RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds has increased the estimate of total rough carats available at its Kareevlei mine in South Africa, following a recent drilling program at the site.The results indicate total carats at the mine to be 513,500, a 52% increase over the 367,000 originally forecast in 2018, the company said Tuesday. So far, BlueRock has mined 28,500 carats from the site. The drilling also re...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Rapaport News team looks back at a tumultuous year in our final podcast of 2020, highlighting the most significant stories and trends that shaped our industry. Publisher John Costello, News Editor Avi Krawitz, and reporters Joshua Freedman and Leah Meirovich discuss the success with which the industry pivoted to digital and the impact the "new normal" is having on diamond trading a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports into the US slid 8% year on year to $1.34 billion in October as a lower average price outweighed higher carat volumes, according to recent data from the US Commerce Department. The US has now seen 19 consecutive months of decline in the value of polished shipments entering the country. Polished imports slumped 45% year on year to $9.22 billion for the firs...Read More
RAPAPORT... US e-commerce sales rose on Super Saturday, with consumers steering away from buying in stores when they made their last-minute pre-Christmas purchases.Consumers shelled out $1.6 billion on the December 19 shopping day, up 30% year on year from 2019, Adobe Analytics said Monday. That led a weekend of strong digital sales, as consumers spent $1.9 billion via their laptops and smartphone...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A mystery donor left an antique diamond ring, valued at over $6,000, in one of the Salvation Army's famous red collection kettles.The 1.81-ctw ring (pictured) came inside a small plastic bag with a note scrawled on a scarp of paper that simply said: "Help the poor".The Salvation Army in the Germantown area of Memphis, Tennessee, said: "We may never know the story behind the ri...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will scale back its Antwerp operations from January, but has decided not to shut the laboratory entirely, the organization confirmed Monday."Today, we notified clients of the GIA laboratory in Antwerp that, as of January, the laboratory will offer consolidated services with reduced staff," a spokesperson told Rapaport News. It will contin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Customs officers in the USA seized two shipments of fake brand-name watches and jewlery, with a "genuine" vale of $9.6m.One of the intercepted packages came from Shenzen, China, and included 171 items, labeled as Versace, Michael Kors, Cartier, Salvatore Ferragamo, Dior, Tiffany, Bulgari, Armani, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Hublot, Patek Phillippe, Audemars Piguet, Louis Vuitton, Fossil,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Council says 200 companies are currently trying out its newly-updated rules on responsible sourcing.It hopes to roll out its new System of Warranties (SoW) - pictured - early next year, requiring sellers at every point in the supply chain - polished as well as rough - to include a statement on B2B invoices and memos guaranteeing that the diamonds are Kimberley Pro...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports showed a stabilizing trend in November as buoyant Chinese demand helped ease the decline the industry had seen for most of this year.Global shipments fell 3.2% year on year to CHF 1.94 billion ($2.19 billion) for the month, the gentlest drop since January, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Thursday. Exports to China skyrocketed 70% to CHF 301....Read More
RAPAPORT... Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has elected Joseph Esposito as the new chairman of its board of directors.Esposito is executive vice president of National Chain Group, a contract manufacturer and supplier based in Rhode Island, MJSA said last week. As chairman, he will succeed Steven Cipolla, who is president at National Chain Group and has headed MJSA since 20...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province has recovered the biggest ever diamond from its Gahcho Kue mine in Canada - a 157.4-carat gem of "exceptional quality".The miner said it was a major morale boost after a year in which the industry had faced immense challenges.Gahcho Kue, an open pit operation approximately 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, began commercial production in March...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The iconic Argyle mine, which closed last month, has sold the most valuable fancy vivid diamond in its 37 years of tenders.Owners Rio Tinto aren't disclosing the price paid for the 2.24 carat Argyle Eternity (pictured), which was bought by Harsh Maheshwari, director of Kunming Diamonds, in Hong Kong.Mr Maheshwari, who bought a number of the other 61 rare pink, red, blue and vi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is on the verge of allowing lab-grown trading, with members due to vote on the matter next week.The board of the world's largest diamond hub has recommended the move, arguing that better detection and increased awareness have made it easier to segregate synthetic stones from natural ones. The poll will take place at the annual general meeting (...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stargems sold $87.5 million in rough diamonds at a tender in Dubai last week, benefiting from strong trading in the global market for goods above 0.75 carats.Some 115 buyers purchased a combined 379,912 carats at the sale, making it the largest rough-diamond tender in the history of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) said Thursday. The sale f...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is on the verge of allowing lab-grown trading, with members due to vote on the matter next week.The board of the world's largest diamond hub has recommended the move, arguing that better detection and increased awareness have made it easier to segregate synthetic stones from natural ones. The poll will take place at the annual general meeting (...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Five major players have shown interest in conducting auctions and tenders when the Angolan Diamond Bourse opens next year.Angola, the world's sixth biggest diamond producer, brought in trading reforms in 2018 that allowed 120 companies to buy stock previously available to just eight "preferential customers".Diamantino Azevedo, the country' minister of mineral resources an...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of luxury items in China have increased "exponentially" in 2020, led by growth in consumer demand for jewelry, according to Bain & Company.Purchases of jewelry and leather goods on the mainland have risen approximately 70% to 80% since the beginning of the year, while ready-to-wear clothing and shoes grew about 40% to 50%, Bain noted last week in its China Luxury report, cond...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is preparing a new 10-year plan for ensuring the organization and its members achieve the UN's sustainable-development goals (SDGs). The "Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond" will outline how the RJC intends to meet these goals, and how members can align their operations and reporting with them, the council said last week. The document will also expl...Read More
RAPAPORT... The pandemic has altered how US consumers shop for engagement rings, rather than having a major impact on the amounts they spent, according a survey by wedding resource The Knot.Proposers made greater use of online tools during Covid-19, for example, by spending time researching rings on the internet or connecting with jewelers on social media, the organization said Thursday in it...Read More
RAPAPORT... Indian dealer Nehal Modi was charged Friday with grand larceny for allegedly stealing $1.4 million in diamonds from a New York wholesaler in a multipart scam.In March 2015, Modi - the brother of infamous Indian jeweler Nirav Modi - borrowed nearly $800,000 worth of diamonds from LLD Diamonds for a purported deal with Costco, prosecutors said Friday in a court filing. However, instead o...Read More