(IDEX Online) - Poland and Lithuania say they will again push for an end to Belgium's diamond trade with Russia.Diplomats from both countries are demanding tougher EU sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus as the war in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary."Once again there is an attempt to extend sanctions on the export of Russian diamonds. The value of diamond exports to the Russ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - JCK has announced details of its second show since the Covid pandemic.Organizers say 30,000 industry professionals flocked to Las Vegas last year after the 2020 and 2021 events were canceled.Registration is now open for JCK 2023 at The Venetian Expo and The Venetian from 2 to 5 June."JCK is the place where connections are made, trends are discovered, major industry news is announce...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The crown that will used at the coronation of King Charles III has been removed from the Tower of London for the first time in 60 years for "modification work".It was last worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II when she was crowned in 1953.Buckingham Palace said in a statement that the crown had been moved to an undisclosed location, ahead of the coronation on Saturday 6 May, but gave...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Retail gold sales among India's "organized" jewelry retailers will be up by between 23 and 25 per cent in the financial year ending 31 March 2023.But growth in the subsequent 12 months will halve, to between eight and 12 per cent, according to the Mumbai-based Crisil ratings agency.It points to " slower growth in disposable incomes" together with a high base in fiscal 2022.Cri...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine is set to acquire a majority stake in the New York-based GCAL grading lab for an undisclosed sum.The Israel-based diamond tech company, known for its Galaxy mapping systems, today said both sides had signed a non-binding MOU for an all-cash deal.GCAL (Gem Certification and Assurance Lab), a family business founded in 2001 by Don and Pamela Palmieri, is expecte...Read More
(IDEX online) - A family jewelry business in the US is suing its bank after cybercriminals stole $1.6m from its accounts.Joyce's Jewelry, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, accuses PNC Bank, of failing to "keep its hard-earned money safe". In a lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Pittsburgh it alleges the bank failed to notify it or freeze its four accounts when they were hacked.The...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Exclusive Lebanese jeweler Mouawad has created a sapphire and diamond crown for this Saturday's Miss Universe competition, valued at $5.75m.The Force for Good Crown features 108.44 carats of blue sapphire and 48.12 carats of white diamond, with a pear-shaped 45.14 carat sapphire as its highlight.Last year's winner Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu will crown her successor at the...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond miners in Lesotho have been accused of polluting rivers in the landlocked kingdom.The royalties it receives from South Africa for water far outweigh its annual diamond revenue. (Forecast at $70m compared to $12.7bn for the current financial year).But a confidential report reveals harmful levels of toxic mining effluent in rivers that feed the Lesotho Highlands Water P...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Titan, India's largest branded jewelry maker, says overall sales were up 12 per cent year-on-year during the last quarter of 2022.Revenue was buoyed by positive consumer sentiment combined with Diwali in October and a busy wedding season.Sales of jewelry across its 2,362 stores were up 11 per cent, watches and wearables rose 14 per cent and eyecare revenue was up 10 per...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Almost 300 carats recovered by part-time diggers in India's diamond-rich Panna district will again be offered for sale next month, after they failed to find buyers in October.There was little enthusiasm at the first auction, conducted by the Panna Diamond Office, which leases small patches of land and takes a 11.5 per cent royalty.The 158 diamonds which failed to sell last tim...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Botswana saw rough diamond sales rise by at least quarter in 2022 as buyers turned their backs on Russian goods.Total sales from January to November were $4.46bn, according to the latest figures from the Bank of Botswana, an increase of 22 per cent. Sales figures for December are due next month.The diamonds are mined by Debswana, the joint venture between De Beers and the governmen...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Police in India are hunting three men alleged to have duped a diamond dealer by switching genuine stones worth $118,000 with fakes.They visited the victim's office at the Bharat Diamond Bourse, Mumbai, where they examined and photographed a selection of diamonds and their pouches.They returned later, chose 320 carats and asked for them to be set aside until while they went to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Members of Qatar's royal family are locked in a legal battle over The Idol's Eye, a 70.21-carat Golconda diamond with an estimated $10m value.Qipco, a private investment company run by art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani has filed a lawsuit in London against Elanus Holdings Limited, based in Guernsey.Qipco claims Elanus is owned by the late Sheikh Saud bin Mo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Indian government is facing calls to abolish import duties on seeds, the raw materials for lab grown diamonds.Industry leaders are also pressing for a presumptive taxation policy on diamonds at special notified zones and a more 'friendly' jewelry repair policy.All the moves outlined would create jobs and boost exports, according to Colin Shah, former chairman of the G...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pair of $1m apartments owned by fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi are to be auctioned.Modi, 51 is facing extradition from the UK back to India, where he is accused of a $1.85bn fraud against the Punjab National Bank (PNB).The Debts Recovery Tribunals will sell the two adjoining flats, on the 16th floor of the luxury Yoo Pune development, in Pune, in the western state of Mahar...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An estimated 20,000 diamond workers have lost their jobs in Surat, India, in the last month, as global demand slumps, according to a report in Economic Times.Most of the city's 4,000 manufacturing units are said to working at just 60 to 70 per cent capacity, according to Damji Mavani, the secretary of Surat Diamond Association (SDA).The city's 800,000 diamond workers are...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The elderly owner of a New York jewelry store is fighting for his life after he was savagely beaten in a $100,000 raid.Manny Cohen, 79, was attacked by two men who forced their way into Roxy Jewelry, in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, as he was closing for the day.His son Shawn was worried when he didn't answer his phone and scrolled back through the surveillance footage....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US for November were down 3.8 per cent year-on-year. October's figure, initially reported as a fall of 1.9 per cent, has since been revised down, based on actual through-the-till transactions rather than estimates, to 3.4 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Department of Commerce. Likewise September has been revised from a 1.3...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Underground mining for sapphires has resumed in Montana, USA, after four decades.The long-dormant Yogo Mine, close to the town of Utica, is being revived. And after two years of surface mining, operators Yogold USA are now going underground.They've dug a 3,000ft tunnel and are extracting up to 100 tons of ore today, in search of Yogo sapphires which range in color from deep co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - 2022 proved to be a year of highs and lows, as the Index hit its highest point in over a decade, then nose-dived to close the year down 7.5 per cent overall (from 142.86 in January to 132.15 in December).Even through the pandemic, aside from the very early months of 2020, the Index was climbing, and as lockdowns and travel restrictions were eased, it surged as never befor...Read More