RAPAPORT... Three industry members have found homes in executivepositions at Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA), Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group and RoyalAsscher. Steven Kaiser was elected chairperson of the JSA board,replacing Stewart Wicht, the recently retired CEO of Rolex Watch USA, whocompleted his term. Kaiser will serve a three-year term alongside other boardmembers, including Alan Zimmer o...Read More
RAPAPORT... Recovery of lower-grade ore at Rio Tinto's Argyle and Diavikmines led to a 15% drop in the company's production to 18.4 million carats in 2018.Output at the Argyle asset in Australia slid 18% to 14.1 million carats for the full year, Rio Tinto reported Friday. In 2017, operational performance at the mine was enhanced by the processing of higher-grade alluvial tailings, the co...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's same-store sales dropped 10% in the third fiscal quarteramid economic weakness in greater China. The depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the Hong Kong dollarled customers to purchase cheaper products in the three months ending December31, the retailer said Thursday. Luk Fook, one of Hong Kong's largest jewelers, derives asignificant proportion of its revenue from...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has appointed Rebecca Foerster as president of its US operations, a role in which she will work on developing the miner's polished sales in the country. Foerster, who was previously executive vice president of strategic planning and marketing for Leo Schachter Diamonds, will also oversee the miner's US-based customer service. "Ms. Foerster has a wealth of experience in co...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales at Tiffany & Co. fell during the holiday season, amidreduced spending by Chinese tourists, while economic uncertainties affecteddemand in the Americas and Europe. "Overall holiday sales results came in short of ourexpectations, which had called for modest year-over-year growth," Tiffany CEOAlessandro Bogliolo said Friday. Global sales slipped 1% to $1.04 billion for the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The winter edition of the Vicenzaoro show opened on Friday, with the overarching theme being 'sustainable creativity'. Ugo Ravanelli, the Managing Director of the organizer, the Italian Exhibition Group, said that sustainable creativity is no longer a trend but the direction in which the whole sector is heading. "At Vicenzaoro, we will be dealing with the theme in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation's sales fell in the finalthree months of last year as weakness in the Indian market dented prices oflower-value rough from its Renard mine in Canada. Fourth-quarter proceeds dropped 35% to CAD 32.1 million($24.2 million), the company reported last week. "While the pricing of higher-quality goods and specialsremains strong, certain categories of lower-qual...Read More
RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation's sales fell in the finalthree months of last year as weakness in the Indian market dented prices oflower-value rough from its Renard mine in Canada. Fourth-quarter proceeds dropped 35% to CAD 32.1 million($24.2 million), the company reported last week. "While the pricing of higher-quality goods and specialsremains strong, certain categories of lower-qual...Read More
RAPAPORT... Recovery of lower-grade ore at Rio Tinto's Argyle and Diavikmines led to a 15% drop in the company's diamond production to 18.4 million carats in 2018.Output at the Argyle asset in Australia slid 18% to 14.1 million carats for the full year, Rio Tinto reported Friday. In 2017, operational performance at the mine was enhanced by the processing of higher-grade alluvial tailings...Read More
RAPAPORT... Luk Fook's same-store sales dropped 10% in the third fiscal quarteramid economic weakness in greater China. The depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the Hong Kong dollarled customers to purchase cheaper products in the three months ending December31, the retailer said Thursday. Luk Fook, one of Hong Kong's largest jewelers, derives asignificant proportion of its revenue from...Read More
Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world's No.1 diamond producer by output, made $463 million only at the international auctions it held in five countries in 2018.Following the publication of its overall sale results for the year, with rough and polished diamonds generating $4.5 billion, the Russian miner issued a press release highlighting the importance of the competitive sales it held abroad, especially th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The 5th Mediterranean Gem and Jewellery Conference will take place in Limassol, Cyprus, following the success of the four previous conferences. The Limassol meeting will take place on May 17-19 following the previous conferences in Greece in 2015, Spain in 2016, Italy in 2017 and Montenegro in 2018 The participants came from 25 countries in 2018, from a range of fiel...Read More
In 2018, ALROSA, the largest diamond mining company in the world, held 32 international auctions receiving a total revenue of $463 million for the year, for its special size (over 10.8 carats) rough diamonds.Alrosa traditionally holds its auctions in Russia, Belgium Israel, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. For the first time in many years, the company held two of its auct...Read More
An economic slowdown in China, consumer of about half the world's commodities, is the single biggest challenge for the mining and metals sector in 2019. (Image courtesy of Liebherr.)A worsening of the ongoing economic slowdown in China, consumer of about half the world's commodities, is the single biggest challenge mining and metals companies face this year, a new survey of senior executives shows...Read More
Trading relatively quiet as jewelers begin restockingafter holiday season. Top-tier independents and luxury retailers outpacinglarge jewelry chains: Signet Jewelers Nov./Dec. sales -3% to $1.8B, Richemont'sCartier and Van Cleef & Arpels 3Q revenue +9% to $2.3B, Forevermark 2018 USsales +8%. Cautious outlook for Chinese New Year as Chow Tai Fook 3Q same-storesales -7% in China, -6% in Hong Kong...Read More
Activity slower than usual for January. Dealersfocused on China and Hong Kong for Chinese New Year period. Domestic demandsteady as jewelers push bridal during ongoing wedding season. Manufacturersremain cautious due to tight profit margins, with factories operating belowcapacity since Diwali. Suppliers holding stock in preparation for Hong Kongshow. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers' sales fell during the holiday season, prompting the retailer to lower its full-year outlook. Total revenue dropped 2.5% to $1.84 billion for the nine weeks ending January 5, while same-store sales - at branches open for at least a year - declined 1.3%, the company said Thursday. E-commerce revenue grew 5.6% to $222.3 million. "Our holiday-season performance fell s...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US jewelry industry downsized further last year, as bankruptciesand closures outnumbered new arrivals to the sector, the Jewelers Board ofTrade (JBT) reported. The number of businesses on the JBT's books fell 4.4% to25,102 in 2018, continuing the downward trend recorded over the past few years,according to data the group released Wednesday. However, the decline slowed versus...Read More
RAPAPORT... The impact of lab-grown diamonds on the industry willsignificantly increase in the next two years, according to ABN Amro. "We think that 2019 and 2020 will be the years thatlab-grown diamonds take off and move from an introduction phase to a growthphase," Georgette Boele, senior precious metals and diamonds analyst for the Dutchbank, said in a report Tuesday. "Sooner, rather than later...Read More
(IDEX Online) - CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the Federation for European Education (FEEG) in Gemmology, will be presenting a day-long conference at the VICENZAORO January jewelry trade show, organized by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), in Vicenza on Saturday, January 19, where the principle focus will be on issues related to responsible sourcing and gemology. For CIBJO,...Read More