RAPAPORT... Graff has unveiled the 67 polished stones it cut from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, including a record-breaking 302-carat diamond.The jeweler has named the square emerald-cut, 302.37-carat, D-color diamond the Graff Lesedi La Rona. It has yet to receive final certification for the stone, but expects a "very high clarity grading," a Graff spokesperson told Rapaport News ...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will offer two rare jewels with royal connectionsat its auction in Geneva next month. An Art Deco necklace will feature in the Magnificent Jewelsand Noble Jewels sale May 14. The Van Cleef & Arpels piece includesdiamonds, as well as 11 cabochon Colombian emeralds with a total weight of more than 75carats. It was created in the 1930s for H?(C)l??ne Beaumont, an Americ...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has named IrisVan der Veken executive director, the first woman to hold the position. She replaces Andrew Bone, who left the organization in March."[Van der Veken] is a strong, dynamic and value-driven leader, and her wealth of experience and expertise will be tremendously beneficial in strengthening our strategic decision-making and ensurin...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers recorded its largest rough-diamond sale sincemid-2018 as demand was steady following a slow first quarter. Sales rose 10% year on year to $575 million in the thirdsales cycle of the year, including last week's sight in Botswana. That figurewas 16% higher than the $496 million it sold in the previous cycle, De Beerssaid Tuesday. "As we move into the second quarter of the year,...Read More
Baffin Island holds some of its treasures in plain sight with rocks that produce rare gems sitting exposed to the elements, scientists say. A new study from the University of British Columbia shows the area is home to a mineral that is prized by jewelers and collectors. Study co-author Philippe Belley said in an interview that cobalt-blue spinel, "which is a ridiculously rare gemstone" gets a lot...Read More
CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2019 annual congress in Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, from November 18 to November 20. Pre-congress meetings will be held November 16 and 17, and the congress will follow the World Pearl Forum, which is due to take place on November 14 and 15. The CIBJO Annual Congress will be hosted by DANAT, the Bahrain Institute for Pearl...Read More
RAPAPORT... With an inconvenient leading letter, fluorescence falls outside of the 4Cs. Yet that hasn't stopped it from becoming an essential element when it comes to haggling the price of diamonds. In the grading world, fluorescence refers to "the visible light some diamonds emit when they are exposed to ultraviolet rays," according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Most of the time,...Read More
De Beers Group sold $575 million for the third sales cycle of its rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) of 2019. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: ""As we move into the second quarter of the year, we saw a continuation of stable demand for our rough diamonds during the third cycle of 2019." Looking at the bigger picture, however, De Beers is still underperforming...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough-diamond prices are too high, and reducing them is a must.Not only is such a move necessary to ensure profitability formanufacturers, it would also raise market sentiment, which has beenuncharacteristically weak for a first quarter.In the long term, miners would gain from a correction as well, as itwould stimulate demand and prevent a market freeze that is inevitableif rough price...Read More
RAPAPORT... Phillips has appointed Graeme Thompson worldwide head ofjewelry, as it works to expand the recently created department internationally. Thompson, who will be based at the company's Hong Kongoffice, has been tasked with creating a strategy for the auction house's internationalbusiness. He will be responsible for developing a global team in New York,London, Hong Kong and Geneva. He...Read More
Backtracking from a promise made last year that for "safety" reasons the identity of its customers will not be revealed, the state-controlled firm Namdia announced it had selected the 16 firms that will buy diamonds from Namdia from 2019 to 2021. The Namibian buyers are: Schachter and Namdar Namibia; DYS Diamond Manufacturer Namibia; Tate Diamonds and Pluczenik Diamond Company. Four Belgian compan...Read More
The London-based jeweler Lawrence Graff paid an unprecedented $8.75 million for the 13.33 carat pink rough diamond that was found in February of this year by Gem Diamonds in its Letseng mine in Lesotho. The amount paid by Graff constitutes a record price per carat paid for a diamond from the Letseng mine. Meanwhile, the Letseng mine has acquired a famed reputation for some of the world's most ex...Read More
Cyclone Idai, which hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in March of this year, has also left its mark on Zimbabwe's diamond mining projects. The cyclone claimed at least 268 lives in Zimbabwe and left a trail of destruction in its wake. ZCDC chief executive Dr Moris Mpofu told The Sunday Mail Business last week that the company was now "regrouping to recover from the aftermath of Cyclone Idai and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Graff has unveiled the 67 polished stones it cut from the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, including a record-breaking 302-carat diamond.The jeweler has named the square emerald-cut, 302.37-carat, D-color diamond the Graff Lesedi La Rona. It has yet to receive final certification for the stone, but expects a "very high clarity grading," a Graff spokesperson told Rapaport News ...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – To pursue meaningful and increased exploration, fully capitalise on economic benefits and increase investment in the mining sector, the Zimbabwean government has embarked on a number of policies to engender a favourable environment for investors.Deputy Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura told delegates attending the Harare Indaba: Investi...Read More
Graff revealed the polished diamond resulting from the 1,109-carat rough stone called Lesedi La Rona. The 302.37 carat square emerald cut diamond produced by Graff's craftsmen is the largest, highest color and highest clarity diamond ever graded by GIA and the world's largest known square emerald cut diamond. The company reported that its master polishers needed 18 months of meticulous craft...Read More
Shares in Canada's Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) fell on Tuesday after it announced that it would halt operations at its Renard 65 open pit mine, in the Canadian province of Quebec.The company transitioned Renard, Quebec's first diamond mine, primarily underground operations in August last year, but mining the pit had continued until now.Current ore stockpiles at Renard 65 are sufficient to...Read More
Anglo American's De Beers said Tuesday it saw rough diamond sales value jump about 10% in the third sales cycle of the year on the back of stable demand.The world's top diamond producer by value, which reports on 10 sales cycles each year, sold $575 million in its third sales cycle of this year, the highest since the fifth cycle of 2018, when it recorded $581 million.Chief executive Bruce Cleave...Read More
Diamond miner De Beers sold $575-million of diamonds in its third sales cycle of this year.This was higher than the $496-million of sales recorded in the second sales cycle of this year, as well as the $524-million of sales recorded in the third sales cycle of 2018.Advertisement“As we move into the second quarter of the year, we saw a continuation of stable demand for our rough diamonds,&rdq...Read More
Quebec miner Stornoway Diamonds on Tuesday announced that it would suspend openpit mining operations at Renard 65, but the move is not expected to impact on its revenue for this year.The company, which transitioned the Renard mine to primarily underground operations in August last year, explained that the current ore stockpiles at Renard 65 were sufficient to maintain its planned contribution to t...Read More