(IDEX Online) - India is now importing mote diamonds from Russia than before the invasion of Ukraine and the introduction of US sanctions, according to the GJEPC (Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council). It bought $818m in 2022-23, compared to $855.83 in 2021-22, an increase of just under eight per cent.India relies heavily on Russian imports, especially of smaller stones. Banking restri...Read More
(IDEX Online ) - A gambler who raised over $13m in a Ponzi scheme telling investors their money would be used in the sale of gold, jewelry and diamonds, has been jailed.But John Quadrino, age 57, of Oceanside, New York, never invested their money. Instead he used to pay off gambling debts.He was sentenced at at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York (pictured) to 41 months in prison and...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Police are hunting three raiders who burst through the wall of a jewelry store, attacked the owner, and fled with gold necklaces and bracelets and loose jewelry.They broke in overnight to a vacant premises next to Ramallah Jewelry in Oak Lawn, Illinois, USA, and removed one layer of a dry wall dividing the two properties.When Elias Mseeh opened up for the day, they kicked through t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Council (WDC) has held "open and robust discussions" towards updating its definition of conflict diamonds.Feriel Zerouki, who has taken over from Edward Asscher as WDC president, said she was positive about progress made at the four-day 2023 Intersessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe."We believe that an expansion on the definition...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The big three auction houses - Phillips, Sotheby's, and Christie's - sold watches for a combined total of $108m in a single weekend, dispelling concerns of a slowdown in the pre-owned market.Phillips sold all lots offered at its Geneva Watch Auction XVII, in association with Bacs & Russo, bringing in over $52m, with two watches selling for over $3m each.Christie'...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Direct flights between Surat and Dubai would further boost trade between the manufacturing and trading hubs, says Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE).He's calling on the government-owned budget airline Flydubai to introduce a service and enhance existing ties."I am pushing Flydubai, and I'll push harder even to have a direct flight to Surat bec...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A diamond and platinum bandeau tiara, signed Boucheron Paris and owned for over a century by a British aristocratic family, is to be sold at Christie's London with a high estimate of $185,000.It's the most valuable of three tiaras offered at Christie's Jewels Online: The London Edit, which runs from 2 to 15.The double bandeau, featuring old- and rose-cut diamonds, co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today issued a flat denial over a "damaging" and "unsubstantiated" newspaper allegation that it had violated sanctions on Russian diamonds."Let us be clear - this allegation is not true," it said, in response to claims in the The Sunday Standard of Botswana.The paper ran a front-page story today (28 May) headlined "De Beers' sanction busting scandal snarls up Botswana...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Patek Philippe owned by the last emperor of China sold for $6.2m at Phillips Hong Kong, smashing its pre-sale high estimate of $3m.It belonged to Aisin-Gioro Puyi, last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who was forced to abdicate when he was just six during the Xinhai Revolution, and whose life and times are dramatized in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor.The platinum Refc96...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The withdrawal of the 2,000 rupee bank note is expected to fuel a consumer spending frenzy in India on diamonds, gold and other luxuries.The Reserve Bank of India announced on 19 May that its highest-value note - worth around $24 - will no longer be legal tender after 30 September.The notes can be deposited or exchanged, but economists say many people will be wary that the tax auth...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Five members of the same family have been found guilty of the theft of historic jewels worth $129m from The Green Vault museum, in Dresden, Germany.They made off with a total of total of 4,300 diamonds in November 2019, in what has been described as the world's biggest gem heist.They started a fire before the raid to cut the electricity supply, and used axes to smash dis...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) is backing the coins and bars produced by New York-base Diamond Standard as an investable asset.NDC says it will actively promote Diamond Standard products, showcasing them in jewelry stores through a retailer affiliates' program, and providing publicity material to emphasize the role of diamonds in diversified portfolios.Diamond Standard laun...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Manufacturers in Surat are reportedly extending their summer vacations as the recession hits and consumers in the US and Europe boycott Russian goods.Slow demand is forcing many units to lay off staff, reduce working hours or insist on longer vacations to avoid overproduction.There are also concerns that the G7 and EU countries - which have not so far sanctioned Russian goods...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Light of Peace, a 126.76-carat D-color, internally flawless diamond valued at up to $15m, is to be sold by Christie's New York without reserve.It started life as a 434.6-carat rough gem from Sierra Leone, which was bought by the Zale Corporation of Dallas in 1969 and cut into what was then the Zale Light of Peace and 12 smaller gems.Funds raised from showing the diamond we...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A woman has been reunited with her diamond ring, 13 years after she accidentally flushed it down the toilet.Mary Strand, 71, was astonished to learn that workers at a wastewater plant near her home in Minnesota, USA, had found it while fixing a machine.Metropolitan Council, the authority that operates the plant, launched a "needle in a haystack" Facebook campaign to find the owner,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rolex reportedly paid a record $2.5m at auction to buy back one of its own watches.The 1958 Milgauss steel sports watch, described as being in mint condition, smashed the estimate of $556,000 to $1,110,000 when it sold at Phillips Geneva.The buyer's identity has not been confirmed, but Bloomberg says the winning bidder bought the watch on behalf of Rolex, probably for its arch...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra reported sharp drops in both revenue and prices at its May tender, and said it held back parcels of over 75,000 carats because of weak demand.The UK-based miner is currently operating only two of its four mines. The Williamson deposit, in Tanzania, remains out of action after the breach of a tailings dam and loss-making Koffiefontein, in South Africa, is being closed for good...Read More
(IDEX Online) - G7 leaders concluded their summit in Hiroshima, Japan, yesterday without a clear mandate to sanction Russian diamonds.They pledged to "work closely together to restrict trade" in diamonds, but did not announce the sanctions some had expected.They reaffirmed their "commitment to stand together against Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine has reported a 12 per cent drop in Q1 revenue compared with the previous quarter.It blamed a combination of the global slowdown and teething troubles with its new Meteorite Plus technology, for the high-speed automated processing of small rough diamonds. The Israel-based diamond tech company realized $11.5m in Q1 2023, compared to $13.1m in Q4 2022.The expected post-loc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has opened a new flagship store in Hong Kong, featuring a fa?? ?ade inspired by the transformation of a diamond from rough to polished.The top part is made of textured metal that shines like a natural diamond. The lower section comprises colorful glass panels casting a unique triangular water chestnut pattern.The interior of the two-story 170 square meter store echoes the...Read More