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
RAPAPORT... Sodiam, Angola's state diamond company, has opened a jewelry store, its latest attempt to boost the local trade in the mining-focused country.The launch in Luanda, the capital, is a partnership with Hong Kong-based polished manufacturer KGK Diamonds, which opened a cutting factory in Angola last year, Sodiam said Thursday. The organizations marked the store's opening with an exhib...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Elvis Presley's custom-made gold ring, featuring a 7.56ct VS2 diamond, could fetch as much as $1m when it is auctioned later this month.It is among the headline lots at a sale of showbiz memorabilia in Los Angeles, USA.The ring was designed by the King with the TCB logo - Taking Care of Business - the name he gave to his band, together with a pair of lightning bolts.The ring (...Read More
RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds slipped 0.7% in the first nine months of the year, remaining relatively steady despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said."The [Fancy Color Diamond Index] displayed a general stability in relation to this chaotic period," the FCRF noted last week.The index for yellows slipped 0.3% for the three months ending Sep...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Dominion, the troubled Canadian miner, is to recall about 60 furloughed employees in the hope that that its Ekati mine will soon resume operations.The deposit has been closed since March and Dominion, the world's third largest producer of rough diamonds by value, subsequently filed for insolvency protection.It expects to reach agreement soon to restructure its debt and secure...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jonathan Kendall, a key executive in De Beers' downstream activities, will retire at the end of the year following two decades with the business.Kendall was most recently president of De Beers Group Industry Services - the miner's grading unit - and of the company's Institute of Diamonds. In that role, he oversaw the building of laboratories in Antwerp and in Surat, India, De Beer...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Mines plans to recall approximately 60 of its furloughed workers in December to prepare for a restart at its Ekati mine in Canada.Operations at the deposit, which has been shut since March due to Covid-19, will restart after lenders told Dominion they were close to finalizing an agreement to restructure its debt and fund the company, the miner said Friday. The news is...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The price of fancy color diamonds fell by 0.7 per cent in Q3 after sales came to a halt in April because of coronavirus.The New York-based Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) has produced its first quarterly index of 2020. Business was to slow in previous quarters to provide sufficient data.Its figures compare Q3 2020 with Q4 2019 and show declines of -0.8 per cent for pin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Prices of fancy-color diamonds slipped 0.7% in the first nine months of the year, remaining relatively steady despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) said."The [Fancy Color Diamond Index] displayed a general stability in relation to this chaotic period," the FCRF noted last week.The index for yellows slipped 0.3% for the three months ending Sep...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's Spirit of the Rose has achieved the highest price for any purple-pink diamond, selling to an anonymous bidder for nearly $27 million at Sotheby's Geneva.The oval modified brilliant-cut, 14.83-carat, fancy-vivid-purple-pink, internally flawless, type II stone, named for the famous Russian ballet, sold for $26.6 million, beating its low estimate of $23 million. The diamond, whic...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The largest vivid purple-pink diamond ever to appear at auction has sold for a record $26.6m.The ultra-rare 14.83-carat, internally flawless, oval-cut The Spirit of the Rose (pictured) went to an anonymous phone bidder yesterday at Sotheby's Geneva.It was cut from a 27.85-carat clear pink rough stone unearthed at Alrosa's Ebelyakh deposit in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia...Read More
RAPAPORT... E-commerce sales in the US rebounded this week following an initial dip in spending after the presidential election, according to Adobe Analytics.On November 8, consumers spent $2.5 billion online, an increase of 26% year on year, Adobe noted Wednesday. The following day, sales climbed 24% year on year to $2.4 billion, and soared 27% on November 10 to reach $2.5 billion.Those figures r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A human rights watchdog claims seven people have been killed and 41 injured by security staff at Petra Diamond's Williamson mine, in Tanzania.It alleges there has been a catalog of "killings and brutal assaults" involving local artisanal miners since Petra acquired the deposit from De Beers in 2009. The government of Tanzania holds a 25 per cent stake in the mine.The report by...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa expects to maintain production at its current low levels next year, aiming to reduce inventories that built up during the pandemic.The Russian miner is discussing a production plan of 28 million to 30 million carats for 2021, which the board will consider next month, it said Thursday. Alrosa ended the third quarter with 30.6 million carats in its safes, up 41% year on year,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds is investigating allegations that security guards at its Williamson deposit in Tanzania carried out deadly violence against local artisanal miners.At least seven deaths and 41 assaults have taken place at the Williamson mine since Petra acquired it in 2009, according to a report UK-based nonprofit RAID released Thursday. Some of the alleged victims had entered land...Read More
RAPAPORT... The pandemic didn't stop Alibaba from recording sales growth this Singles' Day, with the Chinese e-commerce giant enjoying a sharp rise in activity on its platforms during the week and a half running up to the shopping bonanza.Gross merchandise volume rose 26% to CNY 498.2 billion ($74.1 billion) during an 11-day campaign between November 1 and 11 compared with the same period in...Read More
Sentiment improving as US consumers gain confidence following Biden election win. China strong with robust Singles' Day sales. E-commerce driving growth as jewelers invest in multi-channel platforms and adjust to remote selling strategies. De Beers values 2019 diamond jewelry demand +0.7% at $79B; estimates 1H 2020 US sales -40%, China -45%, India -30%. Christie's Geneva sells $37M (89% by lot). S...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has recovered yet another huge diamond from its Karowe mine, in Botswana.The 998-carat high white clivage diamond (pictured) is reckoned to be the fourth largest stone found in the country.It follows several remarkable finds. In February the same mine yielded the 549-carat Sethunya diamond. In April 2019 the 1,758-carat Sewelo was recovered. And in 2015 the mine announced th...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Karowe mine has produced a 998-carat diamond, the latest in a string of large rough stones from the lucrative deposit in Botswana.Lucara Diamond Corp., which owns Karowe, will work with manufacturing partner HB Antwerp to assess how to maximize value from the rough, the miner said Wednesday. The unbroken, high-white, clivage stone - meaning it needs to be split before further...Read More
RAPAPORT... Debswana, De Beers' joint venture with Botswana, will pause mining at the Damtshaa deposit for an indefinite period, citing a lack of financial viability given market conditions."In the current environment, the marginal cash flow produced by the mine is outweighed by operational costs," a De Beers spokesperson said Wednesday in an email to Rapaport News. "Placing Damtshaa mine int...Read More