(IDEX Online) - The president of the Israel Diamond Exchange has made an impassioned plea for the government to help an industry that has lost $600m to COVID-19."We are turning to you with an urgent request to help the diamond industry, which is on the brink of collapse as a result of the coronavirus," says Yoram Dvash (pictured) in a personal letter to President Benjamin Netanyahu.He says 15,000...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pair of matching heart-shaped fancy diamonds - a vivid pink and a vivid blue - fetched a combined price of $18.6m at Sotheby's in Hong Kong.The stones were sold as separate lots. It is not known if they were bought separately or by a single bidder.The vivid blue diamond is described as 5.04-carat fancy heart modified brilliant-cut diamond with VS2 clarity, m...Read More
RAPAPORT... Consumers in the state of Hawaii are purchasing engagement rings with an average diamond size of 1.20 carats, the largest in the US, according to Shane Co.The retailer and manufacturer, which claims to be the biggest privately owned jeweler in the US, surveyed data of its ring sales over a five-year period from 2015 to 2019. It also found the average diamond size across the countr...Read More
RAPAPORT... GemFair, De Beers' program for the artisanal sector, has partnered with two organizations on a training project to enhance mining practices in West Africa.It has signed a memorandum of understanding with Germany's Deutsche Gesellschaft f? 1/4 r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Mano River Union, a cross-border association comprising Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough from Lucapa Diamond Company's Lulo mine in Angola plunged in the second quarter, as both the average price and carats sold fell sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic.Revenue slid 80% year on year to $2 million, the company said last week. Sales volume dropped 40% to 3,346 carats, while the average price slumped 67% to $594 per carat. The miner was unable to sell i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A long-running dispute over the ownership of the Princie, a $40m pink diamond sold by Christie's, is to go to trial in the USA.The exquisite 34.65-carat stone was sold to the Qatari royal family in April 2013 - the highest price for any jewel sold by the auction house.But the family of the powerful Italian senator and newspaper magnate Renato Angiolillo, who died in 1973...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports dropped heavily again in May, according to Commerce Department data, with Covid-19 shutting the global market and devastating demand. May is usually the strongest month for shipments as exhibitors send goods to the JCK Las Vegas show, which was canceled this year due to the pandemic. US Trade Data for May 2020Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported another poor trading month in June, with sales of rough and polished totaling just $31.3m.That compares with $222.4m of like-for-like sales in June 2019.The Russian state-owned miner has revised down its production forecasts, postponed its July and August sales, suffered an 87 pr cent drop in profits and is pursuing a price-over-volume strategy as the COVID-19...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-intense-blue diamond ring was the top seller at Christie's in Hong Kong, crushing its high estimate at the first live Magnificent Jewels auction since the coronavirus pandemic began.The piece, featuring a marquise-cut, 12.11-carat, internally flawless stone, went for $15.9 million at the July 9 sale, against its high estimate of $12.3 million. The diamond sold follow...Read More
RAPAPORT... Two fancy-colored, heart-shaped diamonds led the Magnificent Jewels sale at Sotheby's in Hong Kong, fetching a combined $18.7 million.The first, a 5.04-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, type IIb diamond, flanked by white diamonds, brought in $10.6 million, or $2.1 million per carat, beating its $9.7 million upper estimate. The 4.49-carat, fancy-vivid-pink, internally flawless diamond ring,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's diamond sales fell 86% year on year to $31.3 million in June as contract customers continued to delay buying rough allocations."For the third time in a row, we offered our long-term customers unprecedentedly flexible sales conditions, including the opportunity to defer purchasing contracted volumes," Alrosa deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev said Friday. "Alrosa will use all its a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Indian government has granted diamond companies extra time to ship polished goods back to the country after grading without incurring customs duty.At present, reimports are subject to the 7.5% levy once the diamonds have been outside India for three months. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the deadline by a further three months for all parcel...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Almost two thirds (62 per cent) of jewelry buyers say they'd rather buy a diamond from a bricks-and-mortar shop than online, says new research for De Beers.Even the digital-savvy Millennial and Gen-Z (those aged up to 40) still opt for in-store purchases (59 per cent), according to the Diamond Insight Flash Report, documenting the impact of COVID-19 on retail sales.Research am...Read More
RAPAPORT... Birks Group's sales increased sharply in the latest fiscal year as three of its major retail stores reopened following renovations.The Canadian jeweler resumed trading at flagship sites in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal during the 12-month period ending March 28. Group revenue climbed 12% to CAD 169.4 million ($124.7 million) for the year, while comparable-store sales - at branch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond-studded face masks are becoming the latest fashion craze in Covid-hit India.They're popular with wedding couples, who will pay up to $6,000 for a washable N95 mask encrusted with real diamonds, according to Indian media reports. Masks with lab-grown diamonds start at around $800.Lockdown means the number of guests is limited, so there's more money available to add...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa reported another poor trading month in June, with sales of rough and polished totaling just $31.3m.That compares with $222.4m of like-for-like sales in June 2019.The Russian state-owned miner has revised down its production forecasts, postponed its July and August sales, suffered an 87 pr cent drop in profits and is pursuing a price-over-volume strategy as the COVID-19...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond industry is on the verge of collapse as the coronavirus has wiped out sales and forced business to stop, the president of the Israel Diamond Exchange said Wednesday in a letter to the government.The pandemic will cost the industry more than NIS 2 billion ($580 million) and lead to companies shutting for more than six months, Yoram Dvash estimated in a plea to Isra...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has pushed its July contract sale to the end of the month in response to requests from clients who had expressed interest in making purchases, the Russian miner said Thursday.The trading session, previously scheduled for July 12 to 17, will now run from July 27 to 31, Alrosa announced. The company has also delayed the August sale, previously set for August 10 to 14, and wil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is postponing its next two trading sessions in response to a continuing slump in demand.The Russian state-owned miner sold just $40m of diamonds in May.It has reportedly lost at least five of its long-term buyers, as it maintains its price over volume strategy and forces customers to buy goods deferred from earlier sales.Alrosa is putting back its sale scheduled for July 12-...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Pandora improved towards the end of the second quarter as the majority of its stores reopened and consumer traffic increased following the coronavirus lockdown."The better-than-expected financial performance is a result of faster reopening of markets, slightly quicker traffic recovery to reopened stores, and continued strong online performance," the company said Wednesday...Read More