(IDEX Online) - A bride-to-be was reunited with her engagement ring, after a diver armed with just a snorkel and an underwater metal detector found it at the bottom of a lake.The white gold and diamond ring slipped from her finger as she sat on a jetty on the shores of Windermere, the largest natural lake in England.Volunteer Angus Hosking, a freediver who regularly clears litter from the lake, of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lab grown company Aether says it has become the world's first diamond producer to receive vegan certification.Vegan Action now guarantees that diamonds made by the New York-based company "do not contain animal products or by-products and have not been tested on animals".Aether does not indicate in its press release what steps it took to ensure no animals were harmed in the man...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor is set to expand the processing facilities at its mining project in South Africa, aiming to give output a boost.The company originally planned to overhaul the Krone-Endora at Venetia asset in 2020, but it delayed the work in order to reduce expenses during the coronavirus pandemic, it said last week. Diamcor expects the expansion to take place in two phases.During the firs...Read More
RAPAPORT... A new trade fair focusing on gemstones, jewelry, minerals and fossils will make its inaugural appearance in Colorado later this year.The HardRock Summit, which will feature over 400 exhibitors, educational seminars and keynote speakers, will run in Denver from September 16 to 21 at the Colorado Convention Center, its founders said last week. The event was created by Christoph Keilmann,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israeli financial institution Peninsula saw profits surge after the company bought Union Bank's diamond business last year.Group-wide income from interest more than doubled year on year to ILS 45.8 million ($14.1 million)for the first quarter ending March 31, Peninsula said last week in a results statement. Net profit rose to ILS 22.2 million ($6.8 million) from ILS 8.1 million ($...Read More
RAPAPORT... A new trade fair focusing on gemstones, jewelry, minerals and fossils will make its inaugural appearance in Colorado later this year.The HardRock Summit, which will feature over 400 exhibitors, educational seminars and keynote speakers, will run in Denver from September 16 to 21 at the Colorado Convention Center, its founders said last week. The event was created by Christoph Keilmann,...Read More
RAPAPORT... A matched pair of fancy-blue diamond earrings with an upper estimate of $770,000 will lead the Hong Kong Jewels & Jadeite auction at Phillips next week.The diamonds, weighing 1.12 and 1.13 carats, have been meticulously cut to maximize their color, the company said recently, calling these stones "one of the most desirable and sought-after of all jewels." The blue diamonds have...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 73.11-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond will lead The Roaring Twenties 2.0 auction at Sotheby's New York next month.The Sienna Star, a VS2-clarity, natural color, cut-cornered square step-cut stone, is set in 18 karat white gold ring with about 4.45 carats of near-colorless F-G color, VS clarity diamonds.It is a described as one of the most important creations by London-...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi was arrested yesterday in Dominica, three days after he disappeared from Antigua, about 120 miles away by sea.There is media speculation that after arriving on the tiny island by boat he was intending to travel by sea to Cuba, 1,150 miles away.He is wanted in his home country of India, where he and nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports more than quadrupled year on year to $566 million in April, reflecting the comparison with the peak of the 2020 coronavirus crisis, according to data the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) released this week. Shipments were down versus March, however, as trading returned to more normal levels following a release of pent-up demand earlier in the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer a fancy-vivid-yellow diamond ring at its New York sale next month, estimating the piece could fetch up to $3 million.The cut-cornered square step-cut, 73.11-carat, VS2-clarity jewel by Mayfair designer Glenn Spiro, called The Sienna Star, is one of the largest fancy-vivid-yellow diamonds to come to auction, Sotheby's said Wednesday. The piece is one of the top...Read More
Upbeat US and China retail sales driving positive sentiment. Trading limited due to supply scarcity and India Covid-19 travel restrictions. Polished shortages stimulating rough buying at firm prices. Strong cash buyers making for good market liquidity, but India experiencing some pandemic-related payment concerns. Richemont FY jewelry sales +3% to $9.1B. Christie's HK sells $76.8M (82% by lot), in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jeweler Mehul Choksi will likely be repatriated to India following his capture in Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean, Reuters reported.Choksi's arrest comes two years after his nephew, Nirav Modi, was apprehended by the Metropolitan Police in the UK on behalf of the Indian authorities.The two fugitives, along with others, are alleged to have defrauded India's Punjab Natio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A former Pandora worker says she's exposed a cheating customer who bought one ring for his girlfriend ... and another for his "sidepiece".The video, posted on TikTok, has attracted 2.6m views in 10 days.Eli from Montreal, Canada, says the customer came clean and explained who the rings were for when she asked if he wanted one receipt or two for the $45 and $50 silver and cubic...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jeweler Mehul Choksi will likely be repatriated to India following his capture in Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean, Reuters reported.Choksi's arrest comes two years after his nephew, Nirav Modi, was apprehended by the Metropolitan Police in the UK on behalf of the Indian authorities.The two fugitives, along with others, are alleged to have defrauded India's Punjab Natio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Australia is set to become a diamond-mining nation again, with the planned resurrection of the Merlin mine, in a remote part of Northern Territory.Lucapa, which also has interests in Angola and Lesotho, agreed to buy the deposit for $6.6m and hopes to have it operational within two years.Merlin produced Australia's largest ever rough diamond - 104-carat type IIa -...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Italian football legend Fabio Cannavaro is auctioning his extremely rare Patek Philippe watch - and donating the proceeds to help at-risk youth in his hometown of Naples.The pink gold timepiece, reference 5208R, is estimated to fetch $705,000 to $962,000 at the Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, to be held jointly by Phillips and Bacs & Russo.Only 10 such watches are produced annuall...Read More
RAPAPORT... The diamond industry is emerging from the Covid-19 crisis, says Rapaport Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz, who has identified five trends shaping the market in 2021. Polished diamond prices rose 1.7% in the first quarter and the momentum continued through April and May, Krawitz noted in the quarterly Diamond Trends Webinar that broadcast on May 12 and 13. The increases were driven by the ret...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies has entered into a collaboration with diamond-industry consultancy Constell Group that will focus on improving efficiency for the lab-grown supply chain."The application of Sarine's advanced technological solutions to many of the currently manual processes will increase the realized value significantly, and we are fully committed to bringing this evolution to t...Read More
RAPAPORT... A necklace made in 1925 by Jean Fouquet will be the flagship item in a selection of vintage jewelry at an online sale by the French unit at Christie's.This piece is expected to fetch up to EUR 450,000 ($551,254) at the June 21 to July 5 sale, which will offer a range of 19th to early 20th century jewelry. The white gold and silver necklace is an example of jewelry influenced by th...Read More