RAPAPORT... Saks Fifth Avenue illegally ordered Cartier to vacate aprime location inside its famous New York department store, according to a $40million lawsuit Cartier filed last week. The case revolves around a lease agreement that gave Cartieruse of space inside Saks's site on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street.Saks renovated the building earlier this year, and assured the tenant the wo...Read More
<IDEX Online> - Four people were reportedly killed and seven injured in northeastern Angola during a police operation targeting foreign nationals suspected of diamond smuggling, according to media reports. The violence erupted as police rounded up illegal aliens and seized around 3,000 diamonds, 150 vehicles and over $80,000 in cash. Three Angolans were reportedly hacked to dea...Read More
<IDEX Online> - Botswana Diamonds has concluded an agreement with Vast Resources plc, a mining and resource development company, for the development of their concessions in the Marange Diamond Fields (MDF) of eastern Zimbabwe. A separate agreement will cover the joint development of diamond properties outside of the MDF, which will be a straightforward 50/50 joint venture, though the...Read More
Spence Diamonds doesn't believe that mined stones are a "superior choice" for all consumers. Their approach is to provide customers with the best possible educational and shopping experience, including all options that may be appropriate for them. (Image courtesy of Spence Diamonds.)Lab-grown diamonds, made for decades as an inexpensive alternative to mined stones for industrial purposes, are crac...Read More
Screening machines are becoming larger and heavier because the ongoing trend in the mining industry globally is to increase tonnage output while maintaining efficiency, said original-equipment supplier and manufacturer of custom-designed vibrating equipment Kwatani CEO Kim Schoepflin at Electra Mining Africa held in Johannesburg last month. “Over the past 42 years, Kwatani has built some of...Read More
Almazy Anabara, a subsidiary of Russian State-miner Alrosa, has exceeded its production target by 9%, delivering a record mining throughput in the 2018 washing season, with 5.4-million carats having been mined.The 2018 washing season lasted from May to September.Advertisement"Such results were achieved due to, without limitation, the advanced diamond-bearing sand processing technology. In par...Read More
Market sentiment cautious, with pricessoftening as 1 ct. RAPI -1.1% during quiet third quarter. Industry expecting stock-market wealth will boostholiday buying, as Dow hits new high of 26,951 (Oct. 3). Hong Kong jewelershoping for rise in Chinese tourist spending during Golden Week. Indian dealersconcerned hike in polished-diamond import duty from5% to 7.5% will raise costs and reduce local demand...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has unveiled its first new charm-bracelet design forhalf a decade, aiming to attract consumers with customizable products featuringin-fashion styles. The line, named Pandora Reflexions, is a flexible,mesh-style bracelet that wearers can adapt using clip-on, interchangeablecharms, the Danish company said Thursday. The pieces have a flatter and sleekershape than that of the jewel...Read More
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds narrowed its annual loss by 91% amidhigher sales, and due to the absence of an impairment charge it incurred a yearago. The miner recorded a net loss of $14.2 million for the fiscalyear that ended June 30, it said last week. That's compared with a loss of$151.7 million last year after a permanent reduction in the value of itsLiqhobong mine in Lesotho forced it to wri...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, October 4, 2018, New York... Polished diamond prices softened in September, with trading at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair reflecting uncertainty over weak currencies and US-China trade tensions. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds slid 0.3% during the month and 1.1% in the third quarter. The index is up 2.2% since January 1, following firm US a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's brought in a total of HKD 315.2 million ($40.2 million) at its Hong Kong auction Wednesday as a 5-carat blue diamond fetched $13.8 million. The price of the step-cut, fancy-vivid blue, named the Aidiamond, after the Chinese word for love, fell within its estimate of $12.5million to $15.3 million. The final selling price translated to $2.8 millionper carat. Another blue diamo...Read More
RAPAPORT... More than 60 institutional investors have urged the jewelrytrade to implement more stringent control of supply chains in order toeliminate human-rights abuses.The organizations, members of the Investors Alliance for HumanRights, last week expressed concerns about child and forced labor in themining industry, and urged jewelry manufacturers and retailers to conduct duediligence in line...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is gearing up for the opening of the second edition of the Bharat Diamond Week on Monday. The October 8-10 polished diamond fair will be opened by Mr Andrei Zhiltsov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai, and Mr Evgeny Agureev, Director of ALROSA's United Selling Organisation. "We are delighted that the Consul General and Mr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Diamond Producers Association (DPA), an international alliance of the world's leading diamond mining companies, has launched its integrated marketing campaign 'Real is Rare' in India in the Telugu language. The 'Real is Rare' campaign focuses on celebrating the precious moments which mark the journey of a relationship between a couple. Following comprehensive resear...Read More
De Beers Group has, through its De Beers Fund, partnered with the Free State Department of Education and Kagiso Shanduka Trust (KST) to invest R27-million on the construction of a school in its labour sending area community of Maokeng, in Kroonstad.The construction of Phuleng primary school, which will benefit about 850 learners, falls under De Beers Consolidated Mines' Voorspoed mine’s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - With fewer than two weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogot??, Colombia, on October 15, the eighth and final CIBJO commission Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Coral Commission, headed by Vincenzo Liverino, the report looks at a variety of topics related to precious coral reef sustainability, including government regulation of h...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Stanbic Bank Botswana, a member of the Standard Bank Group, the American government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Botswana Finance LLC, a subsidiary of Lazare Kaplan International (LKI), have signed a $125 million loan guaranty. The guaranty aims to encourage and support lending to diamond manufacturers and polishing companies while allowing orga...Read More
Explorer Botswana Diamonds has concluded an agreement with mining and resource development company Vast Resources for the development of its concessions in the prolific Marange Diamond Fields (MDF) of eastern Zimbabwe. A separate agreement will cover the joint development of diamond properties outside of the MDF, which will be a straightforward 50:50 joint venture, though the initial focus of...Read More
MELBOURNE – Two of the world’s top diamonds producers are both shopping for deals, with Rio Tinto following De Beers in hunting for projects to replace aging operations and position for an improving global market outlook.Rio is actively looking for more acquisitions after making a small investment in a project in Canada last year, Arnaud Soirat, CEO of its copper and diamonds unit, sai...Read More
Polished market slow, with few foreign buyers.Local dealers cautious due to weaker currency, tighter bank lending, and recenthike of import duty. Buyers focused on SI- to I1-clarity goods. Fancy shapesslow. Small manufacturers not buying rough, and reducing polishedproduction ahead of Diwali break, which begins November 7. RoundRead More