Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has sold a 12.2 ct diamond for $105 000 in its July tender.This diamond, at $8 584/ct, was the second-most valuable diamond the company had recovered to date, following the sale of a 24.9 ct diamond in the June tender for $196 000.AdvertisementBlueRock executive chairperson Mike Houston attributed the great recoveries to improved operational practices at the company&rs...Read More
Canada-headquartered diamond miner Lucara Diamond has chosen the name Sewelô, meaning “rare find” in Setswana, for the 1 758 ct diamond recovered from its Karowe mine, in Botswana, in April.The name was selected from over 22 000 submissions in a contest that was open to all Botswana citizens.AdvertisementThe announcement was made during a gala event hosted by Lucara Botswana in t...Read More
With the extensive range of fully serrated, multi-directional non-slip floor gratings, stair treads and safety handrails that manufacturer Vital Engineering supplies, the company is involved in several projects where it supplies mines with mild steel, galvanised steel and stainless-steel products which ensure the very highest standards of safety and quality.“The majority of the mines which w...Read More
Diamond market weak due tosummer slowdown and sluggish dealer demand. Manufacturers frustrated by tightprofit margins and hoping for rough price reduction at De Beers July sight. Cuttersmaintaining low polished production due to profit and liquidity squeeze. ABN Amrorestricts rough-sector lending out of concern for lack of profitability. ChowTai Fook FY1Q same-store sales +11% in China, -11% in Ho...Read More
Fewertransactions than this time last year, despite strong foreign-dealer presencein Mumbai. Buyers looking for bargains amid rumors of tight liquidity andfinancial distress. 0.30 ct. diamonds selling in parcels since prices ofcertified goods have declined. GIA has reduced grading fees for 0.30 by 10%. Soliddemand for SI1-I2 parcels. Manufacturers maintaining low polished production. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT...De Beers has lowered its production forecast for this year,noting that weakness in the diamond trade negatively affected itsperformance in the second quarter.Sales volume slumped 10% to 9 million carats in the threemonths ending June 30 due to an oversupply of goods, Anglo American, De Beers'parent company, reported Thursday. In light of that, it now expects to recover about31 million c...Read More
RAPAPORT...Retailers' attempts to maintain low diamond inventories are hurtingdemand across the trade, Alrosa warned after reporting its lowest quarterlysales since 2015. The Russian miner's sales slumped 26% to $807 million in thesecond quarter ending June 30, it reported Thursday. An oversupply of rough andpolished in the manufacturing and retail sectors has hurt appetite for thecompany's goods,...Read More
Various Indian online news outlets reported that Reliance Brands had come to an understanding with the 182-year old American jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. to bring Tiffany's to India. Reliance Brands is owned by Mukesh Ambani, India's richest businessman and industrialist. He is the chairman, managing director, and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a Fortune Gl...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Richemont's jewelry brands increased 10% in the first fiscalquarter, as lower value-added tax and customs duties drove purchases in mainland China,the luxury retailer said Thursday. Proceeds from the group's largest product category - which comprises Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels - rose to EUR 1.83billion ($2.05 billion) in the three months ending June 30. At constan...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales in Chow Tai Fook's mainland China storesgrew strongly in the first fiscal quarter, while purchases in Hong Kong andMacau slowed. Retail sales jumped 24% in mainland China in the threemonths ending June 30, with same-store sales - at branches open for at least ayear - rising 11%, the jeweler reported Tuesday. Retail revenues in Hong Kongand Macau fell 6%, while same-store sales sl...Read More
Speaking at a meeting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which took place during the United Nation's 2019 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has advocated for the position of small and medium-sized enterprises. Sustainable economies rely on the contribution of SMEs, he said, but too often they fi...Read More
The Inside Retail Asia website reported that during the second quarter same-store sales of the world's largest jewelry retailer la Chow Tai Fook (CTF) in Hong Kong and Macau fell by 11 per cent. However, sales in Mainland China rose by 11 percent. "The Hong Kong and Macau market was affected by a tough base of comparison and cautious consumer sentiment amid an uncertain macro environmen...Read More
Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has raised £250 000, through the placing of 50-million shares with new and existing investors at 0.5p a share.This represents about 7.98% of the company's issued share capital.AdvertisementThe funds will be used to continue diamond exploration efforts in Botswana; to progress the Thorny River bulk sampling programme; to bring the Marsfontein dumps and gravels...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers has revised its full-year production guidance downward to about 31-million carats, leaning towards the lower end of the previous range of between 31-million and 33-million carats, in response to weaker trading conditions experienced during the second quarter.De Beers is currently producing to demand and, in a statement issued on Thursday, the miner reported that the revision...Read More
RAPAPORT... A New York federal judge has refused to back down after ruling that Signet Jewelers' downplaying the impact of sexual-harassment claims could be used in an investor class action against the retailer.On July 10, Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Signet shareholders could form a class action in their securities-fraud claim against the jeweler. The following day, Signet claimed it would seek a...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) has revealed thewinners of its 2019 Excellence Awards scholarships and grants. The group will award a total of $65,500 - raised through itsAwards for Excellence Gala, individual member donations and sponsorships - to 49women. Recipients use the funds to pay for their education and advance theirprofessional careers. "Our grant and scholarship winne...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has agreed to a joint venture with nationalminer Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) for exploring new diamondprojects in the country. The deal, which provides Alrosa with a 70% stake in any newgreenfield deposits, encompasses geological exploration, diamond mining andindependent sales of rough stones to external markets, the Russian miner saidTuesday. "We are committe...Read More
AGD Diamonds, the firm that operates and owns the Grib diamond mine in northern Central Russia announced it has recovered a gem-quality, deep lemon yellow diamond, weighing 47.61 carats, on July 13, 2019. The stone was found during the ore processing at Grib's processing plant. In a news release in Russian, AGD said the diamond is of an extremely rare deep lemon hue and is classified as a "h...Read More
The Swatch Group, which, apart from the Swatch brand itself, owns brands such as Blancpain, Breguet, Glashuettel, Longines, Omega, Tissot, RADO and., last but not least, Harry Winston, published its performance report for the first half of 2019. The company reported net sales of CHF 4.078 million, 4.4 percent less than in 2018. Its profits dropped 13 percent, compared to 2018, to CHF 547 mil...Read More
The seventh edition of "Gold Italy" will open on October 26, 2019 in Arezzo, Italy. The three -day event is called International Business Workshop, instead of a show or fair, to emphasize the networking value of the three-day event, which will be held at the Arezzo Fiere Congressi Exhibition Centre. Gold Italy is part of and organized by the Italian Exhibition Group. According to the show manageme...Read More