(IDEX Online) - The Watches and Wonders Geneva trade show, due to take place next April, has been canceled because of COVID-19 concerns. The show - formerly known as SIHH - will take place as a digital-only events, say organizers, with Richemont's watch labels, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chopard, Chanel, Hermes and Kering's Ulysse Nardin, plus other brands. It is scheduled for 7 t...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' November sales cycle garnered $450 million as retail demand in the US and China supported manufacturers' appetite for rough, the company reported Wednesday.The monthly total, covering the period from November 2 to 16, was 13% higher than the equivalent cycle in 2019, but lower than the $467 million the miner grossed at its previous sale in September."Steady demand for De...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A team of jewelers have completed the world's most expensive fully-functioning face mask, set with 210 carats of black and white diamonds. Yvel, the luxury Israeli brand, was commissioned by an anonymous Los Angeles-based businessman and art collector, who was keen to help keep the production center open during difficult times. The COVID-19 mask is made of 250 grams of pure 18...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales rose for the sixth straight month in October as consumers began shopping for the holidays earlier than last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) noted.Overall retail sales grew 5.7% compared to the same period last year, and 0.3% from the previous month, according to figures the US Census Bureau released Tuesday. The month-on-month figure represents a slight slowd...Read More
RAPAPORT... Frederick Goldman has appointed Lauren Calmas as general manager of the independent-jeweler channel of its business. Calmas will be responsible for growing the newly created business-to-business (B2B) division for small e-commerce sellers, Frederick Goldman said Monday. She will also be in charge of creating the go-to-market strategy and all marketing and sales activity in the ind...Read More
RAPAPORT... Retail sales at US conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway rose 4% year on year to $4.21 billion in the third quarter as business resumed following coronavirus-related lockdowns.The company owns Borsheims, Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler, but derives around 65% of its retail revenues from its car dealership, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. It does not provide specific data for its...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will sell five natural-diamond pendants created for De Beers' new ReSet Collective project, with the proceeds going to charity, the auction house said Wednesday.Five jewelry designers created the pieces using natural diamonds from De Beers mines as part of the first collaboration in the ReSet series. Sotheby's will offer the items at its online London Fine Jewels sale, which...Read More
(IDEX Online) - IDEX Online is to become the first diamond trading platform in the world to feature diamonds with GIA's Diamond Origin Reports. The pioneering development will allow buyers to filter their search to display only diamonds that come with a GIA Diamond Origin Report (DOR).The DOR scientifically matches a polished diamond to its original rough, telling the story of the gem�...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Macy's and JC Penney account for almost half the fine jewelry and watch sales made by north America's 10 biggest supersellers.The combined sales totals from membership-only warehouse clubs, hypermarkets, department stores and general e-commerce were 8.1bn in 2019, according to the newly-published State of the Majors report by National Jeweler maga...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has combined two of its London-based divisions into a new unit focused on consumer brands and social purpose.The consumer and brands department and the corporate affairs team have merged into one division - brands and consumer markets - headed by senior executives Stephen Lussier and David Prager, De Beers said Monday. The move, effective immediately, will enable De Beers...Read More
RAPAPORT... A collection of large sapphires will take center stage at the Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie's in New York next month, with the top item expected to fetch up to $7 million.The bracelet, which is from a private collection, features a 43.10-carat Kashmir sapphire surrounded by 67.90 carats of diamonds. It's estimated to bring in $5 million to $7 million at the December 8 sale, Ch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pearl and diamond bracelet specially made for singer Dame Vera Lynn - Britain's celebrated wartime Forces' Sweetheart - is to be sold at auction.It includes a hand-painted enamel depicting a bluebird over the white cliffs of Dover, a reference to one of her most famous songs.Dame Vera died in June aged 103. The White Cliffs of Dover bracelet is being sold online at Chri...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds saw heavy losses in the latest fiscal year as sales slid and weakening rough prices reduced the value of its mines.The net loss of $223 million for the 12 months ending June 30 included an impairment charge of $85.5 million at its Cullinan, Finsch, Koffiefontein and Williamson mines, the company reported Tuesday in delayed results. It also reflected a 36% drop in re...Read More
RAPAPORT... A Canadian court has granted Rio Tinto permission to sell diamonds belonging to Dominion Diamond Mines to recoup more than CAD 120 million ($91.4 million) in unpaid debt from their Diavik joint venture.Rio Tinto subsidiary Diavik Diamond Mines, Inc. (DDMI) had been holding Dominion's 40% share of rough from Diavik as collateral. That was used as security for the $91.4 million Dominion...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-pink diamond ring by Meister was the top seller at the Bonhams London Jewels sale, garnering GBP 838,750 ($1.1 million).The piece, with a step-cut 3.62-carat center stone and designed in 1968 by Meister, exceeded its high estimate of GBP 750,000 ($989,417) at the November 12 auction, Bonhams said last week. A diamond brooch from the collection of Dame Joan Collins, designe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports fell 6% year on year to $629 million in October as lower shipments to Hong Kong and France outweighed a rise in orders from the US. However, unusually high-value exports to France in October 2019 skewed the year-on-year comparison, a spokesperson for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) noted Monday.Rough trading increased amid stronger s...Read More
RAPAPORT... How does the next generation of diamond professionals view the industry? We find out by interviewing two active members of the Young Diamantaires group.Founded in 2016 as an initiative of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the Young Diamantaires organization has grown and adopted a more structured format. In the latest episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, German j...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Angola's state-owned diamond company is selling polished diamonds and jewelry direct to consumers with the opening of its first store in Luanda, the country's capital.It's a partnership with India-based wholesaler KGK Diamonds, which opened a factory in there last November. The store is at the Hotel InterContinental Luanda Miramar.Eug?? (C)nio Bravo da Rosa, ch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Antwerp's rough exports for October were up 82 per cent by carat and 75 per cent by value year-on-year, further fueling hopes of a sustained recovery from the pandemic.Newly-released figures from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) show increases rough imports are not far behind, up 78 per cent by carat and 65 per cent by value.Trade in polished gems, a far smaller sector,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has launched a representative office in Shenzhen, China, paving the way for tighter business collaborations between the two markets.The office will make it easier for Chinese companies to navigate the process of setting up operations in Dubai, the DMCC said last week. The DMCC established the outpost in partnership with corporate service p...Read More