(IDEX Online) - Details of the G7 nations' long-awaited sanctions on Russian diamonds and how they will be implemented could be decided as soon as Monday (13 November) according to Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat.He told the Financial Times: "In order for [EU] member states to be unanimous for the ban on diamond trade, some were requesting that the G7 were giving, let's say,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa says it has recovered a 235-carat diamond at Lulo, Angola, just a week after announcing a 208-carat stone from the same mine.Both diamonds are Type IIa and are the 39th and 40th +100-ct recoveries since the alluvial mine began commercial operation in January 2015.Several weeks ago Lucapa recovered another +100-ct gem from Lulo, this time weighing 123 carats."Lulo continues t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemstone miner Fura Gems has agreed a pioneering deal to provide Bangkok-based China Stone with a guaranteed supply of premium rough rubies from its Montepuez mine, in Mozambique. It will allocate 0.25-ct to 0.75-ct gems for the next three years, allowing China Stone to improve production planning for watch and jewelry manufacturers.Dev Shetty, Fura's CEO, says the deal i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Belgian traceability firm iTraceiT is to incorporate super-accurate digital reports, produced by the Cutwise Group, into its diamond passports. It says that adding Cutwise's DiLog ID to its own blockchain technology provides an extra layer of security. The DiLog ID creates a "a photoreal rendered image of the polished Diamond" to produce unprecedentedly accu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Botswana government appears poised to go ahead with plans to buy a 24 per cent stake in HB Antwerp and to let it sell 10 per cent (at least 600,000 carats annually) of its rough production.The deal was thrown into doubt in September after Vancouver-based Lucara pulled out of its own 10-year agreement with HB after just a year, alleging "a material breach of financial commitment...Read More
(IDEX Online) - US watch and jewelry sales declined again for an eighth consecutive month during September.But the drop was among the lowest we have seen of late, according to the latest Department of Commerce figures.For the third month in a row, sales have shown slight signs of improvement, up from -4.0 per cent to -2.3 per cent and now -2.0 per cent.Consumer spending is gradually picking up in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Debswana's rough diamond sales fell by more than 21 per cent in the first nine months of this year, according to the Bank of Botswana. Weak global demand saw revenue fall from $3.578bn for the same period in 2022 to $2.811bn. Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, produced 24.1m carats last year and is the biggest contributor to the De Beers Gr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has averted the threat of strike action by agreeing a five-year pay deal with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).A walkout by a third of the workforce - around 1,500 NUM members - would have hit production at the Venetia mine, which accounts for 40 per cent of De Beers' output in South Africa. The NUM was demanding a 9 per cent wage increase, against De Beer...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Stargems has become the first tender house to sign up for traceability technology by Sarine that quickly registers large parcels of diamonds.The Dubai-based business is using the AutoScan Plus software, which inegrates with Sarine's Diamond Journey to track every move a diamond makes.Sarine describes it as a game-changing way of registering rough diamonds at source with minima...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa has recovered the third largest diamond ever from Lulo, Angola, since the mine opened in January 2015.The 208 carat Type IIa gem is the second +100-ct diamond in under a month, and the 39th in the lifetime of the deposit.The largest recovery at the Lulo alluvial mine - which commands the highest price per carat for alluvial diamonds in the world - was a 404 carat Type...Read More
(IDEX Online) - There were signs of a slowdown in the 18-month long decline of polished diamonds prices during October.The Index fell by 1.60 per cent, compared to just over 3 per cent in September, which was the single biggest monthly drop of the current crisis.Price drops through October were gradual, and showed none of the volatility of the previous month.The supply of rough is c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) is urging US diamantaires to show their support during a four-day sales event in New York.It says it has suffered a "significant drop in activity" since the war began in Gaza, following Hamas's massacre of 1,400 people on 7 October.IDE is calling on diamond traders across the US to show their support for the Israeli industry and stock up on go...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The pearl necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 movie Roman Holiday is to be auctioned by Christie's Geneva in an online sale that opens tomorrow (3 November).The British actress, who later starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), wore simple, single-strand pearl necklaces as a signature part of her look.Her jewelry collection was a testament to her philosophy that...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia's finance ministry has hit out at G7 plans to sanction its diamonds, claiming it will discredit and undermine the existing Kimberley Process (KP).In a strongly-worded letter it claims Western countries, the G7 and the EU will deliberately distort the global rough diamond market if they implement their own regulations, which could, it warns "lead to increased social unre...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two workers have been accused of stealing $670,000 of diamonds from their employer in Mumbai, India.They are alleged to have helped themselves to gems they were showing to clients.The owner of JB & Brothers, which has an office at the Bharat Diamond Bourse, Bandra-Kurla Complex, filed a complaint with the police after discovering the alleged fraud.Officers are looking out for t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of Chinese consumers believe natural diamonds are more valuable than lab growns according to research for Chow Tai Fook.The jewelry group, which has over 7,200 outlets, says natural diamonds will continue to dominate the market, thanks to consumer demand.It has just published its first Jewellery Consumer Trends Report, based on a survey of 5,000...Read More
(IDEX Online) - There were swathes of price drops during October, especially among rounds. Indian manufacturers are being urged to support a voluntary ban on rough purchases (15 October to 15 December).Alrosa halted all rough sales during September and October, and Okavango, Botswana's state-owned diamond company, announced last week that it was doing likewise, cancelling its November auction...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds has recovered its four and fifth +100-ct diamonds of the year at its Letseng mine, in Lesotho.The UK-based miner yesterday (30 October) announced it had found two "high quality" stones, both Type IIa D color diamonds, weighing 117.47 carats and 110 carats.Letseng, known as the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world, saw its revenue from rough sal...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet Jewelers has pledged to raise another $100m for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.The biggest jewelry retailer in the US, with over 2,800 outlets and global sales of $8.32bn last year, says it will continue its support for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and has eight affiliate clinics.Signet has r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) yesterday (30 October) released a video calling on the industry to stand united with Israel in the wake of the Hamas massacre that claimed over 1,400 lives.The terror attack of October 7 was not only an attack on Israel, says IDE, but also on the shared values on which the world diamond community is based, namely peace, justice, freedom, and brothe...Read More