RAPAPORT... A Colombian emerald and diamond necklace designed by Edmond Chin for Boghossian was the top seller at the Magnificent Jewels sale at Christie's in Hong Kong, fetching $7 million.The double rivi??re piece contains 28 cushion and octagonal-cut Muzo emeralds weighing a total of 117.60 carats, and 48.01 carats of oval and rectangular-cut, D- to F-color diamonds. It went for just under its...Read More
RAPAPORT... A pink-diamond necklace by designer Feng J was the top seller at Phillips's Hong Kong sale, leading the $9 million auction.The Jardin de Giverny, a diamond and gem-set necklace featuring a 19-carat, fancy-light-pink diamond center stone, sold for $2.6 million, the auction house said Monday. The piece, which can also be transformed into a ring and bracelet set, brought in just over its...Read More
RAPAPORT... US jewelry sales plunged 54% year on year on Black Friday as consumers stayed away from physical stores, according to shopping tracker RetailNext.Total footfall at brick-and-mortar stores decreased 48%, while in-store purchases across all categories slid 30%, RetailNext reported Saturday. The drop was also due to a lack of "doorbuster" sales, in which retailers offer large discounts on...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has pledged to provide the origin and impact of all its diamonds by 2030 as part of a plethora of sustainability goals it has set out for the coming decade.By 2025, it will "scale" programs that help identify the provenance of De Beers-mined diamonds at retail, the company said Monday. By 2030, it will record most of its annual production - by value - on its Tracr blockch...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has pledged to provide the origin and impact of all its diamonds by 2030 as part of a plethora of sustainability goals it has set out for the coming decade.By 2025, it will "scale" programs that help identify the provenance of De Beers-mined diamonds at retail, the company said Monday. By 2030, it will record most of its annual production - by value - on its Tracr blockch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today unveiled a sustainability charter, with a dozen pledges, including gender parity and carbon neutrality.The miner and retailer announced its "Building Forever" goals to protect the natural world and improve people's lives over the next decade in its four producer countries - Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Canada - and the 30-plus countries where its brands D...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A necklace with over 117 carats of emeralds and diamonds sold at auction for almost $7m.Edmond Chin, the Singapore-born jewelry designer, created the one-of-a-kind piece for the Geneva-based Maison Boghossian, and it was sold at Christie's Hong Kong - where he started his career working in the jewelry and jadeite department.It sold for $6.99m, a fraction below the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany and Pandora receive the highest rankings for responsibly sourcing their supplies of diamonds, gold and other minerals, in a report by the Human Rights Watch.But overall there is still long way to go to wipe out human rights abuses across the supply chain, it concludes.The US and Denmark-based jewelers performed strongly by taking significant steps towards responsible sourci...Read More
RAPAPORT... Canada-based jewelry retailer Birks Group saw sales slump in its first fiscal half as the coronavirus forced stores to shut for much of the period.Revenue slid 33% year on year to just over CAD 57 million ($43.9 million) in the six months that ended September 26, the company reported Friday. It incurred a net loss of CAD 2.8 million ($2.2 million), though that was still a 38% impr...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 179-carat rough diamond from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho.The miner found the high-quality, type I diamond on Thanksgiving Day, it said last week. The stone is the 16th diamond over 100 carats the company has found this year. Earlier this month, Gem Diamonds unearthed 104- and 111-carat specimens from the deposit.The company has already found more diamonds...Read More
RAPAPORT... US e-commerce sales hit an all-time high for Black Friday this year as more consumers turned to online purchasing amid anxiety over the pandemic.Digital spending increased 22% year on year to $9 billion, with consumers shelling out $6.3 million per minute, Adobe Analytics said Saturday. Not only is that total the highest on record for Black Friday, it is also the second-largest online...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) sold "almost 100%" of the goods on offer at a rough tender in Dubai earlier this month as buyers showed optimism ahead of the holidays, the company reported.The group, which sells diamonds on behalf of producers and artisanal miners, offered around 45,000 carats with a value of $35 million to $40 million, it said last week. A total of 130 companies...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The world's most expensive handbag - a $7m creation made of alligator skin with over 130 carats of sapphires, diamonds and Paraiba tourmalines - is to fund the fight against ocean pollution.Almost $1m from the sale of each bag will help rid them of discarded plastic harmful to sea life.The Parva Mea ocean-inspired bags (pictured) take 1,000 hours to produce, and Italian luxury...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A rough tender in Dubai sold diamonds valued at $35m to $40m as optimism returned and traders from Israel were able to attend for the first time.The week-long Trans Atlantic Gem Sales DMCC (TAGS) socially-distanced sale took place earlier this month at the Dubai Diamond Exchange. Almost all the 45,000 carats were sold.TAGS said it had received numerous new registrations from...Read More
Positive sentiment as US holiday season begins. NRF retail group forecasts Nov./Dec. sales +3.6% to $755B as consumers show willingness to spend on spirit-lifting gifts after challenging year. Covid-19 continues to spread, with concerns about crowded shopping areas. Jewelers investing in e-commerce, pushing Black Friday promotions on social media. India sees release of pent-up demand over Diwali....Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based Luk Fook will accelerate its expansion in mainland China, considering the market a strong source of revenues amid struggles in its home territory.The jewelry retailer plans to open a net 250 new mainland stores in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, mainly in fourth- and fifth-tier cities, it said Thursday. The company also aims to develop its e-commerce...Read More
RAPAPORT... Marcus ter Haar stepped down last week as managing director of Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), the Botswana parastatal confirmed with Rapaport News. Ter Haar joined ODC as deputy managing director when the company was established in 2013, and assumed the top position in August 2017. The company has appointed Lipalesa Makepe, its chief financial officer, as acting managing director...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in India beat expectations during the Diwali season amid a release of pent-up demand and strong consumer confidence about future gold prices.Revenues were on a par with last year, or better, as Indians returned to shopping following lockdowns, industry executives told Rapaport News this week. Lower spending on travel and weddings freed up cash for jewelry purchases,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Dealers Club of New York has elected Elliot Krischer as its new president, replacing Reuven Kaufman, who served in the position since 2011. Krischer (pictured), who is the CEO of Esskay Gems, was previously the club's secretary.On November 20, the DDC chose its new executive, which includes Robert Moskovitz as vice president, Benny Simkhai in the role of treasurer, and...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute's (IGI) Hong Kong laboratory has graded a 12.75-carat synthetic diamond, the largest chemical vapor deposition (CVD) stone it has ever received.The lab-grown stone, cut from a 46.20-carat rough, has F color and VVS2 clarity, and is type IIa, the IGI said Monday. It was created by Shanghai Zhengshi Technology Co., which claims it is the large...Read More