(IDEX Online) - A vast array of over 700 jewelry items owned by the late Austrian art collector and philanthropist Heidi Horten is to be sold by Christie's Geneva in a record $150m sale.It represents the most valuable jewelry collection ever to be auctioned, surpassing those of Elizabeth Taylor and Qatar royal family member Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, said the auction house.The collec...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is bringing news charges against fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi.It hopes the move will persuade Interpol to re-impose the Red Notice, restricting his movements, that was lifted earlier this week.Choksi, 63, together with his nephew Nirav Modi, 53, is wanted by authorities in his native India over the alleged $1.8bn Punjab Nation...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sotheby's New York is to sell an ultra-rare 10.57-carat "bubblegum pink" diamond with an estimate of over $35m.It says the Eternal Pink, a cushion-cut internally flawless fancy vivid purplish pink gem, is the most vivid pink diamond ever to come to market.It also says it could challenge the price per carat record for any diamond or gemstone sold at auction, although that would...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Exclusive watchmaker Jacob & Co has unveiled its latest ultra-extravagant timepiece, the Billionaire Timeless Treasure, incorporating 216.89 carats of Asscher-cut fancy yellow and intense yellow diamonds. And a $20m price tag.It's a one-off watch to aspire to, especially if you're looking to trade up from the entry-level Millionaire launched in 2018, set with 127...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The government of Botswana is buying a 24 per cent stake in the Belgian manufacturer HB Antwerp, as its long-term deal with De Beers increasingly appears to be in jeopardy.The move heralded "the dawn of a new era for the diamond industry in Botswana," said the country's President Mokgweetsi Masisi.As part of the deal Okavango, the state-owned diamond company, is also entering...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has become embroiled in a second jewelry scandal.He's been forced to hand over precious gems he received during his three years in office.Earlier this month authorities launched an investigation into claims he failed to declare diamond jewelry valued at $3.2m that was seized at at Sao Paulo international airport in 2021.The it...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemfields, the London-based colored gems miner, reported record earnings for 2022, thanks to a post-Covid spike in demand for emeralds and rubies.High demand drove up prices, especially in first half of the year, which resulted in a 32 per cent increase in revenue, to a record high of $341m.But the miner, which owns 75 per cent of the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique and the Kagem...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Blue Nile, the online jeweler acquired by Signet for $360m last August, is laying off 119 workers.Signet said it was consolidating operations to New York City and closing the Blue Nile fulfillment center in Seattle."As part of the integration of Blue Nile, we will be reducing duplicative fulfillment center services to centralize these services within our existing New York City fulf...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Four gang members have been jailed for at least seven years each after they were caught red-handed in an armed raiders on a Jared jewelry store in Glendale, Arizona, USA.They zip-tied several employees and customers and stole their personal possessions, as well as merchandise from the store, with a total value of $1.5m.Police arrested the four men after a woman dialled 911 during t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Luxury watchmaker Jacob & Co is paying tribute to the ultra-expensive Bugatti car company, with a $1m tricolor timepiece.The Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Molsheim Edition takes its name from the $2.9m supercar, the super-accurate tourbillon watch mechanism and Molsheim, the French town where Bugatti was founded in 1909.The one-off 18K gold timepiece features three stripes of bague...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Bruce Cleaver, co-chairman of the De Beers Group, today said he was confident of reaching a deal with the government of Botswana that was fair to both sides. He said he couldn't reveal details of ongoing negotiations, but what he could say was that they were "offering a win-win deal which is something we can live with, and they can live with". Cleaver (pictured), who stepped d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Industry bodies representing both the watch and jewelry sector and fashion are joining forces to tackle social and environmental challenges.The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI 2030) say their alliance will be initiated at the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2023 (pictured), on 27-28 June.WJI 2030, founded in Geneva in October...Read More
(IDEX Online) - HB Antwerp has announced a partnership with Botswana to foster a new generation of diamond talent.It has signed a a five-year memorandum of understanding with the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST).They will jointly organize traineeships for Botswanan youth, offer scholarships for promising local talent, drive innovative projects backed by digital s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - One of the world's largest sapphires, an exceptional-quality blue 118.35-carat gem, is to be sold by Phillips Hong Kong, with estimates of $3.2m to $4.5m.It is one of the largest sapphires offered at international auctions in the past three decades, and has been awarded 98 out of a maximum 100 Gubelin points for its "highly impressive size and weight, combined with an attracti...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds delivered a "solid" set of results in 2022, despite increased costs as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The UK-based miner saw revenue fall by just over six per cent to $188.9m and underlying earnings (EBITDA) down 24 per cent to $43.7m. Profits fell 46 per cent to $20.2m.Gem's Letseng mine in Lesotho, the highest average dollar per carat kimberlite d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - HRD Antwerp says it has launched a legal action in the Belgian courts against its former partners in Turkey, alleging they damaged its business reputation.It jointly launched the HRD Istanbul branch with Enstitu Istanbul Bilim Akademisi Yonetim Dan?,, ??...?,manl?,, ?g?,, ? A.S. in 2014 until it terminated the arrangement in October 2021.Ellen Joncheere, CEO of HRD Antwerp, (pictur...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brilliant Earth, the US-based "ethical jeweler", reported a slight drop in sales for Q4 2022, down 1.9 per cent to $119.6m.The total number of orders placed by consumers fell by 13.7 per cent, but the average value of those orders rose, also by 13.7 per cent, the company said in its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2022 Results.Gross profit for the quarter was $65.4m (a 54.7 per cent...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana need more diamond experts, said the country's Minister of Minerals and Energy during visit to a new factory in the capital Gaborone opened by Dubai-based StarGems."There must be increased numbers of experts in this particular industry," said Lefoko Moagi, as reported by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.StarGems aims to recruit 500 people to work at the $20m Diamon...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, reported a 5.2 per cent drop in sales for Q4 2022 (three months to 28 January) down $145.1m to $2.7bn.It blamed the devastating storm Elliott during the peak Christmas selling period in the US before, as well as labor strikes, the impact of the weakened British pound, the volatility created by the war in Ukraine, inflati...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Julia Roberts is the new global ambassador for the Chopard, the Swiss jewelry brand.The 55-year-old actress, best known for the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, will represent all the maison's watch, high jewelry and luxury jewelry collections for women.She features in a series of black-and-white portraits of and Chopard Loves Cinema video vignettes, the first of which was r...Read More