(IDEX Online) - Longtime Jewelers Mutual executive David Sexton is retiring after 39 years with the company. He began at Jewelers Mutual in 1980 as an underwriting assistant and took on a range of roles before becoming vice president of Loss Prevention and Consulting in 2004.In this role, Sexton was responsible for the development, recommendation and implementation of Jewelers Mutual's loss p...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 7.03-carat fancy blue diamond ring mounted by Moussaieff with an upper estimate of CHF 14 million ($14.2 million) is set to go under the hammer at Christie's Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction.Another headlining lot is a 46.93-carat D color, internally flawless diamond ring with a high estimate of CHF 4.5 million ($4.6 million).Among the other important lots are three Cartier...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Latest sales numbers from the National Retail Federation show almost no movement from August. Retail sales in September were down just 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted from August (+ 4.5 percent unadjusted year-over-year). The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, overall September sales - including auto dealers, g...Read More
Stakeholders have been trying to alter the perception of South Africa’s mining sector from that of a “sunset industry” to a “sunrise industry”, but such a transition inherently depends on the country’s mineral potential, states the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). “This applies not only to our traditional base of precious metals, d...Read More
Russia plans to pay more attention to the impact climate change is having on its vast permafrost area.Thawing of once permanently frozen ground covering more than half of Russia is putting buildings, pipelines and other infrastructure at risk of damage. With the Arctic warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, that’s a big problem. The economic loss is 50-billion to 150-billion rubles...Read More
Markets quiet amid Jewish holidays with steady demand forRapSpec A3+ goods. Indian manufacturers delay Diwali shutdown to increasepost-festival inventory. Trading slow at Bharat Diamond Week. Liquidity lowwhile companies settle supplier bills and pay staff ahead of Diwali. AlrosaSep. sales -24% to $259M, but small-stone demand recovering. Hong Kong protestshit luxury sector, with Chow Tai Fook 2Q...Read More
RAPAPORT... A fancy-deep-blue diamond ring with a highestimate of CHF 14 million ($14.1 million) will go under the hammer at Christie's GenevaMagnificent Jewels auction next month. The 7.03-carat stone,mounted by Moussaieff, will lead the November auction, Christie's said Thursday.Another prominent lot is a 46.93-carat, D-color, internally flawless diamondring, which is expected to fetch CHF 3.8...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales stalled between Augustand September, indicating that consumer confidence may be waning in light ofthe escalating trade war. Total purchases for September -excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants - dipped 0.1% compared to theprevious month, according to data the National Retail Federation (NRF)published Wednesday. However, with the month also seeing 4.5% yea...Read More
RAPAPORT... Marvin Zale, son of Zales founder Morris Zale, and former vice chairman of the jeweler, has died at 89. Born in Texas in 1930, Zale grew up in his father's jewelrybusiness, which was established in 1924. He began his diamond education inAntwerp in 1948, returning to the US to serve in the army. He joined Zales in1953, working at various stores across the country. In 1958, he move...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lower mining grades and reduced ore availability contributedto a drop in Rio Tinto's third-quarter diamond production, the company reportedWednesday. Output at its wholly owned Argyle mine in Australiafell 7% year on year, yielding 3.6 million carats in the three-month periodending September 30. Production was hampered by lower grades, despite stronger mining and processing rates,Rio T...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Tai Fook has reported adownward trend in sales across both mainland China and Hong Kong in the secondfiscal quarter. Same-store sales of gold products - at branches open for atleast 12 months - fell 15% year on year in mainland China for the period endingSeptember 30, and 49% in Hong Kong, the company said Tuesday. Same-store salesof gem-set jewelry a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond producer Alrosa today (Thursday) reported that its Q3 2019 diamond production hit 12.1 million carats, with sales totaling 6.4 million carats by volume and $0.6 billion by value. The miner said the increase in output - up 24 percent quarter-over-quarter and 15 percent year-over-year, was due to the launch of production at new deposits and the expansion of existing area...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto has announced that lower mining grades and reduced ore availability led to a drop in its third-quarter diamond production at its two mines.At the 100-percent owned Argyle mine in Australia, production was 7 percent lower than the same period of 2018 due to lower recovered grade. This resulted in a production level of 3.6 million carats for the three-month period ended Sep...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Platinum Guild International (PGI) has opened its first showroom in Shenzhen, China. The opening is part of the organization's strategy to target younger consumers in a country that traditionally values gold. "Research has shown that the number one barrier to acquiring platinum jewellery in recent years has been the lack of appealing designs, so PGI has worked closely wit...Read More
The absence of new mining projects, owing to limited exploration, continues to weigh on the future sustainability of South Africa’s once thriving mining sector, which once captured a larger share of major mining budgets.“There is simply not enough investment in new mineral exploration to take advantage of the country’s geological potential,” says a Minerals Council South Af...Read More
ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners Empresa Nacional de Diamantes (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas have earned a further A$3.9-million from the sale of diamonds recovered at the Lulo mine, in Angola.Lucapa reported on Thursday that it had sold a parcel of 1 736 ct at an average price of A$2 265/ct.AdvertisementThis brought total sales for the year to date to A$50.2-million, at an a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World JewelleryConfederation (CIBJO) has produced a special report on ethics ahead of its annualcongress in Bahrain next month."Weaving It All Together: An Ethical Status Report at the End of2019," released on Wednesday, covers a variety of topics, ranging frominternational frameworks to advertising and disclosure. Its author is TiffanyStevens, president of CIBJO's ethics commissio...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's has appointed AntiquesRoadshow watch expert Michael Fossner to lead its west coast watchdepartment. The auctioneer has charged Fossner with leading appraisals whileguiding and growing the company in the region. He is also expected towork with colleagues in New York and internationally to win new business andbring key pieces to market. Fossner, who has appeared on PBS's...Read More
(IDEX Online) - CIBJO (the World Jewellery Confederation) has published a report by its Ethics Commission ahead of its Congress in Bahrain in November.Weaving it all together: an ethical status report at the end of 2019 covers topics such as the increasing number of international conventions with which members of the jewelry industry are expected to comply and recommended processes of disclosure."...Read More
RAPAPORT... Costco sold a diamond ring worth $220,000 in the fourth fiscal quarter, the membership-based warehouse retailer saidearlier this month. Executivevice president and chief financial officer Richard Galanti confirmed thesale during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on October 3, just months after another big-ticketjewelry sale for the American multinational. The retailer noted a...Read More