RAPAPORT... De Beers' revenues continued to rise at its August rough sale as diamond demand persisted in the most important retail centers, the miner reported this week.Proceeds from the seventh sales cycle of the year came to $515 million, the most since February, the company said Wednesday. That figure was 54% higher than the equivalent period of 2020, when the Covid-19 crisis was still sap...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers reported provisional rough sales of $515m at its seventh sight of 2021, virtually unchanged from $514m at sixth sight. It said demand in the US and China remained "robust".Sales for Sight 7 last year, in the midst of Covid lockdowns, were $334m. In 2019 the figure was $287m.De Beers said it was still offering extra flexibility to sight holders, and extended the sale in Gab...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An historic pair of diamond bracelets that originally belonged to Queen Marie-Antoinette of France could fetch up to $4m at auction.The bracelets (pictured), comprising 112 diamonds will headline Christie Geneva's Magnificent Jewels Auction on 9 November.The Queen, famous for her love of jewelry bought the bracelets in 1776 for for 250,000 livres, a huge sum at the time. ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa bought more diamonds this week from Gokhran, the Russian state repository of precious gems and metals, as it sought to replenish its dwindling inventory.It said it purchased 80 per cent of the rough stones offered at auction on Tuesday but did not disclose the price it paid. It was previously reported that Gokhran would be offering 768,600 carats, worth about $19m, at its Se...Read More
International Diamond Exchange Online (IDEX) and One Creation Corporation are announcing a strategic partnership jointly developing the online market data portal directly to the participants in the diamond industry. The diamond trading platform IDEX Online is making its unique database of diamond prices available for the first time. It will be made accessible via a portal to banks, financia...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's expects to garner up to $4 million for a pair of diamond bracelets belonging to Marie Antoinette, former queen of France, at its Geneva sale in November.The set, which contains 112 diamonds, will lead the Magnificent Jewels sale, Christie's said Wednesday. The queen originally purchased the bracelets in 1776 for 250,000 livres, a huge sum at that time, the auction house note...Read More
RAPAPORT... During the recent Las Vegas jewelry shows, I had the opportunity to do something that has been surprisingly inaccessible to me in the more than 14 years I've been covering the industry - I got to try on some jewelry. I attend the shows primarily to assess the economics of the diamond market and to get a sense of sentiment among designers and jewelers. I tend to discuss design on a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Unique specimens of Aquaprase, the world's "newest" gemstone, are being donated to the American Museum of Natural History.The bluish-green chalcedony was discovered in 2013 by veteran gem explorer Yianni Melas at an undisclosed location in Africa, as the first "new" gemstone of the century.New York-based jewelers Le Vian is gifting examples of its own trademarked classificatio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamcor Mining says prices exceeded expectations as it sold just over $1m of rough at three tenders in July and August.The Canadian junior miner acquired Krone-Endor, at the Venetia deposit in South Africa, from De Beers in February 2011, and has a long-term strategic alliance and first right of refusal with Tiffany & Co's Canadian subsidiary.In the three months to Septemb...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe's Murowa mine aims to more than double production as it migrates from open pit to underground operations. Owners RioZim plan to invest $400m in the switch, and say the deposit, 450km from the country's capital Harare, should increase ore processing from 190,000 tonnes per month to 500,000. "It's a massive investment that bodes well with the government's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining garnered $1 million from three rough tenders held during July and August, as overall demand and pricing exceeded expectations.The company sold 4,330 carats of rough from its Krone-Endora at Venetia deposit in South Africa at an average price of $236 per carat, it said last week. That included several special-size diamonds - weighing over 10.8 carats - Diamcor noted.The m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Twelve people have died and 4,400 have been taken ill after toxic waste from Angola's biggest diamond mine polluted drinking water, say officials in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Tailings from the Catoca mine - in which Alrosa (Russia) and Endiama (Angola) both hold 41 per cent stakes - leaked into tributaries of the River Congo, turning the water red and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rapaport Magazine recently carried an article by Farai Maguwu, founding director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), in which he argued that the Kimberley Process (KP) was allowing Zimbabwe to export conflict diamonds. He cited allegations of torture and violence against local artisanal miners.Technically, Zimbabwe's goods are not conflict diamonds, noted Edward...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) will hold its 2021 congress virtually, after canceling last year's session due to Covid-19.The event will take place from November 1 to 4 and from November 15 to 18, CIBJO said last week. The new platform will allow delegates to mingle and interact in a common area, between and during formal meetings, the organization noted.The annual congress...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Global production of rough diamonds will increase by 1.4 per cent to almost 113m carats this year, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.It follows an estimated 19.4 per cent decline to 111.4m carats in 2020, as the industry was hit by the COVID pandemic.Russia is likely to show only moderate growth but output elsewhere is forecast to rise in Botswana (+37 per cent), C...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The newly-founded Diamonds de Canada will this week ship its first consignment of polished stones for grading in Las Vegas, before being sold.The venture, launched in Yellowknife, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, by Michael Indelicato, of US wholesaler RDI, and industry consultant Benjamin King, accesses rough directly from the three major diamond mines in Canada's Northwest...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, September 2, 2021, Las Vegas... Diamond prices were stable in August, which is traditionally a slower period for the trade. Upbeat activity at the Las Vegas shows reflected the robust US market that has been driving demand. Retail jewelers are having a strong year, spurring optimism across the supply chain.The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds edged up 0....Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds returned to the black in the first half of 2021 amid strong sales and a higher average price.The company reported a profit of $9.3 million for the six months ending June 30, compared with a loss of $1.7 million a year earlier, when Covid-19 temporarily shut down its Let??eng mine in Lesotho and restricted tenders. Profit also increased 121% over the first half of 2019, Gem...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers outperformed expectations in the second fiscal quarter as strategic changes paid off, prompting the company to lift its forecast for the full year.Sales more than doubled to $1.79 billion in the three months ending July 31, compared with $888 million in the equivalent period last year, the US retailer reported Thursday. It had predicted revenue of up to $1.65 billi...Read More
Dealers return from Las Vegas optimistic for holiday season. Good orders at JCK, Luxury, Antique and Couture shows signal positive sentiment among US independents. Major retailers did not attend but are seeing momentum online and in-store. Signet Jewelers 2Q revenue +101% to $1.8B, profit of $225M vs. loss of $82M a year earlier. Chow Sang Sang 1H sales +69% to $1.4B. Sustainability emerges as key...Read More