RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers plans to have James Allen e-commerce displays in 80 of its Jared locations this holiday season following a successful trial of the store-in-store concept. "Given positive sales results and strong traffic gains, we plan to expand this new format to over 80 locations, or one-third of our jewelry fleet, prior to holiday," Signet CEO Gina Drosos said Thursday in an ear...Read More
RAPAPORT... The price cuts that took effect in the rough-diamond market last month surprised some, but made perfect sense given the trends in polished trading and the recent earnings reports from De Beers and Alrosa.The September issue of the Rapaport Research Report, which was published Monday, outlines the main considerations that led De Beers and Alrosa to reduce rough prices in August. As majo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Irish tycoon who revived his nation's whiskey industry is seeking additional funds for diamond explorations in Botswana and South Africa.John Teeling's Botswana Diamonds is already drilling the "very promising" M8 kimberlite at Marsfontein, Limpopo, South Africa.Last year it reported finding diamonds come from residual unprocessed stockpiles around the mine and from d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - BlueRock Diamonds raised over $1.25m in a private sale of rough from its Kareevlei mine, in South Africa.The British miner says the price it achieved - an average of $330 per carat for 3,805 carats - was higher than the $290 it achieved in a similar sale in June of this year, despite the ongoing pandemic.Executive chairman Mike Houston said: "Our diamonds remain attractive to buyer...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet appears to be bouncing back, with an unprecedented $270m of e-commerce sales making up, in part, for the enforced closure of stores during lockdown.The jeweler saw virtual sales up 72.1 per cent in the second fiscal quarter, compared with same period in 2019, as it served more than 300,000 customers via online consultations.James Allen, Signet's e-commerce brand, was th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Australian miner Lucapa has reported another record month of carat recoveries at its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.Gravel deposits in the MB06 leziria area yielded 3,852 carats in August, including 52 specials, beating the company's record in July of 3,462 carats. The largest diamond recovered from the area is a 61-carat white D-colour Type IIa."This is the second consecu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond exporters in India are reportedly looking to new markets in the Far East as tensions rise in the country's Himalayan border dispute with China.Trade links have becoming increasingly strained since 20 Indian soldiers were killed in fighting in June, the deadliest clash there between the two nations in almost half a century.Matters were made worse last week when the Chin...Read More
RAPAPORT... The founders of Singapore-based retailer SK Jewellery want to buy out the company and take it private, aiming to gain greater control of its operations.OroGreen Investment, which is held by SK's founders - non-executive chairman Lim Yong Guan, CEO Lim Yong Sheng and executive chairman Lim Liang Eng - will also delist the jeweler from the Singapore stock exchange. The three currently ow...Read More
RAPAPORT... Getting customers to shop post-lockdown has been difficult given the financial constraints many face, and the fear of catching Covid-19 while out has only added to that challenge. While customers prefer shopping in physical stores, they will only visit retailers they believe provide adequate safety measures, according to a De Beers survey of 500 Americans in June. However, for clients...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa is expanding its use of X-ray technology in an effort to recover rarer and larger rough diamonds before the sorting system crumbles them into pieces.The Russian company is trialing upgraded equipment at its Udachny mine in Yakutia so it can identify type IIa stones measuring 6 millimeters or more, a spokesperson told Rapaport News last month. The previous technology only pi...Read More
RAPAPORT... The founders of Singapore-based retailer SK Jewellery want to buy out the company and take it private, aiming to gain greater control of its operations.OroGreen Investment, which is held by SK's founders - non-executive chairman Lim Yong Guan, CEO Lim Yong Sheng and executive chairman Lim Liang Eng - will also delist the jeweler from the Singapore stock exchange. The three currently ow...Read More
RAPAPORT... Getting customers to shop post-lockdown has been difficult given financial constraints, and the fear of catching Covid-19 while out has only added to that challenge. While customers prefer shopping in physical stores, they will only visit retailers they believe provide adequate safety measures, according to a De Beers survey of 500 Americans in June. However, for clients to feel truly...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 17.34-carat emerald-cut diamond ring broke the Australian record for a jewelry item sold at auction when it fetched A$575,000 (US$418,000).The gem, set in platinum with a pave-set of brilliant-cut diamonds, was reportedly bought by billionaire heiress and socialite Francesca Packer-Barham, 25, niece of the late media tycoon Kerry Packer.Australia's previous record for an auc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds, which operates the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world, reported a slump in first-half profits from $18.7m to just $2.5m.The London-based miner has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and saw revenue slip from $93.1m in H1 of 2019 to $69.5m. It had to close its Let?... ?eng mine (pictured) in Lesotho from 28 March to 26 April becau...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The iconic Argyle mine is selling a collection of 62 diamonds, weighing just 57.23 carats, in one of its last tenders before production ceases.The headline "hero" item in its 2020 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender is the Argyle Eternity, a 2.24 carat round brilliant fancy vivid purplish pink diamond - the largest stone of its type the mine has ever offered for sale.There are five other "...Read More
RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds saw the average price for rough from its Kareevlei mine increase 14% in July compared with the previous month, it reported last week.The miner sold 3,805 carats of diamonds from the South African deposit for $1.3 million during the month, with the average price of $330 per carat exceeding the company's expectations, it said. BlueRock sold the stones through a private...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds fell into the red in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus crisis froze the rough market and restricted the company's sales.The net loss of $113,000 - compared with a $9.7 million profit a year earlier - resulted from a 24% slump in revenue to $69.5 million for the six months. The cost of sales declined 16% year on year to $49.9 million, the company reported...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will launch a new series of weekly online sales that will enable it to capitalize on the "unprecedented results" it has seen in its digital offerings.The auctions, which will take place in a rolling sale format, will see Sotheby's debut a new selection of pieces each week, including antique, vintage and contemporary jewels. The company's Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Milan, New...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry was one of the top-selling categories at Macy's during the second fiscal quarter, even as overall sales declined at the department-store chain.Group revenue dropped 36% to $3.56 billion in the three months ending August 1, while comparable-store sales - at owned and licensed shops open for at least a year - fell 35%, the retailer reported Wednesday. However, sales rose at its "...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers' revenue and profit beat expectations in the second fiscal quarter as stores unlocked their doors and the retailer upgraded its digital capabilities."Sales improved sequentially throughout the second quarter as we reopened stores and remained agile and innovative in these unprecedented times," CEO Virginia Drosos said Thursday. "During the quarter, we also scaled o...Read More