Parcel Pro, a UPS Capital company, announced a partnership with ManufacturingJewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) that provides MJSA Premier Members accessto innovative technology and insured shipping at a time when the industry isexperiencing rapid e-commerce growth."E-commerce retail revenue is expected to top $4.88 trillion by 2021, so it is no surprisewe are seeing more luxury goods ship...Read More
IDEX - International Diamond Exchange, the global diamond, gem and jewelry industryand trade's leading online diamond-trading platform for professional diamond traders,has appointed veteran communications expert and strategic consultant Ya'akov Almorto serve as the new Editor-in-Chief of IDEX Online & Magazine. He succeeds AlbertRobinson."We're very pleased to have Ya'akov on board with us...Read More
Alrosa mined yet another large diamond recently, this time a rough piece that has thedistinct shape of a heart shape.The stone joins a group of other oddly shaped stones. Just in advance of the 2018World Soccer championship in Russia, the miner found a soccer-ball shaped roughdiamond. And this time around, the timing was once again perfect: the stone's find wasannounced just before Valentine's Day...Read More
The Diamond Trading Society of Angola (Sodiam) is spending more than US$ fivemillion to establish and operate its diamond cutting and polishing subsidiary StonePolished Diamond in Angola's capital of Luanda. The company currently employs 70people but is expected, according to Eug?(C)nio Pereira da Rosa, Sodiam's ChiefExecutive Officer, to expand the work force to 400.By 2020, the plant is to polis...Read More
Petra Diamonds, the owner and operator of the Cullinan mine, the diamond sourcethat more than a century ago produced the world's largest rough diamond ever, isplanning to clear its debt with the production of the mine's new section. Speaking toReuters, Cullinan's general manager Juan Kemp said it could take between five and10 years to achieve that goal.Reuters reported Petra's debt is currently ar...Read More
Aim- and BSE-listed exploration company Botswana Diamonds has started with the planned intensification drilling on its Thorny River prospect in South Africa, with the first four holes having intersected diamonds at predicted thicknesses and depths. The programme, which comprises the drilling of 40 reverse circulation angle percussion boreholes to a depth of 30 m is expected to be completed wi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Vast Resources has been invited to mine at the Marangediamond fields in Zimbabwe as part of a joint venture. The UK-headquartered miner will collaborate with theChiadzwa Community Development Trust, which was granted the right to mine theHeritage Concession portion of the site, Vast said last week. Russian miner Alrosa and China's Anjin Investments have been invited to return to...Read More
RAPAPORT... US holiday sales grew 2.9% in 2018, lower than the 4.3% to 4.8%increase the National Retail Federation (NRF) had predicted. Total sales for the November-December period were $707.5billion, according to figures from the Commerce Department. The officialfigures were released nearly a month late following the partial US government shutdown. That number falls well below the NRF's fore...Read More
RAPAPORT... MCH Group has appointed Bernd Stadlwieser CEO, as the Baselworld parent company works to reinvigorate interest in its annual fair. "[Stadlwieser] has a great deal of experience in sectors ofindustry that are of importance to us, as well as for taking forward thetransformation process that has been launched," MCH chairman Ulrich Vischer said last week. A 20-year veteran of the wat...Read More
World Federation of Diamond Bourses president Ernie Blom has called on Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, through an open letter, to put into practice what government has said regarding the development of the South African mining industry, in general, and to help “pave the road to success”.In particular, Blom referred to the global diamond sector, which he said “flourishe...Read More
* Mine owned by Petra Diamonds may take 5-10 years to clear debt* Diamond miners face price pressure, synthetic competitionThe owner of one of the world's most famous diamond mines could be about a decade away from clearing its multi-million-dollar debts, in a sign of the struggles facing an industry assailed by synthetic rivals and uncertain demand.Petra Diamonds bought Cullinan in 2008, aiming t...Read More
The world's top diamond producer by output, Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), found a heart-shaped rough diamond at the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe in Yakutia, eastern Russia.The stone weighs 65.7 carats and company experts say it may be over 300 million years old."Diamonds of a distinctive shape that resemble some object or symbol are extremely rare in nature. Most rough diamonds are octahedron-shaped or do not h...Read More
Polished market improving, with suppliers selling at lower pricesto generate liquidity. Rough trading cautious as high rough prices and weakpolished continue to squeeze midstream profits. Shortages of top-make goods dueto reduced manufacturing, but large inventory of leftover lower-qualitydiamonds. Chinese government reports retail sales +9% during 7-day Lunar NewYear holiday. High-end luxury robu...Read More
Dealers preparing for Hong Kong show, stimulatingbetter activity in Bharat Diamond Bourse. Overseas buyers interested in 0.30 to2 ct., H-K, VS2-I1 stones. Little buzz around IIJS Signature fair, but steadygold jewelry market for wedding season. Liquidity concerns amid bankruptcyrumors of small-scale manufacturers. Polished production levels remainrestrained. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has named veteran consumer-brand executive AlexanderLacik as its CEO, as it seeks to transform the company following weak sales. "Alexander is a brilliant marketer and brand architect, andhas throughout his career shown himself as a great leader and a highlyeffective executor," Pandora chairman Peder Tuborgh said. "His skills andexperience will be key to revitalizing the Pandor...Read More
RAPAPORT... Indian diamond manufacturer Asian Star's sales and profitdeclined in the third fiscal quarter, the company said Wednesday. Group revenue dropped 24% year on year to INR 7.93 billion($111.7 million) in the three months ending December 31. Net profit plummeted63% to INR 181.6 million ($2.6 million). Revenue from diamond sales, Asian Star's largest division,dropped 27% to INR 6.94 b...Read More
RAPAPORT... The RapaportGroup is pleased to announce our trade mission to Surat, India. This mission willprovide an opportunity for members of the diamond-and-jewelry trade to gainfirst-hand knowledge of the diamond supply chain. Surat ishome to an estimated 500,000 diamond cutters, who manufacture over 90% of theworld's polished diamonds. Participants will experience the real diamondmarket at the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) will hold an auction of special stones at HKTDC's Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show following a successful pilot event last year. The auction will be held at IDI's Israel Diamond Pavilion, which this year will host 58 companies. There will also be 10 Israeli companies exhibiting in other locations throughout the show....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem-A (the Gemmological Association of Great Britain) has established an independent, non-profit entity in the United States designed to facilitate its gemological education in an important market. Gem-A USA will provide the same Gemmology and Diamond Diploma courses designed to inspire and educate the next generation of gemologists, the lab said. Gem-A USA has announ...Read More
HARARE/LONDON – London-listed miner Vast Resources is to be allowed into Zimbabwe's diamond fields, Mining Minister Winston Chitando said on Thursday, joining other new entrants including Russia's Alrosa.Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to exploit its mineral resources to revive a moribund economy sapped by high inflation and unemployment, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa looking to...Read More