The prestigious Prodiam Forum will once again be held during Madrid Joya (the Madrid Jewelry Fair), which runs September 12-15. The Prodiam Forum is a recurring, educational forum at which hundreds of gem and jewelry professional gather for a comprehensive info session on the currently most important developments in the gem and jewelry trade. This year's Prodiam Forum will be held during the...Read More
The announcement of the intention to repeal the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act by the Zimbabwe government in March 2019 was driven by various factors, including investor, political and legal motivations, global law practice and legal services provider Eversheds Sutherland tells Mining Weekly. The Act, implemented by former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe in 2008, stated that 51% of m...Read More
Former and long-time president Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, 95, died Thursday, September 5, in a Singapore hospital. Zimbabwe's incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said on Twitter that his predecessor was "an icon of liberation a pan-Africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of the people," adding that Mugabe's "contribution to the history of Zimbabwe and Af...Read More
Earlier this week, IDEX published its Polished Price Index for the month of August. A usual, August was a very quiet month since traders in diamond centers such as Belgium and Israel were on leave. Therefore, trading volumes of polished were low and no significant price changes of polished diamonds were registered. During the first eight months of the year, diamond prices have shown a slight decl...Read More
CAPE TOWN – Botswana’s government and De Beers are in “cordial” negotiations about a new diamond-sales pact to replace their current 10-year deal which expires in 2020 and it should be concluded after next month’s election, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said.“Everything is going as planned,” Masisi said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the World...Read More
Concerns about Hong Kong show remain as protestscontinue despite withdrawal of extradition bill that sparked them. Luxuryjewelers developing China strategy to focus on high-end consumers, who are spendingmore at home. Weak Chinese wholesale demand weighing on diamond market, with 1ct. RAPI -0.4% in August. US jewelers considering buying opportunities butdelaying holiday stock orders. Signet Jewele...Read More
Slow trading over Jain Paryushan festival and HinduGanesh Chaturthi holiday. High gold price and declining currency (INR 72/$1)impacting domestic jewelry demand. Jewelry manufacturers compensating byreducing diamond content. Cutters maintaining low production until October 27Diwali break, with some smaller units already closing. Polished inventorylevels went down in last month, but still higher th...Read More
@import url(https://ofc.rapaport.com:449CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(styles/editnewscuteeditor.css);RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has modified its full-year sales guidance forthe second time, following a drop in revenue in the three months ending August 3.Group sales fell 3.9% to $1.36 billion in the second fiscal quarter, the retailer repor...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Jewelry Industry Summit will present a webinar seriesdesigned to provide guidance for jewelers in practicing responsible sourcing. The first free seminar in the series, called "Tools toKick-Start Your Responsible Sourcing Journey," will debut October 11, and willgive actionable strategies for businesses to create sustainable supply chains.The launch will be followed by other offeri...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has partnered with the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) to launch the Retail Jewelers Benchmarking Study, replacing the JA's Cost of Doing Business Survey last published in 2015. The resulting report will serve as a financial benchmarking tool that allows jewelry retailers to input their data and run reports that will provide comparative information they can...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' profit fell in the first half of the year, asthe volume of large stones unearthed at its Let??eng mine in Lesotho hassignificantly declined from last year. Profit plunged 75% to $6.6 million for the six months endingJune 30, the company reported Thursday. The miner recovered three stonesweighing more than 100 carats during the period, versus 10 of that size lastyear,...Read More
The Jewelers' Security Alliance has joined with Jewelers of America JA) and the American Gem Society (AGS) to endorse a health insurance program for the jewelry industry sponsored by MJM Global Insurance Brokerage Group (JewelersHealthCare.com). This program is designed to provide cost savings, a simplified enrollment process, flexible benefits and wellness solutions for its member firms. The...Read More
The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has moved its headquarters back to New York City and appointed a new executive director, Jennifer Markas. Bernadette Mack, the outgoing executive director, will work with Markas during her transition until the end of the month. Markas was most recently responsible for sustainability reporting and communications at Tiffany & Co. Her role focused on de...Read More
Russian diamond miner Alrosa says one of the motivations behind signing the $12-million joint venture (JV) agreement with national diamond miner Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is to develop cooperation between Alrosa and its Zimbabwean partners and increase Alrosa’s presence in African countries. “Alrosa has started looking for exploration projects to create new diamond m...Read More
Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) will be holding a rough diamond tender at the Dubai Diamond Exchange, Almas Tower, in Dubai later this month, September 20-27, 2019. The tender concerns two productions from South Africa and Angola. The rough is of high quality and high colors and contains a significant number of large single stones and specials. TAGS expects about 20,000 carats of South African go...Read More
InsideRetail Asia reported that in July, overall retail sales had dropped more than ten percent in Hong Kong. However, jewelry and watch sales fell as much as 25 percent. The website quoted the ongoing protests and the China-US trade war as the chief reasons for the decline. "The fall was widely expected with several large retailers projecting double-digit declines based on their own internal mon...Read More
Gem Diamonds published its results for the first half of 2019, reporting a revenue of $91.3 million, compared to $167.7 million during the first half of 2018. The miner's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 25.3 million, compared to 70.7 million in 2018. Its attributable profit, from continuing operations was $6.6 million against $26.8 millio...Read More
While investor sentiment toward Zimbabwe is expected to improve, the country faces yet another economic crisis in the form a currency crisis that could deter investors who have had their interest in the country piqued recently, law firm Webber Wentzel tells Mining Weekly. “The indigenisation law, which is a challenge that investors are facing, is a minor issue in light of the foreign currenc...Read More
The optimism following the ousting of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was short-lived, with the realisation that it would not result in substantial change in the short term, or immediate return of foreign investment to Zimbabwe. This also came with the realisation that the once-healthy economy of the country would not be immediately revitalised, says legal service provider Eversheds Suth...Read More
Despite experiencing growth last year, intermittent power supply and a lack of new foreign direct investment (FDI) are the main causes of the Zimbabwe mining sector’s declining performance, says specialist strategy and communications consultancy Africa Practice mining sector lead Rishon Chimboza. Mining has been a lifeline for the country’s economy, with more than 60% of foreign exchan...Read More