Petra Diamonds confirmed that it recovered a 209.9 carat D colour Type II gem quality diamond at its Cullinan Diamond Mine on April 18, 2019. This is the third +100ct Type II D colour gem quality diamond recovered since March 2019, and the fourth such stone in the current financial year. Petra noted in a statement that this recovery "again demonstrates the prevalence of these types of stones in th...Read More
The Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) revealed a unique polished blue diamond weighing over 20 carats, the biggest blue diamond discovery ever made in Botswana. GIA graded the 20.46-carat gem as a type IIb, Fancy Deep Blue, oval brilliant cut, VVS2. The diamond was discovered at Botswana's Orapa mine as a 41.11-carat rough stone. Its unique and vibrant blue color is the result of the inc...Read More
Petra Diamonds on Friday recovered a 209.9 ct D-colour Type II gem-quality diamond at its Cullinan diamond mine, in South Africa.This is the third Type II D-colour gem-quality diamond weighing more than 100 ct recovered since March and the fourth such diamond recovered in the current financial year.AdvertisementPetra on Friday said the latest recovery again demonstrates the prevalence of these typ...Read More
TSX-listed Stornoway Diamond Corporation has a new CFO.Dino Rambidis, who Stornoway describes as a seasoned leader with extensive financial experience, has replaced Orin Baranowsky with immediate effect.AdvertisementBaranowsky has decided to step down from his current role and will remain with the company up to the end of May to ensure an orderly transition.Rambidis is a chartered professional acc...Read More
Botswana's state-run Okavango Diamond Company unveiled on Wednesday what is believed to be the largest blue diamond ever discovered in the southern African country, which is one of the world's top producers.The 20.46-carat, oval-shape fancy precious rock has been named "The Okavango Blue" in honour of the Okavango Delta, the country's wildlife-rich world heritage site.From all coloured diamonds, b...Read More
RAPAPORT... Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) has revealed a 20.46-caratpolished stone, the largest blue diamond to come out of Botswana. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has graded the oval brilliant-cut, type IIb diamond as fancy deep blue, with VVS2 clarity, ODCsaid. "From the first moment we saw the diamond, it was clear wehad something very special," Marcus ter Haar, managin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales fell in the first quarter amid lower rough pricesand a larger proportion of small diamonds. Revenue from rough stones slid 37% year on year to $988million for the three months ending March 31, the Russia-based miner saidWednesday. Sales volume declined 21% to 10.6 million carats, while the averageprice decreased 20% to $123 per carat for gem-quality diamonds. Prices...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's New York Magnificent Jewels auction garnered $30.3 million on Tuesday, with a twin-stone ring leading the sale. The piece, bearing two pear modified brilliant-cut,fancy-vivid-blue, VS2-clarity diamonds weighing 3.06 and 2.61 carats, fetched$6.7 million, or $1.2 million per carat. Its presale estimate was $6 million to $8 million. Christie's sold six additional lots for...Read More
RAPAPORT?EUR?PRESSRELEASE, April 17, 2019, New York ...?EUR?The Rapaport Trade Mission to Sierra Leoneattracted a strong group of 29 international diamantaires and jewelers. Participants were from theUS, India, UAE, UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Canada, Spain, and Israel. For many,the trip was transformative as they visited the diggers in their villages andcame face to face with the challenges and oppo...Read More
The Fifth Mediterranean Gemmological & Jewellery Conference will take place in Limasol, Cyprus, May 17 to 19, 2019. As usual, the conference is organized by Branko Deljanin of CGL-GRS (Canada) and George Spyromilios of IGL (Greece). The first four MGJ Conferences were held in Greece (2015), Spain (2016), Italy (2017) and Montenegro (2018). In the five years since it was held first the MGJ Con...Read More
Richard "Dick" Greenwood, a well-known, highly respected and treasured member of New York's colored gemstone business community, died on April 13, surrounded by his wife and children. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 19th at noon, at the Riverside Memorial Chapel in Mount Vernon, NY. In a tribute, Greenwood's longtime friend and business associate, Doug Parker, wrote t...Read More
Botswana-based Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) on Wednesday unveiled “the biggest blue diamond discovery ever made” in Botswana – an oval-shaped blue diamond weighing in at over 20 ct.The Gemological Institute of America has graded the stone as an oval brilliant cut of 20.46 ct, with a fancy deep blue colour and at VVS2 clarity.AdvertisementThe diamond was discovered at Botswana&r...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's New York Magnificent Jewels auction garnered $30.3 million on Tuesday, with a twin-stone ring leading the sale. The piece, bearing two pear modified brilliant-cut,fancy-vivid-blue, VS2-clarity diamonds weighing 3.06 and 2.61 carats, fetched$6.7 million, or $1.2 million per carat. Its presale estimate was $6 million to $8 million. Christie's sold six additional lots for...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Black investors have self-funded the purchase of shares at a premium price in the fast-tracked redevelopment of the Prieska zinc and copper mine in the Northern Cape, which has a three-year payback and a minimum mine life of ten years.The $8-million equity capital raising by Orion Minerals, completed at a 29% premium to the company’s last closing pric...Read More
During a trade mission to Sierra Leone that involved a group of 29 international diamantaires and jewelers, Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, presented a proposal to the government of Sierra Leone that he believes would optimize the country's diamond industry.In a media statement, Rapaport said the proposal includes a systematic and sustainable business model that "will optimize the...Read More
RAPAPORT... The American Gem Society (AGS) has given Arkansas jeweler Kelly Newton its Robert M. Shipley award for his contributions to the industryand service to the organization. The third-generation owner and president of Newton'sJewelers has been a member of AGS for 25 years, and has served on its board ofdirectors since 2010. He has been a chair of the organization's membershipcommittee...Read More
RAPAPORT... New Art Cima will become the first Japanese retailer to usethe Sarine Diamond Journey software to sell jewelry to its customers. The platform presents a report of all the steps a diamondtakes from its rough origin to the polished product. It also comes with a three-dimensionalmodel of the original uncut stone that a customer can see and touch, Sarinesaid this week. "Each diamond...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond production at Rio Tinto dropped 18% year on year inthe first quarter of 2019, as the miner recovered lower-grade ore at its twodeposits. Production came to 3.8 million carats for the three monthsending March 31, the company said Tuesday. The Argyle mine in Australia yielded2.8 million carats, a 22% decrease compared to the same period last year. Thedecline was due to the p...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling will not return toBaselworld in 2020, and will instead focus on marketing through its ownplatform.Although the watch and jewelry exhibition proved successfulfor the company this year, the fair's new schedule, which will begin next year,clashed with Breitling's. "The decisive factor is the timing of Baselworld at the endof April, which cannot be re...Read More
Petra Diamonds published a report for the first quarter of the year. The company produced 924,228 carats, compared to 992,315 carats in the first quarter of 2018, reflecting the increased production at the Cullinan, Koffiefontein and Williamson mines, but offset by a lower production at the Finsch mine. With the expansion of operations at the Cullinan mine, across the so-called C-Cut footprint, t...Read More