(IDEX Online)- De Beers plans to go ahead with its third sight next month, despite a travel ban to Botswana, where the sales are held.Flights from 18 high-risk countries - including China, India and Belgium - have been banned in a move aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus.Many of the 80 sight holders will struggle to attend and may send representatives or buy blind at the sight, which...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 64-carat, high-quality stone from its Mothae mine in Lesotho, it said Wednesday.The D-color, type IIa diamond is the 12th over 50 carats the miner has unearthed since reaching commercial production in January 2019. The deposit has also yielded three stones over 100 carats, including a 220- and a 127-carat diamond, which were discovered in Nov...Read More
RAPAPORT... Indian banks have agreed to offer special concessions to diamond exporters to help them deal with late payments resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.Companies will have extra months to repay loans they take to fund overseas shipments, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said in a note to members on March 13.Exporters' ability to recover payments from custom...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa, Petra Diamonds and Lucara Diamond Corp. are among the companies putting special procedures in place in preparation for a possible coronavirus outbreak, while still continuing operations at their mines.Alrosa, which has not had any cases of infection among workers, is requiring all employees returning from abroad to adhere to a two-week home quarantine, with a commitment to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - AGS Laboratories has suspended all diamond grading for a month, because of coronavirus.The facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been forced to close in a bid by the state governor to halt the spread of Covid-19.All "non-essential businesses" are included in the closure order, which became effective yesterday and which will remain in place for at least a month.The lab, founded in 1996...Read More
London-listed Gem Diamonds has had to cancel its Letšeng large tender, owing to travel and other restrictions imposed by various governments, including in Belgium, where the tender would have been held from March 16 to 25.In its place, Gem has launched a “flexible direct sales process” for these large and high-quality diamonds that had seen significant demand during the tender v...Read More
(IDEX Online)- Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds has postponed its March sale of rough stones because of coronavirus.Antwerp, where it sells its stones, is today introducing drastic measures to halt the spread of Covid-19, which include the closing buildings and commercial sites.Mountain Province reported an "exceptional year of production" in 2019 at Gahcho Ku?? (C), in Northwest Territor...Read More
RAPAPORT... Prices at Gem Diamonds' latest small-stone tender dropped 18% versus its previous sale in November due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic crisis, the company said Thursday."The results of the Let??eng small-diamond tender are resilient given the difficult circumstances under which the tender was held, caused by the ongoing COVID-19 situation," said Gem Diamonds CE...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgian and Israeli industry organizations are jointly organizing a virtual trade show to compensate for the cancellation of major exhibitions around the world.The Online Diamond Trade Fair will run from March 30 to April 3, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) said in a note to dealers Tuesday. It will be open only to exhibitors from Antw...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' upcoming sight in Botswana will still take place despite the country's ban on arrivals from the US, China, India and Belgium, the miner has confirmed."While this is an extraordinary situation and COVID-19 has had an impact, our customers continue to express some demand for rough diamonds and have communicated their desire for the sight to proceed," a spokesperson for De...Read More
RAPAPORT... To Our Friends Around the World,Our thoughts are with you and your families during these uncertain times. We pray for your health and well-being.As much of the world shuts down, we find ourselves practicing social distancing and isolation. Many of us are working from home, with children at home, giving us a new perspective on family and work. The unprecedented social and economic...Read More
RAPAPORT... The organizers of the JCK Las Vegas and Luxury jewelry shows have delayed the fairs due to growing concerns over the coronavirus."Our top priority is the health and safety of our exhibitors, attendees, industry partners and staff," JCK said Tuesday. "After consulting with national experts [and] our customers, closely monitoring developments and reviewing guidance and advice...we have d...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. is among a growing number of US retailers temporarily shuttering all locations across North America in an effort to stem the coronavirus spread."Effective immediately, we're temporarily closing all Tiffany stores in the US and Canada, as well as many other locations globally, to protect our teams, clients and communities," the jeweler said in an Instagram post Tu...Read More
RAPAPORT... The American Gem Society (AGS) has canceled its Conclave amid gathering restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic."The decision was made in light of a national state of emergency that was declared on Friday of last week and amidst growing concerns of the...outbreak," the organization said Monday.While AGS will not reschedule the event, which was slated to take place in Denver,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - JCK Las Vegas, the biggest jewelry show in North America, has been postponed.Organizers say it's a "precautionary measure" to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Two weeks ago, they announced that the event, which attracts over 30,000 of the world's most influential industry professionals, would be taking place as planned from 2 to 5 June at the Sands Expo & Convent...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's diamond bosses have voted unanimously to carry on working, despite fears over the Covid-19 pandemic.Stakeholders rejected proposals for a 15-day shutdown in Surat, the world's cutting and polishing capital, which employs 550,000 workers.Factory owners in Surat pledged instead to take precautions - hand sanitizers, face masks and regular screening of the diamond wo...Read More
ASX-listed Lucapa Diamonds has recovered a top-quality 64 ct D-colour Type Ila diamond at the Mothae project, in Lesotho.The 64 ct diamond is the twelfth diamond larger than 50 ct recovered at the mine since commercial production started in January 2019.AdvertisementThis recovery “underlines Mothae’s status as a source of large and premium-value diamonds,” Lucapa said in a releas...Read More
Dual-listed Botswana Diamonds has started a bulk sampling campaign at its Marsfontein project, in South Africa, where kimberlite was previously identified as being of “high interest”.Treatment will be undertaken at a nearby diamond processing facility using two-stage crushing, screening, pans, X-ray and grease recovery processes.AdvertisementThe recently declared National State of Disa...Read More
RAPAPORT... The American Gem Society (AGS) has canceled its Conclave amid gathering restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic."The decision was made in light of a national state of emergency that was declared on Friday of last week and amidst growing concerns of the...outbreak," the organization said Monday.While AGS will not reschedule the event, which was slated to take place in Denver,...Read More
Canada’s Mountain Province Diamonds said on Tuesday that its current sale had been postponed until further notice, as a result of the city-wide closures taking effect in Antwerp, Belgium this week.The sale is the company’s third diamond sale of the year. Mountain Province cautioned that, depending on the length of the closure period imposed, future sales could also be impacted.Advertis...Read More