Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is under growing pressure one year after taking office following the removal of long-time leader Robert Mugabe. That pressure may be about to increase if his handling of the diamond industry doesn't reflect his alleged commitment to economic reform and anti-corruption.That's the main message of a report released Thursday by campaign group and accountability...Read More
Market focused on jewelry retail as Christmas approaches. Brandstargeting female self-purchasers and enhancing omni-channel platforms to drivegrowth. Diamond market stable. November 1 ct. RAPI +0.6%, supported by USholiday demand and preparations for Chinese New Year. Rough trading cautious asmanufacturing profit is tight and inventory high, despite seasonal demand.Signet Jewelers 3Q sales +3% to...Read More
RAPAPORT... Production of lab-grown polished diamonds could grow to 17 million carats annually, taking a significant chunk of the market for small stones, according to Bain & Company. The synthetics industry currently has the capacity to produce about 2 million carats of gem-quality, lab-grown polished per year, the majority of which is under 0.18 carats, Bain estimated in its 2018 Global...Read More
Market improving, with noted presence of Chineseand Israeli dealers looking for goods. SI3-I1 clarities moving better. Buyerspushing for higher discounts and prepared to wait for the right price.Manufacturers operating at reduced capacity, and rough trading restrained aheadof De Beers sight. Local jewelry market stable during ongoing wedding season. RoundRead More
(IDEX Online) - A ring made by Bulgari and set with fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 8.08 carats was sold for $18,312,500 at Christie's New York Magnificent Jewels auction. The auction generated sales of $69,225,750, with 95% of items sold by value and 83% by lot. Christie's said the blue diamond was among the finest such stones ever to have come to market. Sale highlights also incl...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers' shares slumped 14% in early trading Thursday after the retailer reported a deeper loss, even as sales grew.The retailer's net loss intensified to $38.1 million from $12.1 million a year ago due to higher expenses and the absence of interest income from its prime credit program, which it sold for $960 million in October 2017. Same-store sales rose 1.6% in the third...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe is to allow two additional private firms to explore and mine for diamonds, according to Mines Minister Winston Chitando. He did not name the new companies. There are currently two firms operating in the sector. Chitando said the government's new diamond policy would allow for two more private companies to explore and mine diamonds, and that a...Read More
RAPAPORT... In the era of fake news and synthetic diamonds, it was a matter of time before the two would meet. They did so recently in the form of editorials in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and on the Russia Today (RT) TV channel, which took some cheap shots at the diamond trade. The ill-informed pieces highlight some still-prevalent misconceptions about the industry's ethical practices. Th...Read More
RAPAPORT... A ring made entirely from lab-grown diamond sold for$256,250 at Sotheby's on Wednesday, beating its presale estimate. The ring doesn't exist yet and doesn't have a fixed caratweight, as Diamond Foundry, its manufacturer, will craft the piece to fit thewearer. It will contain no metal and is the creation of Apple chief design officer SirJony Ive and industrial designer Mark Newson....Read More
(IDEX Online) - 'Conservation', the first video in the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F)'s new Real Stories, Real Diamonds, Real Impact campaign targeting Millennials, has garnered 11 million impressions in the first month alone, the organization said. The one-minute video, which appears on both the Diamonds Do Good website and on YouTube, garnered 7 million views of at least 30 seconds, an...Read More
RAPAPORT... A 24.31-carat diamond ring fetched $2.4 million at a Bonhams auction in London onWednesday. The step-cut, D-color, internally flawless piece sold for$98,194 per carat, beating its presale estimate of $1.7 million to $2.3million, the UK company said. "This magnificent gem was greatly admired during our previewsin London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong," said Emily Barber, UK...Read More
RAPAPORT... A Bulgari diamond ring surpassed its estimate at Christie's inNew York on Wednesday, bringing in more than $18 million. The cushion-cut, 8.08-carat, fancy-vivid-blue piece was the event'stop seller at $18.3 million, beating its presale estimate of $13 million to $18million. It completes a mixed week for colored-diamond sales after a 10.62-carat,fancy-vivid-blue diamond - estimated...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:AdvertisementGold One launches R100m plant expansion projectOverly prescriptive policies threaten mine profitabilityAdvertisementAnd, Zest WEG Group delivers R200m electrical infrastructure solution at Petra’s Cullinan diamond mineGol...Read More
Australia's Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) has begun commercial production at its 70%-owned Mothae mine in Lesotho, which it acquired in early 2017.The operation will add to the Perth-based company annual output, until now on depending on just one mine - Lulo, in Angola.The commercial recoveries are being processed through a 1.1 million tonne-per-year plant, which is a key milestone in Lucapa's develo...Read More
Zimbabwe's government is letting two new private companies mine diamonds in the country and may even allow foreign investors to hold majority stakes in local operations on condition that part of their output is reserved for domestic downstream industries.Mines minister Winston Chitando said any company or person with title for diamonds would have to go into partnership with the four companies allo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers has repaired a configuration bug on theorder pages of subsidiaries Kay and Jared that accidentally exposed the personalinformation of customers who purchased online. A Jared customer contacted Signet last month after noting hecould see other buyers' order information by slightly modifying the link in hisown confirmation email. The accessible data included names, billing...Read More
RAPAPORT... E-commerce giant eBay will expand its luxury-goods authenticationservice to more than 45,000 jewelry products on its platform, it said. Third-party authentication experts will verify the items,which it sources from some of the site's highest-rated vendors, the retail company saidMonday. The service, eBay Authenticate, will cover items including engagementrings, wedding bands, and loose...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamond advertising has well and truly departed fromtraditional styles, this year's holiday commercials suggest. Gone are the daysof the De Beers campaigns targeting men buying a diamond for his fianc?(C)e.The major retailers have taken a much more experimentalapproach, with Tiffany & Co. creating an eccentric video that featuresactress Zo?<< Kravitz, while Signet Jewelers' br...Read More
RAPAPORT... A blue diamond estimated at up to $30 million failed to finda buyer at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday. The pear-shaped, 10.62-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, VVS1-claritydiamond had a presale valuation of $20 million to $30 million. Anotherpear-shaped stone - a 2.76-carat, fancy-intense-purple-pink diamond - also remainedunsold at the auction. It was estimated at $1.3 million to $1.6 m...Read More
LSE-listed Petra Diamonds on Wednesday announced the completion of the sale of its and its black economic empowerment partner’s 75.9% interest in the Kimberley Ekapa Mining joint venture (KEM JV) for R300-million to JV partner Ekapa Mining.The KEM JV incorporates the Kimberley underground mine, extensive tailings retreatment programmes and the high-volume central treatment plant, which are a...Read More