RAPAPORT... The Gemological Instituteof America (GIA) will offer remote learning to students in China, expanding its collaborationwith ShanghaiJiao Tong University (SJTU). The GIA's distance-educationprograms will allow participants to access equipment and gemstones in self-studystudent workrooms at SJTU, enabling them to complete the courses' practicalaspects. "Education is thecornerstone of GIA'...Read More
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Illegal miners at a copper and cobalt mine run by Glencore in southeastern Congo defied a deadline on Tuesday to vacate the site, a union official said, raising fears of a potentially violent standoff.A landslide last Thursday at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) concession, majority-owned by a subsidiary of Glencore, killed 43 people and led Democratic Rep...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) haslaunched an international awareness campaign, highlighting the unique featuresof natural diamonds.The bourse will promote its "I lovenatural diamonds" campaign - which it says is the first internationalinitiative by a global diamond center to differentiate real diamonds fromsynthetics - over social media. It will feature several short videos, releas...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's revenue and profit grew in fiscal 2019, driven by an expansion of its network in mainland China.Overall revenue for the Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer rose by 9% to HKD 15.86 billion ($2.03 billion) in the year ending March 31, it reported last week. Net profit grew 10% to HKD 1.5 billion ($192.6 million).The company's retail revenue in mainland China rose 18% to HKD...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has appointed Mazvi Maharasoa, the former head of itsLet??eng mining operation in Lesotho, as a non-executive director for the group,it reported Monday. Maharasoa has more than 20 years of senior-management experience,including at Let??eng Diamonds, where she was CEO from 2009 to 2017. She wasalso the founder and president of the Lesotho Chamber of Mines, and has serv...Read More
Like in previous months, price developments in rounds remain few and sporadic with mixed trends and especially in sizes under a carat rather subdued. The important 1.00-1.25 carat group, a significant market gauge, remained very stable, with only a couple of categories showing some growth. As during previous months, categories above two carats continue to show increased volatility compared to...Read More
MarketWatch.com reported that "China is unlikely to surpass the U.S. in retail sales this year as previously expected thanks to the damaging effect of the current trade conflict between the two powers, but that milestone is likely to happen in 2021." MarketWatch said that a recent forecast made and published the research company eMarketer had said that it was expecting China retail sales to domina...Read More
Amish Shah, founder and owner of ALTR Created Diamonds, will be leading a panel entitled 'Lab Grown Diamonds (LGDs): Challenges and Opportunities'. at the Gem & Jewellery Conclave (GJC) Manthan on July 2, 2019. The discussion will be held from 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai, India. Now in its second year, GJC Manthan is an event that brings together 27 industry...Read More
Brent Eiseb, a 24-year veteran of the diamond industry who has risen through the ranks of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) who was recently appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer, gave an extensive interview to the Windhoek Observer, saying that in the previous 11 years since the establishment of Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC), the firm has successfully executed its mandate...Read More
For the ninth consecutive year, Jewelers of America (JA) members met with key lawmakers to discuss trade and tax concerns during its annual advocacy visit to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 19. As in past years, the delegation was led by the Jewelers of America Political Action Committee (JAPAC) . The delegation met with a number of key lawmakers and congressional staff - including Senator To...Read More
Various news US sources have reported that the pearl and gemstone wholesaler Tara Jewels LLC has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a New York bankruptcy court. The company claims more than $10 million in liabilities. The American subsidiary of its Indian parent Tara Jewels Ltd. is said to have about $1 million in assets. Its liabilities, however, are set from an amount of $10 million to as much a...Read More
The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) is launching a global awareness campaign to differentiate, in the IDE's verbiage, "fake from real." The campaign consists of several short videos that will be released during the coming weeks and will be promoted through digital marketing channels. The message of the campaign is "In a fake world, real things are rare," and tells the story of the natural diam...Read More
In his speech during the opening session of the recent 2019 Intersessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP), World Diamond Council president Stephane Fischler urged KP member countries to optimise the developmental opportunities provided by natural resources by protecting the interests of mining communities. The meeting took place in Mumbai, India, and was the first of two KP meetings to be h...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds expects the operating time at its Kareevlei diamond mine, in Kimberley, South Africa, to increase by more than 30% after it shifted to a 365-day-a-year operation in March.This improvement will add to those improvements already achieved during the company’s 2018 financial year, ended December 31, during which it increased its diamond sales by 71% year-on-year to 5...Read More
Sentiment weak amid ongoingliquidity concerns. Polished production reduced by estimated 30% in 2019 due tohigh inventory, sluggish demand and tight manufacturing profits. Recent rough-pricecuts not enough to reboot the market. De Beers June sales slump 33% to $390M,1H sales -18% to $2.4B. Quiet Hong Kong fair highlights show fatigue and cautiousFar East demand as geopolitical tensions fuel economi...Read More
Sluggish activity and weaksentiment amid persistent bankruptcy rumors. Buyers looking for bargains andsense suppliers are under pressure. Cutters despondent due to low profitability,even after rough-price cuts. Manufacturers reducing production or shifting tolow-cost items to keep workers occupied. Polished inventory levels high, butshortages emerging in popular categories such as top-make SIs (3X...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has hiredPeter Meeus as an external adviser. He will be responsible for helping theorganization fine-tune its position on lab-grown diamonds and other industrymatters. Synthetic diamonds are a huge concern in the industry, and manytrade organizations created in the past 20 years are not geared toward defendingthe natural-diamond sector, WF...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gemfields has sold its 50% stake in a Zambian amethyst mine to enable it to focus on its core assets, it said Wednesday. The sale of the Kariba Minerals deposit to ZCCM InvestmentsHoldings for $2.5 million will allow Gemfields to concentrate on its emerald,ruby and sapphire operations, it explained. Meanwhile, the miner has also established a joint venturewith Mwiriti, its partne...Read More
VicenzaOro, the Italian trade show for gold and jewelry, will again present T.Evolution, its hub for technological innovation at the show that will take place in Vicenza from September 7-11, 2019. Vicenzaoro is organized by IEG - the Italian Exhibition Group. T.Evolution focuses on the technologies and digital methodologies that are play an increasingly central role in jewelry creation proce...Read More
The shareholders elected the following members to the Supervisory Board of Alrosa: Maria Vladimirovna Gordon (Independent Director) - Member of the Supervisory Board of the Moscow Exchange, Member of the Supervisory Board of Polyus; Evgenia Vasilievna Grigorieva - Minister of Property and Land Affairs of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); Kirill Alexandrovich Dmitriev - CEO, JSC Russian Direct Inves...Read More