RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is planning a strategy to help retailers assure consumers their jewelry has been ethically sourced and that they follow the required sustainability standards. The group, whose mandate is to set standards for the jewelry trade, will mark its 15th anniversary in 2020 and is mulling its next stage of development, newly appointed executive director I...Read More
RAPAPORT... The discovery of a new source-rock indicator for diamondformation has the potential to help geologists locate and identify valuablediamond deposits around the world, a study by the University of Alberta and DeBeers shows. "The outcome of the project fundamentally changes ourunderstanding of where diamonds come from," Thomas Stachel, a University ofAlberta geologist and the Canadia...Read More
RAPAPORT... IWC Schaffhausen has named New England Patriots quarterbackTom Brady as its brand ambassador, it said Tuesday. His appointment will helpthe watch brand broaden its appeal to consumers, the company said. "Tom Brady is a world-class athlete with a sense of styleand an appreciation for fine watchmaking," said IWC Schaffhausen CEO ChristophGrainger-Herr. "Working with him will enable...Read More
LONDON – Ever wondered where that sparkly stone on your finger was dug up? Who polished it and where? The world’s top diamond producer wants to answer all your questions.Russia’s Alrosa PJSC is rolling out a program that will allow jewelry buyers to track their diamond’s history in detail, using an identity number and electronic and video passports, as part of efforts...Read More
RAPAPORT... The price millennials are willing to pay for an engagement ring has remained stable over the past three years, even as they become more flexible in their stone choices, research shows. The average price couples spent on engagement rings in 2018 was$5,000, the same amount they shelled out in 2017 and 2016, data fromWeddingWire shows. The wedding-services marketplace surveys approxi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tara Jewels LLC and parent company Tara Jewels Holdings havefiled for bankruptcy, each listingbetween $10 million and $50 million in outstanding liabilities. Wholesaler Tara Jewels LLC currently claims to have between$500,000 and $1 million in assets, according to the June 21 Chapter 11 filing in the Southern District of New York. Theparent company reported up to $50,000 in assets...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mark Cohen, the co-owner and designer at wholesale jewelrybrand J.J. Marco, passed away on May 27 at the age of 63. Cohen and his wife, Julianne Jaffe, founded the company in1990. They ran it for 15 years as a jewelry wholesaler, supplying to clients suchas Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thepair opened a retail location on New York's Madison...Read More
The New York Daily News (NYDN) reported earlier this week that Joshua Niamehr, the owner of the online jewelry website Enchanted Diamond filed for bankruptcy this month. Just prior to the filing, NYDN had questioned the company about accusations of fraud. NYDN described Niamehr as a Midtown diamond dealer who had allegedly scammed customers out of thousands of dollars in unfulfilled orders,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough exports from Belgium dropped 37% year on year to $741.5million in May, reflecting continued weakness in the sector. Rough imports fell16%, according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre. The polishedtrade was more stable, with imports climbing 6% during the month. Polishedexports were flat, as the average price rose to the highest level on record forthe country, offsetti...Read More
Royal Asscher, the Amsterdam, Netherlands-based diamond firm, is celebrating its 165th anniversary with the introduction of two new, patented cuts: the Royal Asscher Oval Cut and the Royal Asscher Cushion Cut.The new cuts are part of the company's long tradition of audacity and innovation in diamond cutting and polishing. In 1908, Joseph Asscher cleaved the famous Cullinan diamond, a story th...Read More
As the 2019 Intersessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP) wrapped up on June 21 in the Indian city of Mumbai, WDC President Stephane Fischler expressed confidence that progress has been made in the effort to reach consensus on the review and reform of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). He called on participants to agree on the measures necessary for strengthening the KPCS�...Read More
The Executive Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses gathered at the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 24, with one of the major issues discussed being the impact of synthetic diamonds on the global diamond industry. WFDB President Ernie Blom said: "The WFDB is not opposed to synthetic diamonds as such on the market. They should, however, always be disclosed so t...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' rough-diamond sales slumped to a 20-month low of $390 million in June amid weak sentiment in the manufacturing sector. Sightholders noted the price cuts De Beers implemented on certain categories were not enough to stimulate demand. "The reaction to the price adjustments was lukewarm," observed one Antwerp-based manufacturer who attended last week's sale in Gaborone...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds has recovered a 135-carat yellow at its Let??engmine in Lesotho, the third significant colored-diamond discovery at the depositthis year. The company retrieved the high-quality, type I stone on June21, three months after the mine yielded a similar quality yellow diamondweighing 134 carats. Those discoveries follow a two-year gap in the recovery ofyellow diamonds weighing m...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research(IIDGR) has changed its name to De Beers Group Industry Services to enableconsumers to clearly identify it as part of the De Beers group. "[The rebranding] will make things clearer and simpler forcustomers, and [will] make the business's position as part of De Beers Groupmore obvious," David Johnson, head of strategic clie...Read More
Following the United States' decision - by means of a decree by President Donald Trump - to withdraw benefits under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP), the price of polished diamonds exported by India to the US will increase with seven to eight percent, according to rating agency CRISIL. Currently, the US accounts for about half of the India's diamond exports to the US, at...Read More
The leading India daily Times of India (ToI) reported that "due the slum in [the] diamond industry for the past couple of years," two large companies, one in Mumbai and one of Surat are unable to pay off their debts to their banks, saw their credit lines withdrawn, and are basically bankrupt. One Mumbai-based diamond manufacturing and trading company is said to be "saddled with huge borrowings fr...Read More
India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) has termed as a facade an affidavit submitted by the fugitive Indian diamantaire and jewelry manufacturer Mehul Choksi in which Choksi claimed that his health problems prevent him from doing so. The ED consequently offered to provide an ambulance and a team of medical experts to bring Choksi back from Antigua and to provide him with all necessary treatment...Read More
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) welcomed 1,868 new companies to its free zone in 2018, a 12 percent increase compared to 2017. The construction of Uptown Dubai, DMCCs new district, is also well underway to accommodate the demand for additional space, DMCC announced. "We have established our position as the preferred free zone for companies looking to set up their businesses in the region...Read More
The Namibian reported earlier this week that businessman David Shimwino denied having any links to Gem Diamonds, the company that won a N$300 million contract to valuate Namdeb diamonds over the next five years. Namibia's Central Procurement Board (CPB) awarded the N$300 million contract to Gem Diamonds Namibia, while Global Diamond Valuators Namibia, the firm that currently provides the val...Read More