RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company garnered $6.2 million at a tender ofrough stones from its Lulo and Mothae mines, bringing the total to $35.5million for the year to date. The miner sold 3,558 carats from its Lulo mine in Angola, bringing in $4.4 million atan average price of $1,234 per carat, it reported Thursday. The company also sold 4,376 carats fromthe Mothae mine in Lesotho for a total...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has named two-time Emmy-nominated actress MillieBobby Brown as the face of a global campaign for its new jewelry collection, inan effort to reinvigorate interest in its brand and appeal to a youngeraudience. Brown is best known for the Netflix series Stranger Things, the 2019film Godzilla: King of Monsters, and her appointment as theyoungest-ever Goodwill Ambassador for th...Read More
RAPAPORT... The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has revealed thewinners of its 2019 Spectrum Awards, covering 14 categories from bridal to men's jewelry."When we see the entries coming into our office and those submitted during our New York City drop-off program, there's always a lot of speculation about how the judges will respond to each piece," said AGTA CEO Douglas Hucker. "After al...Read More
Junior diamond miner Lucapa reported that its latest sales of diamonds from the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho has taken total sales from both mines to US$35.5 million for the year to date. In its latest sale, Lucapa had sold a run of mine parcel of 3,558 carats of Lulo diamonds for S$4.4 million, at $1,234/ct. This took total sales of Lulo diamonds to date...Read More
Pandora's first global advertising campaign for its new jewelry collection will be faced by Millie Bobby Brown, an actor and activist committed to effecting positive change among her generation. The two-time Emmy nominee and UNICEF's youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador, Brown has signed a two-year contract with Pandora to promote the collection. Shot by fashion photographer Cass Bird, Pand...Read More
The second annual Jewelers for Children (JFC) Day will be held on Saturday September 28, 2019. JFC Day is a day for all supporters of JFC and for potential new ones to celebrate the success of the industry's support for children in need and raise visibility and funds for the charity. JFC Day is the brainchild of Steven Vardi, a JFC board member who helped develop the concept along with...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has reported revenue of A$8.8-million from the latest sale of diamonds from its Lulo and Mothae mines, in Angola and Lesotho respectively.The ASX-listed company on Thursday reported that a parcel of 3 558 ct of Lulo diamonds was sold for gross proceeds of A$6.3-million, representing an average price of A$1 768/ct, while a furthe...Read More
"Transparency and good governance must continue to be a guiding value of corporate behaviour in order to earn the trust and respect of our current and future consumers," Marcus ter Haar, Managing Director of Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), said in his address to the Plenary Meeting of the Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development earlier this summer in Paris. The meeting was hosted by...Read More
A Swiss unit of HSBC has agreed to pay a record EUR 294.4 million ($330 million) to settle fraud claims against its Belgian business, which mainly serves members of the Antwerp diamond trade.In 2014, a Belgian judge charged HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland) with crimes including organized tax fraud, money laundering and forgery of documents. The bank is also suspected of having deliberately encourag...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. will open its doors in India in an effort to capitalize on its already strong image and brand awarenessin the country, the company said Wednesday. The luxury jeweler will partner with Reliance BrandsLimited, which is part of the Reliance Industries conglomerate owned by Mukesh Ambani, recentlyranked by Forbes as the richest man in Asia. Tiffany will open stores i...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stuller has promoted Alix Gonsoulin to vice president of itsbridal, fine-jewelry and findings division, it said Tuesday. Gonsoulin started as director of diamond-and-gemstonefashion with the US-based jewelry manufacturer in 2012, and was most recently it executive director of product development. "Alix has shown an exceptional ability to workcross-functionally throughout the organ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province's profit increased in the second quarter amid a stronger Canadian dollar that reduced its debt levels, it said Tuesday. Profit jumped 61% to CAD 10.3 million ($7.8 million) for thethree months ending June 30, as it recorded exchange-rate gains of CAD 7.5million ($5.6 million) due to the appreciation of the currency against its US counterpart. The Canada-based com...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at India's Titan Company increased in the first fiscal quarter, but growth was weaker than the jeweler had expected due to challenging conditions in the domestic market.Revenue climbed 16% year on year to INR 52.08 billion ($736.7million) in the three months ending June 30, while profit rose 11% to INR 3.64billion ($51.4 million). Sales were strong in studded and wedding jew...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' first-half earnings highlighted the many challenges facing the diamond trade. But beyond the sharp declines the mining company suffered, CEO Bruce Cleaver and chief financial officer Nimesh Patel were insistent with their messaging: This, too, shall pass.The executives recognized that the challenges came from within the trade rather than a slump in consumer demand, even as th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stuller has promoted Alix Gonsoulin to vice president of itsbridal, fine-jewelry and findings division, it said Tuesday. Gonsoulin started as director of diamond-and-gemstonefashion with the US-based jewelry manufacturer in 2012, and was most recently it executive director of product development. "Alix has shown an exceptional ability to workcross-functionally throughout the organ...Read More
RAPAPORT... The project by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) testing lab-grown detectors has expanded to melee, a segment of the market highly prone to undisclosed synthetics.The Assure program reviewed 12 machines using asample of 1,000 mined diamonds and 200 synthetics, as well as 200 diamondsimulants. The stones ranged in size from 0.005 to 0.02 carats, with D to Jcolor.Six instrumen...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. will launch an exhibition in Shanghai, China, tocelebrate the greatest jewelry masterpieces it has created over its 180 years. The "Vision & Virtuosity" display, which will run from September 23 to November 10, will followthe history of some of the luxury jeweler's most iconic pieces and moments. "There are many incredible objects in the Tiffany archivesthat...Read More
RAPAPORT... AGD Diamonds has unearthed three rough stones over 100 carats from its Grib mine in Russia, including one it claims is Europe's largest.The company found the 222.09-carat stone on May 4, and named it Vladimir Grib in honor of AGD's formerchief geologist. The second stone, found on May 3, weighs 127.34 carats. Theminer has called it Elisey Verichev, paying tribute to the AGD veter...Read More
RAPAPORT... Development work at the Mothae mine in Lesotho has paid off for Lucapa Diamond Company, with the discovery of a 64-carat rough, the highest-quality diamond found at thedeposit to date. The miner recovered the D-color, type IIa stone at Mothae's higher-margin southern pit, it said Tuesday. Lucapa began production in that area in the past month, following the construction of a...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, August 6, 2019, Las Vegas ... Diamond-market sentiment was weak in July due to tight profits and liquidity. The pressures facing cutters and dealers resulted from high rough supply at inflated prices during 2017 and 2018, even as polished prices were softening.The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat polished fell 0.9% during the month. The index was down 4% since th...Read More