(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Council (WDC) held its 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai, reaching consensus on critical areas of reform for both the Kimberley Process and the WDC System of Warranties (SoW). Resolutions for further improvement of a responsible supply chain and enhanced self-regulation exercise within the WDC System of Warranties (SoW) Guidelines were passed, th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 8.9 percent in the U.S. market in August, when compared to the same month a year ago. Overall sales in August, the last month for which figures are available, were an estimated $6.1 billion, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Outlook US labor markets are tight and that's...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has exportedconflict-free artisanal gold to the US jewelry market for the first time,according to groups involved in the project. The metal from the South Kivu province has gone on sale atcertain Signet Jewelers retail chains, the Responsible Artisanal Gold SolutionsForum (RAGSF) said last week. RAGSF and the US Agency for International Devel...Read More
Namibia has scrapped a requirement for companies seeking mining exploration licences to be partly owned and managed by black Namibians, the country's mining industry group said on Friday.The policy was introduced in 2015 to increase the participation of historically disadvantaged black Namibians in some of the country's most lucrative business projects, but critics said it threatened the d...Read More
SASKATCHEWAN - Star Diamond Corp. (TSX: DIAM), formerly Shore Gold, has received approval for the Star-Orion South diamond project from the provincial Minister of environment. The project is located near Fort a la Corne, in the central part of the province.The federal environment assessment agency announced its positive decision in December 2014. Additional permit approvals from the provincial a...Read More
Mining technology and geotechnical slope-stability-monitoring radar systems supplier Reutech Mining plans to expand its product range in 2019, says executive manager Jan de Beer.The company provides equipment that can assist in real-time monitoring of the mine walls in opencast mines to provide early warning before slope failures occur. The product range includes the Reutech Mining Movement and Su...Read More
Australia's Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) said Thursday it had received ZAR100 million (about $7 million) from South Africa's IDC - of the largest development financiers in southern Africa - to boost development at its 70%-owned Mothae mine in Lesotho.The company, which commissioned a 1.1 million tonne a year treatment plant at the mine, said the loan will considerably strengthen Mothae's cash posi...Read More
Polished trading improving, with US holidayorders driving sales. Buyers looking for bargains in Mumbai as weak currencyand tighter bank lending put pressure on Indian dealers. Surat factoriesclosing early for Diwali, with large inventories of melee and 30-pointers.Innovative jewelers gaining market share as JBT reports 226 businesses closed and51 opened in 3Q. China/Hong Kong jewelry retail better...Read More
RAPAPORT... US households are planning to spend 4% more this holiday season, as consumer confidence has improved in the current economic climate,the National Retail Federation (NRF) said Wednesday. "The holidays are just around the corner, and consumers areready to shop," said Matthew Shay, CEO of the NRF. "Confidence is near anall-time high, unemployment is the lowest we've seen in decades, and t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Continued violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) ismaking it impossible for the nation to develop its diamond sector, according to the World DiamondCouncil (WDC). A massacre in Bria left 30 people dead last week - thelatest in a string of fatal incidents in the eastern region, which is currentlyprohibited from exporting rough under the Kimberley Process (KP). While i...Read More
RAPAPORT... Kering noted solid sales in its jewelry-and-watch division inthe third quarter amid a sharp increase in the luxury retailer's group sales. "Watches and jewelry posted solid revenue growth," thecompany said Wednesday. "New collections and extended iconic lines fromBoucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin were very well received. Watches achieved arobust performance, driven by innovation and...Read More
(IDEX Online) - World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Ernie Blom called on exchange presidents and members to join hands to boost the global presence of the trade organization at the conclusion, on Thursday, of the 38th World Diamond Congress at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB). The WFDB is clearly the most important representative body in the global diamond trade, but needs to think...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers of America (JA), the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry marketplace, will host the first annual Jewelers of America National Convention, an education-focused executive forum open to jewelry professionals. The Convention will take place July 28-29, 2019, in New York City. "Engaging Jewelers of America's network of more than 8,000 jewe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company will begin producing diamonds at itsMothae mine on a commercial scale, paving the way for its first scheduled salelater this year. The miner has commissioned the Lesotho asset's treatmentplant, and expects to see its first commercial recoveries in early November, itsaid Monday. It plans to increase production to its intended levels during thefourth quarter....Read More
(IDEX Online) - The wide range of challenges facing the global diamond industry were outlined by World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Ernie Blom in his keynote speech on the second day of the 38th World Diamond Congress on Wednesday. From financing to generic marketing and the need to attract Millennial buyers to the impact of De Beers' Lightbox jewelry, maintaining co...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has secured a R100-million development facility from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) for its Mothae kimberlite diamond mine, in Lesotho.The facility will span a four-year period, and will include a 12-month moratorium on capital repayments. Interest on the facility will be calculated at the Johannesb...Read More
(IDEX Online) - At the invitation of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), Continental Buying Group (CBG) has brought its first buying mission to the Israeli bourse. CBG is the largest independent jewelry organization in the United States, representing over 100 of the most successful independent jewelers in the country, the IDE said. The eight-member delegation consisting of leading je...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Responsible Artisanal Gold Solutions Forum, with USAID and local partners, has announced the first conflict-free artisanal gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) exported to U.S. jewelers. Forum member Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at the Enough Project, said, "This gold proves that it is possible to source conflict-free, responsible gold from Co...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rosy Blue and Vijay Gold Designs have challenged SearsHoldings Corp.'s store-liquidation plans, claiming that some of the assets itwants to sell off are consignment goods.Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlierthis month, saying it would close 142 stores and sell off their inventories.However, those proposals do not protect suppliers that have consigned productsto...Read More
RAPAPORT... Louis Vuitton has appointed Catherine Lacaze as its directorfor jewelry and watches, it said Monday. Lacaze was most recently vice president of marketing forTiffany & Co., where she worked with Francesca Amfitheatrof, who alsojoined Louis Vuitton in April as artistic director for the same division. Lacaze - who has previously worked at Harry Winston andCartier - started at Louis V...Read More