(IDEX Online) - De Beers has appointed its first majority black-owned sightholder.Molefi Letsiki Diamonds was founded in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2005, as a custom-made jewelry manufacturing business.It will join the list of around 60 businesses authorized to attend 10 sights a year in Gaborone, Botswana, from 1 January 2023, to buy bulk parcels of rough diamonds. Mr Letsiki graduated f...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers today said rough sales during its final cycle of the year were $410m (provisional).That takes its 2022 total to $6.12bn - an increase of just over a fifth (21 per cent) on 2021 sales of $4.82bn. Sales during Covid-hit 2020 were $2.79bn. In 2019, De Beers sold $4.04bn.Sales during cycle 10 were down slightly from cycle 9, with sales of $454m, but up on cycle 10 of 2021 ($33...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Leviev has unveiled two "Empress" diamond rings to honor British royals Camilla, Queen Consort and Catherine (Kate), Princess of Wales.It follows the US-based company's release of The Queen's Collection of 20 rings and other pieces in September, to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II."The Camilla" is a 6.4-carat emerald-cut gem with a $440,000 price tag. "The Catherine...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jeweler in India has created a crocodile necklace, studded with 8,000 natural diamonds and 7,000 other gemstones.It was among the highlights at the Gems & Jewellery Manufacturers Show in Surat, which ended yesterday.Samir Mehta, of the Surat-based jewelry manufacturer Arete Virtue, said the necklace was made of 330 grammes of gold and had a $36,000 price tag."We've had m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Amnesty International is calling on the government in Sierra Leone to address concerns over the impact of a diamond mine on a neighboring community.It claims their lives are being blighted by blasting operations and by water pollution caused by Meya Mining.Residents are "forced to evacuate their homes and take shelter in the different structures made by the company until the b...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora is moving its North American headquarters from Baltimore to New York City, as it aims to "double revenue in the market".The world's largest jewelry brand sold over $1bn in the US last year and believes its new home, on the 35th floor of the 1540 Broadway skyscraper in Times Square, will help it recruit world-class talent."The location increases global talent attraction...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's polished diamond exports dropped during November to their lowest point this year, down to $1.25bn.Foreign sales have mostly been declining since the 2022 peak in March, of $2.20bn, although there was a notable bounce in September.Sales in November were down just over four per cent year-on-year, but by almost 34 per cent compared with October $1.89bn, according to figur...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Police say most of the $129m treasures stolen from the The Green Vault museum, Dresden, Germany, in November 2019, have now been recovered.It follows negotiations between prosecutors in an ongoing trial and the six defendants, all members of the same family.They are accused of the organized robbery of 4,300 diamonds in what has been described as the world's biggest gem he...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has been fined 1bn Tanzanian shillings ($429,000) over the breach of its tailings dam at its Williamson mine.Its holding company Williamson Diamonds Limited (WDL) has been ordered to pay sum to the Tanzanian government's National Environment Management Council (NEMC).Dr Samuel Gwamaka, director general of the NEMC said WDL was responsible for compensating victim...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive jeweler Mehul Choksi, accused of a $1.8bn fraud against the Punjab National Bank (PNB) is facing additional charges totalling another $800m.India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged a fresh FIR (first information report) detailing allegations against Choksi, 62, his three companies - Gitanjali Gems, Gili India and Nakshatra Brands - and their directors....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Manufacturers in Surat says business is down by as much as 40 per cent as the ongoing war in Ukraine depresses markets in the US and Europe.Demand in China, where an easing of Covid restrictions has led to a spike in cases, is also weak. It usually accounts for a round a third of India's diamond exports.Many workers in India's cut-and-polish capital have had their wages c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Four men arrested during a jewelry raid at a s JCPenney store may be linked to a series of heists that netted $1.5m.The suspects were apprehended as they smashed display cases with hammers to steal diamond jewelry at the at the CoolSprings Galleria, in Franklin, Tennessee, USA.Police say one suspect pepper-sprayed an employee and another tried to grab an officer's gun.There ha...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) says it sold over 70 per cent of the $20m of rough offered this month, in what it describes as a "cautious" market, realizing a total of $14m. In November it offered $23m of rough and said only that it had sold more than the 55 per cent it managed at its previous tender. For comparison purposes, its rough sales in July were $35m.In its Dece...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra saw revenue from rough diamond sales fall by almost a third at this month's tender, down to $42.3m from $61.3m in October/November.The volume sold in Tender 3 FY23 was also down by almost a third as per carat prices remained virtually unchanged. The UK-based miner said the earlier cut-off date for the current cycle was largely to blame for the lower sale. They were...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canadian rapper Drake commissioned a one-off necklace featuring 42 diamonds - one for each time he considered proposing marriage, but didn't.Previous Engagements was crafted by celebrity jeweler Alex Moss over 14 months, using 351.38 carats of diamonds in a range of cuts (round, emerald, princess and pear) and settings, at a reported cost of $12.5m."Each stone meticulously set...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rolex is selling its watches on the second-hand market for the first time.It has launched a Certified Pre-owned Programme for watches that are at least three years old, to be operated through Bucherer, its official retailer, in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Denmark and the UK.The move comes at a time when the prices of used Rolex watches are plunging, with, for examp...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Christie's says sales in Hong Kong so far this year have been the third highest since it opened in 1986.It says the running total is currently $835m, which is above pre-pandemic levels.It said sales of watches raised over $69m during the year and last month's Magnificent Jewels sale, including a collection owned by retired actress Rosamund Kwan raised over $46m.More than...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Diavik Diamond Mine has been fined $110,000 (CA$150,000) by a court in Canada for a health and safety breach after an excavator operator was blinded in an accident.Steve Houle, 50, was trapped for four hours in his cab after it was crushed by a slab of stone after a blasting operation in November 2020.He suffered multiple injuries, lost his sight in both eyes and had a toe ampu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pink sapphires exposed to sunlight or incandescent illumination can undergo significant and "unusual" color changes, says GIA.They can acquire the same coloration as highly-prized padparadscha sapphires - a unique mix of pink and orange - or even turn completely orange.The gems are routinely tested for color stability, by exposure to bright light for several hours, which causes an...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The newly-appointed CEO of Australian fashion jewelry business Lovisa is under fire over his US$14.2m annual earnings.Victor Herrero, 51, has been revealed as one of the country's highest-paid bosses, at a time when his company is facing a class action for allegedly underpaying staff by up to US$21.7m.A salary survey by The Australian Financial Review (AFR) put Herrero way ahe...Read More