(IDEX Online) - Rocksbox, the pioneering jewelry rental company, has been acquired by Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry.Signet says the move should help it reach new customers - primarily young women - following the success of its three-year Path to Brilliance recovery program. Rocksbox, founded by Meaghan Rose in 2012, provides subscribers with three rented p...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A bride and groom used their smartphones to exchange virtual rings in a blockchain wedding.Peter Kacherginsky and Rebecca Rose authorized the Ethereum transactions at a traditional Jewish ceremony in San Francisco, California, USA.The couple, who both work for the cryptocurrency company Coinbase, swapped specially-designed NFTs (non-fungible tokens) named Tabaat - the Hebrew word f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers sales slowed at its March sight, down to $440m as pent-up demand appeared to flag.In January the UK-based miner sold $650m of rough - a three-year high - followed by $550m in February. It has reportedly been increasing prices at recent sights at the midstream restocks, while maintaining flexibilities introduced to help holders earlier in the pandemic.New supply contra...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's polished-diamond exports increased in the first quarter of 2021, indicating a continued recovery following last year's sharp slowdown.Shipments rose 12% year on year to $827.6 million for the three months, the country's Ministry of Economy and Industry reported Tuesday. Export volume climbed 24% to 385,344 carats, with the average price down 10% at $2,148 per carat.The in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has bought subscription-based jewelry-rental platform Rocksbox, aiming to enhance the retail group's services offering and reach younger customers."Rocksbox has revolutionized the jewelry-rental subscription marketplace by delivering personalized, online and data-driven customer experiences for jewelry lovers who prioritize fashion, online convenience and sustainability...Read More
RAPAPORT... A coronavirus surge in India and continued restrictions in Hong Kong have forced jewelry-fair organizers to reschedule upcoming events, compounding the woes the exhibition industry has suffered in the past year.India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has postponed the IIJS Signature show, which was due to begin this Wednesday in Mumbai, according to a recent n...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Specialty jewelers in the US staged a remarkable recovery in the last quarter of 2020, according to IDEX Online's own research, with a year-on-year sales increase in December of more than 21 per cent. That's well ahead of the 12 per cent increase in overall watch and jewelry sales. IDEX Online subscribers please click here to read the full report. Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 144-carat rough diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola, it said Tuesday.The company found the D-color, type IIa diamond at the site's Mining Block 08, a section of the deposit known for its large, high-value rough. The stone is the sixth over 100 carats Lucapa has found at Lulo this year, and the 23rd of that magnitude from the site since m...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, April 6, 2021, Las Vegas... Diamond market sentiment was positive in March as US demand and the gradual return of Chinese traders supported buying activity. Polished price trends were mixed. There was continued upward movement in 1-carat, D to G, IF to VS2 diamonds; the RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat goods increased 1.5% during March. The same quality ranges in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The authorities in Brazil have shelved claims by diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz that global mining giant Vale misled its shareholders.Both parties embarked on a joint venture to extract iron ore for steelmaking from the vast Simandou resource, in southern Guinea.But the government concluded that mining rights had been obtained through bribery, and in 2019 a British court awarde...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IGI labs have become the first in the world to be accredited by the ISO for the reliability of their lab-grown grading.The New York-based International Gemological Institute already had certification for its work with mined diamonds.The ISO - International Organization for Standardization - has now tested its efficiency and accuracy in grading lab growns and awarded it the ISO/...Read More
RAPAPORT... Three countries - including India - face heavy tariffs on certain jewelry exports to the US after Washington, DC, threatened punitive action in response to taxes on digital retailers.The US Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed retaliatory duties of up to 25% on six nations that have introduced e-commerce taxes targeting companies such as Amazon.Jewelry products from India, Tur...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is closing until further notice after the regional government imposed a statewide lockdown because of rising coronavirus infections.The Indian state of Maharashtra has introduced a night curfew and a full weekend lockdown in response to the virus's rapid spread. The restrictions go into effect at 8 p.m. local time Monday.The BDB has asked membe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has promoted Sergey Pavlenko to head of its Udachny mining division, replacing Roman Deniskin, who had been in charge since 2019.Pavlenko has been with Alrosa since 2000, when he started as a metalworking and repair specialist, the miner said last week. In 2010, he became supervisor of the mine's mechanized section, and chief engineer of Udachny's maintenance department. The com...Read More
RAPAPORT... India-based jewelry chain Malabar Gold & Diamonds is expanding its store network to include an additional 56 locations globally.The company will invest $220 million over the next two years to broaden its offering, creating 1,750 new jobs, it said last week. A total of 40 news shops will open in India, while 16 will open overseas - in Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) registered proceeds of $60 million at its March tender in Dubai amid a steady market for larger rough diamonds.The company sold just over 49,000 carats to 63 companies, with individual invoices ranging from $6,000 to several million dollars, the tender house reported last week. It offered a total of 60,000 carats of production from South Africa, Nam...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Government officials in Canada have declared a coronavirus outbreak at the remote Diavik Diamond Mine, close to the Arctic Circle.Two workers at the facility (pictured), managed by Rio Tinto, have tested positive for the British variant of the virus, the first on 29 March, followed by a second, linked, case on 3 April.They are the first two confirmed cases of the British B.1.1.7 Co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Award-winning jewelry designer Alex Woo has died of cancer, aged 47.She was best known for her Little Icons brand of personalized premium fine jewelry charms, made of silver and gold, which were sold at department and fine jewelry stores throughout the U.S.The New York-based designer and entrepreneur also produced all the jewelry for Major League Baseball, and was named one o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's diamond trade is bracing itself for further Covid turmoil as Maharashtra state imposes a coronavirus lockdown and Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) - the world's biggest - closes.The country is suffering an unprecedented spike in Covid infections with 103,558 positive tests yesterday, the highest total for any day since the start of the pandemic.More than...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) has reelected Ann Arnold to serve a second term as chairman of its board of directors. Arnold, the chief strategy officer for Buyers Intelligence Group (BIG), was first appointed to the board last year, the organization said last week. She has volunteered with the JBT for nearly 13 years.In addition to Arnold, several other officers and directors were...Read More