RAPAPORT... Emma Hill plans to retire from her role as chair of her father's jewelry chain, Michael Hill, at the end of the month.Hill - who has worked for the Australia-based company since starting on the shop floor of a New Zealand branch at 13 - will leave on June 28, the retailer said last week. During her more than 30-year tenure at Michael Hill, she established the Canadian arm of the compan...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A South African village is in the grip of a diamond rush, after a herd man dug up an unidentified stone on Saturday.More than 1,000 people have since flocked to KwaHlathi, in KwaZulu-Natal province, armed with picks, shovels and forks in the hope of making their fortune.The stones have yet to be identified but that hasn't deterred the crowds, nor have concerns about who owns t...Read More
The 2008 economic crash left the diamond-financing sector cautious, but the effects of the coronavirus have restored some balance.RAPAPORT... For just over a decade, the diamond midstream - consisting of manufacturers and dealers - has served as a repository for the trade's inventory and absorbed much of its credit risk. Manufacturers pay up front for rough, process the stone, and then typica...Read More
RAPAPORT... Netflix will debut a new action movie this month that centers on the diamond mines of Canada's Northwest Territories.The Ice Road, which stars Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne, will hit screens on June 25. The movie follows a daring rescue over the thawing winter passageway to save trapped workers after a diamond mine in the remote arctic region collapses. While the story's premise i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Ghana's only large-scale diamond producer has stopped mining, two years after the government took control.Ghana Consolidated Diamonds was bought by Jospong Group of Companies, a waste collection firm, in 2011. It promised to invest $100m over five years, to produce 1m carats annually and to create 2,000 jobs, but failed to deliver. The company was taken back into sta...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook has joined the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) in what the organization hails as a "giant milestone" for the industry.Chow Tai Fook will "provide [the] confederation with a considerably broader perspective, not only in what are several of the fastest-growing markets in the global jewelry trade, but also in the online environment, which is consuming...Read More
RAPAPORT... Charm-bracelet maker Alex and Ani has filed for bankruptcy protection after accumulating high debts over the past few years.The company, which operates 74 retail outlets across the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, has been mired in financial challenges since 2018, chief restructuring officer Robert Trabucco said in a June 9 filing. The company's rapid growth created operational difficulties...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Germany has, for the first time, apologized for the genocide in Namibia which claimed the lives of 75,000 tribes people - during which time it plundered untold reserves of the country's diamonds.German foreign minister Heiko Maas (pictured) has pledged $1.3bn aid to Namibia for the mass killings between 1904 and 1908 in what was then German South West Africa.Towards the end of...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lab-grown diamond producer Green Rocks is launching a new facility in Israel, pledging to operate the center in accordance with a new sustainability standard.The production and research site in Nof Hagalil, northern Israel, will create "thousands of carats" of untreated synthetic diamonds, said Leon Peres, CEO of Green Rocks, in an online presentation last week. Headquartered in F...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Swiss watchmaker Bovet 1822 has crafted a bespoke pair of his-and-hers watches that double as the dashboard clock of the new ultra-expensive Rolls-Royce Boat Tail.The one-off handcrafted car is said to be the most expensive in the world, with an estimated price tag as a high as $28m.Bovet designed and made a pair of reversible watches, together with a dedicated aluminium and ti...Read More
(IDEX Online) - New owners of the troubled Ekati mine, in Canada, predict a 4m carat output this year, after rescuing it from Dominion Diamonds.A group of creditors took on $70m of outstanding debt and pledged $85m of working capital facility for the mine in Northwest Territories. The deal was signed in February.The newly-formed Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, owned by DDJ, Brigade and Western As...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales will grow 10.5% to 13.5% this year as the economy rebounds at a faster rate than originally predicted, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).The organization expects total sales for the year to reach $4.44 trillion to $4.56 trillion, it said last week. That figure is well above the 6.5% to 8.2% increase to between $4.33 trillion and $4.44 trillion the NRF pr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in the US more than tripled in May, fueled by pent-up demand amid a further reopening of the economy, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.Sales in the category increased 203% year on year during the month, reflecting a comparison with May of last year, when many stores were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, jewelry spending also increased 45% versus 2019, Ma...Read More
RAPAPORT... Insurance company Jewelers Mutual Group has acquired Gem + Jewel, an e-commerce specialist that aggregates products from independent jewelers and helps them sell to the public.Gem + Jewel provides jewelers with websites for their own businesses, as well as online inventory hosting, and helps expand their e-commerce product offerings. The model allows retailers and suppliers to sha...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in the US more than tripled in May, fueled by a release of pent-up demand amid a further reopening of the economy, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.Sales in the category increased 203% year on year during the month, reflecting a comparison with May of last year, when many stores were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, jewelry spending also increased 45% ve...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alex and Ani, the US start-up that grew into a $1bn empire on sales of spirituality and charm bracelets has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The global pandemic sealed its fate after loan defaults, a slump in sales, lawsuits, internal strife and months of disruption caused by a ransomware virus.The company was founded in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, who named it after...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough prices at Mountain Province surged in the second quarter as strong retail sales and steady polished trading drove demand for its goods.The miner reported a price increase of around 18% on a like-for-like basis compared with the first quarter. Sales rose 23% to $52.6 million for the period versus $42.7 million in the first quarter, with volume climbing 19% to 718,549 carats,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two raiders fled smashed a jewelers' display case with a nail gun but fled when an employee pulled a gun and fired three shots.The attempted robbery took place at the Katy Mills Mall, in Katy, Texas, USA, on Friday night.The suspects - men wearing hoods, masks and gloves - were stuffing merchandise into a duffel bag when the employee started They ran off, dropping most of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Hong Kong's auction houses say gem sales kept booming last year, even though the pandemic forced them to conduct their business online. Christie's, Phillips, Sotheby's and Bonhams all reported record prices in a round-up by the South China Morning Post, although they did not disclose total revenues.The single most expensive item (pictured) sold at a live auction...Read More
Diamond market upbeat as orders stream in; dealers frustrated with sourcing difficulties. Prices firm due to supply shortages and steady US and Chinese demand. Rough trading strong as De Beers raises prices by estimated 5% for goods above 2 ct. Major jewelers gaining market share with robust e-commerce growth. Signet Jewelers 1Q sales +98% to $1.7B, profit of $138M vs. loss of $197M Chow Tai Fook...Read More