(IDEX Online) - An Australian start-up aims to fill an industry gap by providing a secondary market for super-rare pink diamonds.Prices are soaring, says Tim Goodman, CEO of yourdiamonds.com, yet private owners encounter problems selling pre-owned pinks.He aims to sell a maximum of 30 stones at his first sale, and to then hold six-monthly tenders. Goodman, a former executive chairman of...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 254-carat rough stone in Lesotho, marking a return to high-value discoveries following a lull.The "high-quality," type II, white diamond came from the company's lucrative Let??eng mine, it said in a statement Tuesday.The miner had not publicized any noteworthy finds since January, when the deposit produced a 146.9-carat rough. Output of large diamonds...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based retail sales of jewelry and other hard-luxury items surged in March as Covid-19 restrictions eased and consumer sentiment improved.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts rose 81% year on year to HKD 2.98 billion ($384 million) during the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Tuesday. Sales across all retail categorie...Read More
RAPAPORT... Phillips has hired two executives for its international jewelry department in an effort to broaden its expertise in the sector.Sara Payne Thomeier will join the auction house as senior vice president and head of jewels for the Americas, Phillips said last week. She will be responsible for leading the New York jewelry department, deepening client relationships and sourcing material for...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index rose 0.73 per cent during April, and remains at its highest point since June 2019. It increased 0.80 per cent in March after a flat February. Throughout most of April the Index fluctuated slightly, but it dipped then rose in the final week of the month. It closed at 124.04. The average daily value of the Index through the month wa...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has launched its first lab-grown jewelry line and pledged to cease using mined diamonds in any of the company's pieces.The Danish jeweler will introduce the collection, Pandora Brilliance, in the UK on May 6, before debuting it globally in 2022, it said Tuesday. Pandora believes offering synthetics will make its products more accessible to a wider audience looking for more affo...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, May 4, 2021, Las Vegas... Diamond markets were mixed in April. A robust recovery in the US and China drove optimism, but sentiment weakened due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in India. Surat-based manufacturers reduced capacity as infection rates rose. Grading labs experienced a backlog because of operating restrictions.Lower inventory levels supported polished prices. The...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two shipments of counterfeit jewelry, including hundreds of fake Cartier and Hermes items, have been seized by customs officers as they entered the US from China.The total haul would have been worth almost $3.2m if genuine. The shipments, intercepted in Cincinnati, Ohio, were were headed to private residences in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and Miami Beach, Florida, according to a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora today announced it is ditching mined diamonds entirely, in favor of sustainable lab-grown stones.The Danish jewelry giant said the move was part of its ethical and carbon neutral strategies that have also seen it outlaw the use of newly-mined gold and silver and use only recycled precious metals.Pandora gas pledged to achieve complete neutrality by 2025 and says that by nex...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams will offer a Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring at its New York sale this month, expecting it to fetch up to $480,000.The ring, from the late 19th century, contains a cushion-shaped, 5.22-carat unheated sapphire set within a diamond frame. The piece will lead the May 19 auction, Bonhams said last week."Kashmir sapphires are among the most highly prized gems in the world due to t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tse Sui Luen (TSL) expects to report a loss for the full fiscal year amid a drop in consumer demand during the first half.The Hong Kong-based jeweler believes it will lose at least HKD 40 million ($5.2 million) for the year ending March 31, it said last week. That compares with a loss of HKD 90 million ($11.6 million) the previous year. Consumer sentiment waned in all TSL's operating m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Trans Atlantic Gem Sales reported rough sales of $18m in Dubai, despite a Covid ban on Indian nationals entering the UAE.Manufacturers in Surat sent their buying teams in to the country before restrictions came into force on 25 April to ensure they could attend the TAGS tender, as well as forthcoming sales by De Beers and Alrosa.TAGS said it sold all the 45,000 carats on offer, inc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A rare 5.22-carat Kashmir sapphire is expected to fetch up to $480,000 at Bonhams' New York Jewels sale later this month.The cushion-shaped mixed-cut gem was discovered high up in the Zanskar region of the Himalayas in the 1880s.It is certified as unheated and is set in a ring with 10 diamonds (approx four carats) in 18k pink and silver-topped gold. It is estimated at $2...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Jewelry Industry Summit (JIS) is turning its attention to environmental issues in its next webinar taking place on May 5. "This webinar seeks to clarify for our community the often-complicated statements made by sellers about the environmental impact of the production of jewelry products," explained Cecilia Gardner, chair of the summit. The event, titled "Jewelry and the Environmen...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams will offer a Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring at its New York sale this month, expecting it to fetch up to $480,000.The ring, from the late 19th century, contains a cushion-shaped, 5.22-carat unheated sapphire set within a diamond frame. The piece will lead the May 19 auction, Bonhams said last week."Kashmir sapphires are among the most highly prized gems in the world due to t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mene, an online retailer that prices its precious-metal jewelry based on weight, reduced its net loss for 2020 as the average value per order increased.The company reported a 51% decline in its net loss for the year ending December 31 as the average order value rose 63% to CAD 1,530 ($1,235), the Toronto, Canada-based company said last week. Sales of gold products grew 21%, while plati...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co is launching its first ever range of engagement rings for men.It says that after introducing the diamond engagement to the world (for women) back in 1886, it's "marking a bold new era of love" with its Charles Tiffany Setting.That's widely understood to refer to the rise in same-sex marriages. Six styles are currently on its website, made of platinum...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rounds and fancies saw little movement through April, although price increases slightly weighed decreases. There was little movement among the smallest round goods, under 0.30-cts although 0.45-0.49-cts were busy, with an even split between prices moving up and down. The most notable category was 3.00-3.99-cts, which saw widespread price drops among I1-I3 clarities. Price rises pre...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. has created its first ever line of engagement rings for men in an effort to appeal to a broader client base.The collection, named after the jeweler's founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, is part of an effort to promote "love and inclusivity" and "[pave] the way for new traditions to celebrate our unique love stories," Tiffany said last week. Tiffany will offer the signet-s...Read More
RAPAPORT... Berkshire Hathaway, which owns Borsheims, Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler, saw retail sales jump in the first quarter as the market bounced back from last year's downturn.Revenue in the retail segment rose 21% year on year to $4.35 billion, according to Warren Buffett's conglomerate, which does not break down figures for its jewelry brands. Pretax earnings for the retail...Read More