CULLINAN – The 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 to breathe new life into the South African mine renowned for yielding the largest rough gem diamond eve...Read More
Welcome to Creamer Media’s Resources Watch, a weekly video round-up of the events and people making and shaping the news in the mining industry.This week:AdvertisementWorking together can deliver mining’s massive benefitsDe Beers to spend R30m on diamond exploration this yearAdvertisementAnd, Ramaphosa challenges mining to take ten value-adding stepsMining can and will deliver massive...Read More
Russia's Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's top diamond producer by output in carats, has put together a collection of recently found large coloured diamonds, which includes a pink oval gem weighing 14.83 carats - the largest of its kind ever found in Russia.The diamond it was cut from a rough found in 2017 at the Ebelyakh deposit in Yakutia, rated by the American journal The National Jeweler as the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has launched an exhibition of rare polished coloreddiamonds, including a 14.83-carat pink that is the largest of its colorin Russian history, the miner said Wednesday. The oval-shaped stone was cut from a 27.85-carat rough that the company recovered in 2017 from its Ebelyakh mine in Yakutia. The miner'slargest pink diamond prior to the discovery weighed 3.86 carats. "The si...Read More
RAPAPORT... Helzberg Diamonds has launched its owncollection of lab-grown jewelry, Light Heart, citing increased consumer demand for synthetics. The jeweler - owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway- first introduced the line late last year in a limited number of itsstores, it told Rapaport NewsWednesday. Prices of Light Heart items on Helzberg's retail site ranged from $400 to $9,000 at...Read More
RAPAPORT... Fewer US consumers bought jewelry for their wedding in 2018, while the number of couples opting for an engagementring also dropped, according to The Wedding Report. The proportion of couples that bought an engagement ring when getting married fell 1.1% in 2018, with 87% purchasing one, according to a survey by the market-research company. Demand for women's wedding bands also decl...Read More
RAPAPORT... G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab is studying how it can place microscopiclabels on diamonds to track them through the supply chain. The Swiss institute launched its Emerald Paternity Test in2017, applying invisible nanoparticles to rough stones to enable industrymembers and consumers to trace the goods back to an exact mine. It's currentlyonly practical for emeralds, as their numerous fissures mak...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) has partnered with Jewelry Television (JTV) to expand its educational services to theUS market. The UK-based organization has given accreditation to JTV to operate a teaching center in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the retailer is headquartered. The location will be the first under the Gem-A brand in North America, offering gemol...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA has conducted a media preview of a collection of large colored diamonds, including unique pink, bright yellow and pink purple gems. The star of the show was a pink oval diamond weighing 14.83 carats - the largest pink diamond in the history of Russia. The gem it was cut from was mined in 2017 in the Ebelyakh deposit in Yakutia and became the largest pink diamond ever...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa Chief Executive Officer Sergey Ivanov paid an official visit to the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), where he was hosted by IDE President Yoram Dvash and IDE Managing Director Eran Zini. Providing an overview of the Israeli Diamond Industry, IDE President Dvash called on Alrosa to expand its rough diamond supply to Israel. Dvash explained that the Israeli industry focus...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The ALROSA Group sold $281.5 million worth of rough and polished diamonds last month, a drop of 44 percent compared to the previous year. Rough diamond sales came to $278.2 million, while polished diamond sales netted just $3.4 million. "In January, market activity was lower than usual," Yury Okoemov, ALROSA Deputy CEO, noted. After active restocking at the midstream...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Gemological Science International (GSI) has announced that the Emirates International Accreditation Centre (EIAC) has approved GSI's Dubai laboratory accreditation. "The accreditation is valid not only in Dubai, where the GSI laboratory is located, but in all seven members of the United Arab Emirates," the GSI said in a statement. "GSI is the first and the only internat...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has launched an exhibition of rare polished coloreddiamonds, including a 14.83-carat pink that is the largest of its colorin Russian history, the miner said Wednesday. The oval-shaped stone was cut from a 27.85-carat rough that the company recovered in 2017 from its Ebelyakh mine in Yakutia. The miner'slargest pink diamond prior to the discovery weighed 3.86 carats. "The si...Read More
RAPAPORT... Fewer US consumers bought jewelry for their weddings in 2018, while the number of couples opting for engagementrings also dropped, according to The Wedding Report. The proportion of couples that bought an engagement ring when getting married fell 1.1% in 2018, with 87% purchasing one, according to a survey by the market-research company. Demand for women's wedding bands also decli...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) has partnered with Jewelry Television (JTV) to expand its educational services to theUS market. The UK-based organization has given accreditation to JTV to operate a teaching center in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the retailer is headquartered. The location will be the first under the Gem-A brand in North America, offering gemol...Read More
Alrosa's (MCX:ALRS) sales dropped by 44% year-on-year in January, according to a press release issued by the Russian miner.The company said that it sold a total of $281.5 million worth of rough and polished diamonds, with rough stones leading most of the transactions and generating proceeds of $278.2 million.According to the world's top diamond producer by output, following a busy month in Decembe...Read More
Africa-focused Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) has unearthed an undamaged 70-carat white, makeable stone from its 75%-owned Liqhobong mine in Lesotho.The diamond is the largest found so far this year and follows the recovery of a 46-carat, gem quality white rock in December, which sold for over $1 million at a sale early this month.Shares in the company shot up on the news and were trading 8.9% h...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering recorded robust sales in its jewelry-and-watchdivision in 2018, amid growing demand for its products in Asia.Jewelry sales rose 7% to EUR 18 billion ($20.33 billion) at the French luxury group, which owns Boucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin. Timepiece sales remained solid, it added."The jewelry houses turned in a solid performance, and sales of the watches brands advanced for t...Read More
RAPAPORT... US consumers plan to spend $20.7 billion on gifts this Valentine'sDay, with jewelry topping the list at $3.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). An NRF survey showed a 6%rise in the amount consumers intended to lay out on their loved ones over Valentine's Day. The growth comes despite a decrease in the number of consumerscelebrating the holiday this year, t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds has unearthed a 70-carat white rough stone fromits Liqhobong mine in Lesotho. "The 70-carat stone was recovered in the northern, low-gradepart of the pit, where the bulk of our mining will take place in the comingmonths," Firestone CEO Paul Bosma said Tuesday. The stone - which was removed undamaged - follows the miner'sdiscovery of a 46-carat white diamond in...Read More