(IDEX Online) - GIA has, for the first time, opened a grading lab in Dubai.It will offer its services to over 1,150 diamond companies at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).The move follows GIA's closure of its Antwerp lab in July 2022, which was deemed to be economically unviable.It reflects "Dubai's status as a global hub for business," said DMCC in a statement.The new GIA lab op...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra saw sales slide by 10 per cent during the second half of 2023 amid ongoing uncertainty in the diamond market.The UK-based miner said prices had now bottomed, but the recovery may be slower than first thought. "Petra has reacted swiftly to diamond market uncertainty, taking steps to improve resilience through ongoing cost and capital optimisation," said CEO Richard Duffy....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds is enjoying a reversal in its fortunes after recovering it third +100-ct stone of 2024 - a high-quality 113-ct Type IIa diamond.In the whole of 2023 the UK-based miner recovered a total of just five +100-cts stones, well down on its its long-term average of eight a year.In January Gem recovered two diamonds - weighing 129-cts and 295-cts - from the Letseng mine, in Les...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelry belonging to Steve McQueen's first wife, Neile Adams, sold at auction for just over $200,000 at Bonhams' California Jewels sale.Leading the sale was a platinum ring (pictured) set with a a 3.80-carat old European-cut diamond. McQueen, best known for The Great Escape in 1963, bought it for himself, then decided it would suit his wife better, so he gave it to her.It...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The growth in Swiss watch exports slowed in January after ending 2023 on a high.Foreign sales increased by 5.5 per cent in December, following on from the "highest-ever monthly level" of exports in November, at almost CHF2.5bn ($2.95bn).January's sales were CHF1.9bn ($2.16bn), a year-on-year increase of 3.1 per cent."While the growth in Swiss watch exports continued to slow, i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Namibia's rough diamond production increased by 9 per cent during 2023 to 2.33m carats.Marine diamonds, which account for the majority of its output, were up 8 per cent to 1.86m carats, according to Debmarine Namibia figures.Land-based production, overseen by Namdeb, increased 14 per cent to 468,000 carats.Despite the overall annual increase, fourth quarter output for land and...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara's on-off deal for HB Antwerp to sell its specials from the Karowe mine, Botswana, is back on again.The Canadian miner yesterday (18 February) announced details of a 10-year deal that is very similar to the one it abruptly ended last September.Lucara was less than a year into a 10-year agreement when it pulled the plug, accusing HB of "a material breach of financial comm...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gitanjali Gems, the jewelry brand founded by Mehul Choksi that once had 4,000 points of sale across India, is to be liquidated.The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the move, which follows an insolvency order in October 2018, when the business had admitted liabilities of over Rs 12,558 crore ($1.51bn)Choksi was managing director of Gitanjali until the Punjab Nationa...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra sold $47.8m of diamonds at its February tender, down 30 per cent on December 2023 ($67.9m).Like-for-like prices increased by 4 per cent the company said, but average price per carat fell 15 per cent, from $131 to $112.The UK-based miner said it achieved higher prices across all size categories except 5-cts to 10.8-cts, where prices were largely flat compared to the previous t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - When only the most luxurious door lock pins will do, Mercedes has the answer.It has embedded a 0.25 carat diamond into all four in the "Stronger than Diamonds" limited edition of its $143,000-plus G550 model, which launched on Valentine's Day. It did not provide details of cut, color or clarity. But due an unfortunate error its press release said there was a "25-carat dia...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The US jeweler Harry Winston is expanding its operations in China with the opening of an eighth store.It's located in the Wulin commercial district of Hangzhou, the country's 11th biggest city, which has a 9m population.In 2012 Harry Winston opened its first Chinese outlet, in Beijing."The opening of Harry Winston's new salon, marks its eighth location in mainland Ch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gen Z and millennials don't realize their "sustainable" lab growns are made by burning coal in China and India, according to a Fortune investigation.The global business magazine says many manufacturers are based in India, where 75 per cent of electricity comes from burning coal, but still use words like "sustainable" and "environmentally-friendly" to promote goods on their web...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Geologists have made a breakthrough discovery that is saving time and money for diamond prospectors.They've established a link between the chemical composition of olivine, a mineral that makes up around half of kimberlite rock, and the likelihood that the kimberlite will be diamond-bearing.Andrea Giuliani, senior scientist at ETH Zurich's Institute of Geochemistry and Pet...Read More
(IDEX Online) - France has outlawed the term "lab grown" and says such diamonds can only be described as "synthetic".The country's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) reaffirmed a decision originally made in January 2002 concerning man-made diamonds gemstones and pearls following a challenge by a French lab grown company.Lab grown diamonds can o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has strengthened its ties with Angola in a move aimed at increasing the country's diamond production.It has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Angola's National Mineral Resource Agency, and its state-owned mining and trading companies - Endiama and Sodiam - that is also designed to support the alluvial mining sector and enhance social development.De...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's exports of polished diamonds increased month-on-month by over a third (34 per cent) in January as manufacturers re-stocked after a two-month ban on rough purchases.Overall gross exports were $1.16bn, up from $862m in December, according to new figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council).There are clear signs of recovery, although January exports...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Kering, the French luxury group that owns Boucheron and other high jewelry maisons, reported a 4 per cent drop in revenue during 2023 to $21.1bn. Revenue during the final quarter fell by 6 per cent.The company did not provide a revenue breakdown for its jewelry and watch brands - including Pomellato, DoDo, and Qeelin. They come under the "other houses" category, which saw 1 9 per c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Emerald jewelry that lay undiscovered at the bottom of the sea for 363 years has gone on display in New York.Three items - a royal orb, a cross on a necklace, and a ring - have been bought by Muzo Emerald Colombia, the company that know operates the iconic mine where the emeralds were originally mined.They were on board the the treasure galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today (13 February) announced the launch of its latest lab grown diamond detector, capable of screening 2,500 of the smallest melee in an hour.The AMS Micro (Automated Melee Screening) uses robotic technology to work with stones as small as 0.001-cts, a significant improvement on the 0.0032-cts capacity of its predecessor, the AMS.The new instrument automatically separates...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The US says it will close the loophole that has allowed the importation of Russian diamonds that have been "substantially transformed" in another country.The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced that it will outlaw rough diamonds of 1.0-ct or above from 1 March, and those weighing 0.5-cts of more from 1 September.In a statement on 8 Febru...Read More