RAPAPORT... New Jersey-based Bergio International, a jewelry designer and manufacturer, has acquired a majority stake in Gearbubble, a company that helps businesses sell items on the internet.Headquartered in Las Vegas, Gearbubble is an e-commerce fulfillment platform that aims to improve clients' experience when listing products on sites such as Amazon and Etsy. Bergio has bought 51% of Gear...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has recovered a huge fancy pink Type IIa diamond - weighing 62.7 carats - from its Karaowe mine, in Botswana.The Canadian miner said it was one of the world's largest rough pink diamonds on record.It was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the mine's South Lobe, along with three other large fancy pinks of similar quality - weighin...Read More
RAPAPORT... A rare 2-carat Argyle diamond fetched AUD 2.2 million ($1.6 million) at the first public tender of pinks originating from the mine, setting an Australian record.The fancy-purplish-pink stone, called the Fitzpatrick Pink, was expected to garner between AUD 1.5 million and AUD 2.5 million ($1.1 million and $1.9 million), Yourdiamonds.com, the sale's organizer, said Wednesday.The seller w...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgian diamond manufacturer HB Antwerp has launched a training and education center for current and prospective members of the trade, the latest move in the company's speedy expansion drive.The HB Academy, based in Antwerp, will have three components: training for people who want to become diamond specialists, courses for customer-facing jewelers, and a continuing-education progr...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gahcho Ku?(C) mine is on track to achieve its 2021 production forecast after strong second-quarter output compensated for a shutdown earlier this year, Mountain Province said.Total production from the site in Canada rose 14% year on year to 1.8 million carats during the three months ending June 30, the part owner reported Tuesday. The figure was also 27% higher than the 1.4 million...Read More
RAPAPORT... The diamond industry has come out of the Covid-19 pandemic much better than expected. While many have gone through and continue to go through extremely difficult times, some companies, particularly large firms, have prospered. For the first four months of 2021, total Indian polished exports were up 76% year on year, US polished imports rose 56% and rough sales at Alrosa and De Beers in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Nearly one-third of consumers increased their spending on jewelry during the pandemic, according to a survey by The Plumb Club.Much of that was due to participation in remote meetings, The Plumb Club said Monday. Some 41% of respondents stated they were more tempted to wear jewelry that was easily visible during online gatherings, and 23% indicated they were wearing jewelry more freque...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's polished-diamond exports jumped in June, albeit at a gentler rate than in previous months, as the country's trade benefited from a rebound in global demand.Shipments after returns rose 75% year on year to $289.7 million for the month, the Ministry of Economy and Industry said Monday. Export volume increased 66% to 125,119 carats, while the average price advanced 6% to $2,...Read More
RAPAPORT... China's diamond trade bounced back in the first half of the year as the country's economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.Polished imports - after returns of unsold goods - came to $1.58 billion, more than for all of 2020 and 49% higher than in the same period of 2019, the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) reported Monday. Total rough and polished shipments in and out of the SD...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers hiked its rough prices yet again as Sight 6 opened yesterday in Gabarone.Better quality stones are reportedly up by five per cent as the midstream clamors to re-stock, consumer demand rallies in the USA and China - and production at the mines fails to keep up.De Beers has raised prices at almost every Sight this year, after Covid devastated its 2020 sales. Increases at the...Read More
RAPAPORT... At the halfway point of 2021, the Rapaport Diamond Podcast reflects on the core issues driving the recovery in the diamond market. With prices on the rise and optimism driving the market forward, should the trade even be questioning whether the momentum will continue? In episode 46, the Rapaport editorial team draws lessons from the major jewelers in the US and China, who appear t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond jewelry that belonged to Sammy Davis Jr is to be auctioned next week (20 July).Five lots are being offered at the Bonhams California Jewels sale, among them a fancy brown diamond ring seen in many performance photos (estimated at $7,000-9,000).Davis, who died in 1990, was an icon of the US entertainment industry and part of the "Rat Pack", alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Mart...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has made its second big-money rough purchase from Petra Diamonds in less than a year, snapping up a 39.34-carat, blue stone for more than $40 million.The famed mining company partnered with manufacturer Diacore to buy the type IIb diamond, which Petra unearthed at its Cullinan mine in South Africa in April. The final price was $40.2 million, or just over $1 million per ca...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An exceptional 39.34-carat blue rough diamond has been sold for over $40m.The Type IIb diamond (pictured), was recovered by Petra at its Cullinan mine, South Africa, in April, and was sold yesterday for an up-front cash payment to a partnership between De Beers and Diacore.The price paid was $1,021,357 per carat, slightly less than the $1,156,000 per rough carat paid for another di...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported its second-highest monthly sales of rough and polished diamonds in June, as demand for rough stones remained strong.But the Russian state-owned miner warned that the rough market was entering "a long period of supply deficit" as demand remained high, rough diamond stocks at the Indian mid-stream segment were low and miners' rough stocks hit a rock bottom levels...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's garnered $8.2 million from its Paris Jewels sale, with a necklace by Jean Fouquet setting a world auction record for a piece by the designer.Created in 1925, the necklace is set with a cut-cornered rectangular aquamarine weighing between 85 and 90 carats. The Art Deco jewel sold for EUR 980,000 ($1.2 million), smashing its EUR 450,000 ($534,474) upper estimate at the auction...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Indian jewelry trade has partnered with the World Gold Council (WGC) to promote the yellow metal in the domestic market, noting that interest in the product has waned among the country's younger consumers.The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has signed an agreement with the global organization to fund a multimedia marketing campaign, the duo said in a joint...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has hiked rough-diamond prices for the fifth time in eight months as the market continues to surge amid strong demand and limited supply.This week's sale saw average increases of 4% to 5%, insiders told Rapaport News on Monday, the first day of the July sight. Rough weighing around 1 carat and larger saw rises of 5% or more, while smaller goods grew in price by approximat...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jewelry store owner accused of defrauding US watch customers and businesses out of millions of dollars has been arrested. Santiago Mora was apprehended by FBI agents in Miami, Florida. He was reportedly on the run from Katy, Texas, where he ran ALKU Jewels, although he texted a local TV station to say he was "just finalizing finances".Mora is accused of taking payments...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Desperate Indians are selling their gold jewelry as the pandemic pushes them further into poverty.Many take out doorstep gold loans in the hope they'll find a way to repay, but increasing numbers are defaulting, and end up forfeiting their valuables.One of India's biggest gold loan companies, Manappuram, which has over 4,000 branches, says it auctioned $54m of customers&#...Read More