent to the 2019 IMPACT Camp at the University of Waterloo by De Beers Group. The IMPACT Camp is a hands-on science camp where the girls got to experiment, learn about science, engineering and other focuses including careers to b...Read More
Reuters reported that China's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has delayed a listing in Hong Kong worth up to $15 billion "amid growing political unrest in the Asian financial hub, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters." "Alibaba's Hong Kong-listing plans are being closely watched by the financial community for indications on the business environment in...Read More
RAPAPORT... New York-based startup Pietra believes it has found the answer to personalizing the online jewelry-buying experience. The company, which is backed by celebrated investor Marc Andreessen along with funds connected to Robert Downey Jr and Will Smith, last week launched Pietra Studio, an online fine-jewelryplatform that directly connects consumers with leading designers to create cus...Read More
In one of its shortest press announcements ever, De Beers published the results of its seventh sales cycle - what the diamond industry and trade continues to call a "sight." The seventh sight generated $280 million, a whopping 44 percent less than the $503 of the same cycle in 2018. The current sales number is slightly higher than the $280 in the sixth cycle. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group,...Read More
Llewellyn Delport has resigned as CEO of diamond exploration, mining and marketing company Trans Hex, effective August 31.The Trans Hex board thanked Delport for his contribution to the company since 2004.AdvertisementNonexecutive chairperson Marco Wentzel will serve as executive chairperson of the company until a suitable candidate is found to succeed Delport as CEO. AdvertisementRead More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields sold $18.6 million worth of emeralds at its Lusaka, Zambia auction in August, as the miner noted signs of recovery in the Indian market. "We are pleased that the...recovery in the emerald sectorfirst observed at our May...auction [has] continued to grow," Adrian Banks,Gemfields' managing director of product and sale, said last week. "The Indianmarket, which is particular...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered its third yellow diamond over 100carats this year, following a two-year dearth of stones in that hue and size. The miner found the 114.2-carat rough on August 22 at itsLet??eng mine in Lesotho, it said Monday. The company unearthed a 135-carat,yellow diamond from the deposit in June, and a similar 134-carat stone was brought upin March. Prior to those re...Read More
An exceptionally rare and highly important pale greyish-green jade carving of a dragon head, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907), 16.5 cm long, estimated to sell for $2.5 to $3.5 million, is offered in the Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction of September 13, at Christie's in New York This pale greyish-green jade dragon head comes to auction at Christie's in New York from the...Read More
Miranda Hollingshead wasn't going to search for diamonds - she only wanted to know HOW to find them. She still ended up leaving with a 3.72-carat rough stone. Hollingshead, of Bogata, Texas, visited Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds State Park for the first time. But according to Hollingshead, that wasn't her original plan. "I was just going to pick up a transmission that day, but my s...Read More