RAPAPORT... Among the challenges of assessing the lab-grown diamond market is the lack of published data on the sector. That's largely because none of the companies operating in the space are publicly traded, which would require them to disclose metrics such as sales, profit and production. It's largely through public reports by miners such as Alrosa, De Beers (via Anglo American), Petra Diam...Read More
Market upbeat despite summer lull and high rough prices. Dealers filling orders, spurring confidence for holiday season. US jewelry sales +108% in June, Mastercard reports. Luxury jewelers make strong recovery. Richemont 1Q jewelry maisons' sales +132% to $3B. Polished prices firm amid supply shortages and consistent demand. Miners drastically reduced rough inventory in 1H; manufacturers raised po...Read More
RAPAPORT... Costco Wholesale and Tiffany & Co. have finally laid to rest an eight-year legal dispute over alleged trademark infringement and counterfeiting."The parties have amicably resolved their dispute," Costco's attorney, David Bernstein, told Rapaport News Tuesday. Bernstein declined to provide any further details of the settlement, which was dismissed with prejudice July 19. That means...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's rough trade was up by 11 per cent in the first half of this year to $10.4bn, compared with same period in pre-Covid 2019.The polished trade is "lagging behind" - at $7.4bn for H1 2021 - hit by the compete lack of trade shows and India's devastating third wave of coronavirus.But the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said it was showing signs of recovery, with t...Read More
Sales of watches and jewelry in the US during May were up a third on the same month in pre-Covid 2019. Year-on-year they more than doubled, by 106.9 per cent, but that figure needs to be treated with caution. The actual dollar spend for May 2021 was $115.1m, compared with $52.7m in 2020 and $76.3m in 2019, before the pandemic. Sales for May 2021 are up 33.7 per cent on May 2019. April 2021 showed...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports exceeded pre-pandemic levels in June amid a recovery in the US and China and strong demand for high-priced timepieces.Global shipments rose 13% compared to the same month of 2019, reaching CHF 1.96 billion ($2.14 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. Exports jumped 71% year on year, reflecting a favorable comparison with the Covid-19 dow...Read More
RAPAPORT... The board of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) has elected Arnon Juwal as its third chairman in three years.The IDI, which works to promote the country's diamond sector, tapped Juwal to serve a three-year term following Yoram Dvash's resignation last week, it said Tuesday. Dvash took over the role in November after Boaz Moldawsky, who started in 2019, left to head the Israel Diamond E...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports exceeded pre-pandemic levels in June amid a recovery in the US and China and strong demand for high-priced timepieces.Global shipments rose 13% compared to the same month of 2019, reaching CHF 1.96 billion ($2.14 billion), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday. Exports jumped 71% year on year, reflecting a favorable comparison with the Covid-19 dow...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has appointed C?(C)line Assimon as head of both De Beers Jewellers and De Beers Forevermark, furthering the company's efforts to streamline its retail activities.Assimon, who joined as CEO of De Beers Jewellers last September, will take on the same role at Forevermark, De Beers said Wednesday. She will succeed Nancy Liu on September 5.The merging of the two positions foll...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The initial offering of the world's first fungible diamond commodity offering - a sealed plastic coin of around 4.5 carats - was 50 per cent over-subscribed, says the company that launched them.New York-based Diamond Standard says it has sold the first batch of 5,000 coins to investors, and will now make a further $50m of coins available.Each coin (pictured) contains "a set of...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has identified a laboratory-grown ruby filled with lead glass - a rare phenomenon, as the trade mostly uses this method to improve natural stones.The transparent to semitransparent, oval mixed-cut piece weighing 3.53 carats was submitted to the GIA's lab in Carlsbad, California. Examination under a microscope showed it contained a network...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's sales soared 118% in the first fiscal quarter amid the relaxation of border restrictions and an economic rebound.Total same-store sales - at Luk Fook outlets open for more than a year - in Hong Kong and Macau surged 111% in the three months ending June 30, the company said last week. Same-store sales of gold priced by weight jumped 106%, while purchases of fixed-price jewelr...Read More
Having adjusted to the major changes that occurred in 2020, the diamond trade is in an unusual position this year. The market has diverged into two streams: those centers where the economy is open again, and those still facing sporadic outbreaks of the coronavirus.Overall, the trade continues to benefit from the Covid-19 dynamic, as consumers are not yet spending on travel and experiences the way...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A hysterical bride was reunited with the diamond that fell out of her engagement ring at JFK Airport - thanks to an eagle-eyed TSA (Transportation Security Administration) officer.The New York couple were jetting off for a pandemic-delayed honeymoon on the far-flung island of Guam, in the Western Pacific, when they realized the gem had become dislodged.They boarded their plane in d...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' rough prices spiked in the first half of 2021 as supply shortages coincided with buoyant diamond demand at the trade and retail levels.The miner's price index rose 14% during the six months, reflecting "tightness in inventories across the diamond value chain, as well as positive consumer demand for polished diamonds," parent company Anglo American said Tuesday. De Beers...Read More
RAPAPORT... Willie Nagel, a legendary diamond broker and pioneer of the Kimberley Process (KP), died on July 14, according to an announcement by his family in London's Jewish Chronicle.Nagel was born in 1925 in Czernowitz, then part of Romania, according to a 2018 profile in The Daily Telegraph. He came to London to study law, but he ended up brokering diamond deals: He started off working fo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co has abandoned its eight-year legal battle with Costco over its sale of generic solitaire diamond engagement rings bearing the jeweler's name.Both parties yesterday told a judge at Manhattan District Court, USA, that they had agreed to dismiss the case.No details of the settlement were disclosed but Costco lawyer David Bernstein said the companies had "am...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Dan Gertler, the diamond and mineral billionaire accused of "suspect mining and oil deals", was allegedly behind the payment of $360m in bribes to officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The claim is made in a joint investigation by the Bloomberg financial news website, the Africa Confidential online magazine and the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz."Insofar as is known,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond production at the Diavik mine in Canada dropped 12% year on year in the second quarter amid the recovery of lower-grade ore, according to part owner Rio Tinto.Diavik yielded 1.4 million carats for the three months ending June 30, with higher processing volumes failing to offset the lower ore grades coming from the mine's underground portion, Rio Tinto said last week.Rio Tinto's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Australian jeweler Michael Hill reported a rise in revenue during the fourth fiscal quarter amid the reopening of a number of its stores and a sharp increase in online sales.Group sales soared 116% to AUD 116 million ($85.5 million) in the three months ending June 30, the company said last week. Same-store sales - at branches open more than a year - grew 7.5%. During the period, Michae...Read More