RAPAPORT... Sales at Signet Jewelers fell last year as demand tailed off during a disappointing holiday season. Same-store sales - at branches open for a year - slipped0.1% for the fiscal year ending February 2, while total revenue also declined 0.1%to $6.25 billion, the company said Wednesday.Sales at Kay fell 0.4% to $2.42 billion, with Jared declining 4.3% to $1.14billion. Revenue at...Read More
RAPAPORT... Dealers expressed optimism for the US diamond marketafter polished imports rose last year to their highest level since 2014.Shipments to the country jumped 8% to $23.3 billion in2018, according to the US Census Bureau, despite more modest growth in consumersales. That indicates the industry may be sending large quantities of goods tothe US in anticipation of future demand, traders...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jeremy Schwartz will leave his position as chief operatingofficer of Pandora after less than a year in the role, the jewelry retailersaid Tuesday. Schwartz joinedPandora in September, after its CEO, Anders Colding Friis, resigned. Since then, he hasbeen jointly managing the company with chief financial officer Anders Boyer. Alexander Lacik, whom Pandora hired as CEO in Februa...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent letters toeight companies selling lab-grown or simulated diamonds, warning that theirmarketing violates the government's recently issued guidelines. In the letters, the FTC notes some of the companies'advertising may be deceptive to consumers, specifically in instances where themarketing implies a simulated diamond, such as cubic zirc...Read More
FTC staff sent eight letters to jewelry marketers warning them that some of their online advertisements of jewelry made with simulated or laboratory-created diamonds may deceive consumers, in violation of the FTC Act. The letters note that in July 2018, the FTC issued updated Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries that provide marketers with information on how to make non-d...Read More
GIA announced changes to its laboratory-grown diamond grading report to align the report with recent revisions to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Jewelry Guides. Effective July 1, 2019, GIA will discontinue its [twelve-year old] GIA Synthetic Diamond Grading ReportTM and introduce the GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond ReportTM. The GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report will: include the standa...Read More
WASHINGTON/LONDON – The US Federal Trade Commission, which investigates allegations of deceptive advertising, said on Tuesday that it has sent warning letters to eight companies to insist that they distinguish in advertisements between diamonds that come from mines and those made in laboratories.The FTC said that it had found instances where the eight companies advertised diamond jewelry &q...Read More
GIA (The Gemological Institute of America) announced it will introduce the GIA Diamond Origin Report service which will confirm the country of origin of polished diamonds. To be eligible for this new service, the original rough diamonds and resulting polished diamonds must be submitted to GIA for analysis so that they can be matched to each other and to confirm the origin information provided by t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent letters toeight companies selling lab-grown or simulated diamonds, warning that theirmarketing violates the government's recently issued guidelines. Some of the companies'advertising may be deceptive to consumers, the FTC noted in the letters. In some cases their marketing implied that a simulated diamond, such as cubic zirconia or la...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining company Anglo American hopes to have a truck running on hydrogen in the next 12 months, Anglo American technical director Tony O’Neill said on Wednesday, when he spoke of foreseeing the company’s installed diesel fleet one day being replaced by an electrical alternative. To test the departure from the use of carbon fuels...Read More
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which investigates allegations of deceptive advertising, said on Tuesday that it has sent warning letters to eight companies to insist that they distinguish in advertisements between diamonds that come from mines and those made in laboratories.The FTC said that it had found instances where the eight companies advertised diamond jewelry "without clearly and conspi...Read More
A burgeoning interest in Canada's emerging cannabis sector, which spiked after recreational use of marijuana was legalized in October, is sucking investment capital away from the mining sector, and hitting juniors hardest, a new study shows.According to BDO's Sherif Andrawes, investments in Canadian cannabis companies increased from C$43 million to C$770 million from the first half of 2016 to the...Read More
RAPAPORT... A rare oval diamond sold for nearly $14 million at Sotheby'sin Hong Kong Tuesday, beating its high estimate of $12.7 million. The oval brilliant-cut, 88.22-carat, D-color, flawless, typeIIa stone is one of only three oval diamonds over 50 carats offered in auctionhistory, Sotheby's said. The hammer went down on it at $13.8 million, or $156,150 per carat, at theMagnificent Jewels a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Macy's has named Dennis Mullahy chief supply officer, a role in which he will oversee everything involved in getting products to the shelves.He will supervise all aspects of supply, including globalsourcing, inventory management, store and e-commerce distribution,transportation, indirect procurement, supply-chain systems, sustainability, andsupplier diversity. "We are investing in our...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Central African Republic (CAR) is trying to entice large diamond-mining companies to set up operations in thecountry, as part of its effort to reform the sector and meetKimberley Process (KP) regulations. The government has already contacted both De Beers andAlrosa, President Faustin-Archange Touadera said in a speech to the Antwerp trade Monday. Allowing established companies...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than 100 Signet Jewelers employees will lose their jobsamid the closing of the company's Texas-based manufacturing facility. The closure is part of a long-term effort by the Zales,Jared and Kay owner to cut costs and improve efficiency. "We have evaluated consolidation in key areas of ourbusiness, seeking to understand production capacity, cost and efficiency acrossour...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. has launched a marketing campaign for its first new bridal line in nearly a decade.The jeweler unveiled the new Tiffany True ring design in September, and is now pushing the product with a video commercial. It features three couples wearing the engagement rings during private moments, set to Lady Gaga's song "Is That Alright?" from her Oscar-winning movie&nb...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, April 2, 2019, Las Vegas ... Diamond market sentiment was soft in March, after the Hong Kong and Basel shows failed to boost trading in a significant way. The first quarter was weaker than last year's, with cautious retail inventory replacement after the holiday season. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds slid 0.2% in March, while RAPI for 0.30-carat fe...Read More
The American department store JCPenney is struggling to overcome its financial and organizational troubles and is closing 27 of its 860 stores in 2019. In an interview published by TODAY Style, the department store's spokesperson, Carter C. English said: "As part of a standard annual review, the decision was made to close 18 stores across the country, including the three previously announced...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds on Tuesday reported a 12% year-on-year increase in mined tonnage at its Kareevlei mine, in Kimberley, to 42 409 t for the first quarter of this year.This was achieved despite a temporary eight-day suspension in mining operations in February.AdvertisementThe diamond producer sold 1 847 ct of diamonds in the first quarter – an 18% year-on-year increase.A...Read More