Slow trading, with somedealers missing the Hong Kong show due to next week's Ganesh Chaturthifestival. Sentiment down following rupee depreciation to record low (INR 72.10/$1),bankruptcy rumors and tightened bank credit. Small manufacturers cautious and reducingpolished production. Drop in demand for small polished diamonds evident inrough market at De Beers sight. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... The trustee for Indian fugitive Nirav Modi's US assets willauction inventory and intellectual property belonging to his US jewelrybusinesses in the coming months. Over $15 million in diamond jewelry from Firestar Diamondand Fantasy, as well as $1 million in loose diamonds, will be up for bidding, according to a statement by Donald Palmieri, a gemologist and appraiser to the trustee, Ri...Read More
(IDEX Online) - After years with no government backing, the Israeli diamond industry has entered a new era. That was the message brought by Israel's Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, when he visited the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) today for a New Year celebration on the bourse trading floor. "The relationship between the government and the diamond industry was in need of improvement," Ka...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Richard Levin, Chapter 11 Trustee of Firestar Diamond, Inc. and Fantasy, Inc., is liquidating the diamond and jewelry inventories of Firestar and Fantasy and their patents and trademarks and associated jewelry. The US companies were part of the business empire of alleged fraudster Nirav Modi. These companies manufactured and supplied fine diamond jewelry to the large...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers will consider selling lab-grown diamonds at its stores if consumer demand justifies such a move, CEO Gina Drosos said in a conference call with analysts. "We are very closely monitoring and assessing the demand for this emerging category," Drosos said during the company's earnings call last week. "We'll make sure that Signet is well positioned to participate in that spa...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Council (WDC) is encouraging stakeholders to review the System of Warranties (SoW) during its public review period which ends on October 1. This review period, which began on June 5, is intended to help industry participants better implement and demonstrate commitment to responsible sourcing when buying or selling rough and polished diamonds. "Public...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa and the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) Asia willhost a seminar on colored diamonds at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The session, named "How the World of Natural Colour DiamondsContinues to Evolve," will cover Alrosa's polished-diamond division, and theminer's increased focus on colored-diamond manufacturing. Representatives from Alrosa's polished branch wil...Read More
Integrated infrastructure delivery company Aecom is well poised to make inroads into the mining industry, says Aecom Africa strategy and growth director Fadzai Nyamasve.She tells Mining Weekly that, although there is still uncertainty in the market regarding the Mining Charter, Aecom expects the finalisation of the charter to improve funding and investment appetite, as investors always need market...Read More
RAPAPORT... Union Bank of India willclose its branch in Antwerp, citing the weak performance of its diamonddivision, Bloomberg reported.The office will shutwithin a year, the news service last week cited Rajkiran Rai Gundyadka, thebank's CEO, as saying. The Belgian city failed to produce "the expected amountof business, particularly from the diamond sector," Gundyadka said, accordingto the report....Read More
(IDEX Online) - NCDIA Asia, the representative office of the Natural Color Diamond Association in Asia, will host a seminar with Alrosa at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, entitled "How the World of Natural Color Diamonds Continues to Evolve." Speakers from Alrosa's polished division will include Pavel Vinikhin, general manager, along with Evgeny Tsybukov, deputy director for s...Read More
RAPAPORT... The weak pound and uncertainty over the UK's departure fromthe European Union are making it hardfor British jewelers to plan their business activities, dealers said.The currency has declined about 13% since Britain's June2016 vote to withdraw from the bloc in a process known as Brexit. That hasraised costs for wholesalers and forced retailers to increase consumer prices,exhibitors warn...Read More
(IDEX Online) - With fewer than six weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogot??, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the fourth of the CIBJO commissions' Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission, headed by Charles Abouchar, the report looks at efforts being taken to promote responsible practices in the sector, while taking into...Read More
RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers will consider selling synthetic diamonds at its stores if consumer demand justifies such a move, CEO Gina Drosos said in a conference call with analysts. "We are very closely monitoring and assessing the demand for this emerging category," Drosos said during the company's earnings call last week. "We'll make sure that Signet is well positioned to participate in that spa...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa and the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) Asia willhost a seminar on colored diamonds at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The session, named "How the World of Natural Colour DiamondsContinues to Evolve," will cover Alrosa's polished-diamond division, and theminer's increased focus on colored-diamond manufacturing. Representatives from Alrosa's polished branch wil...Read More
Stornoway Diamond Corporation has reportedly achieved sustained underground mine production at the Renard Diamond Mine at or above the mine's design capacity in August. This marks the completion of the production ramp-up of the underground mine.Over a 20-day period ending August 29, 2018, ore mucked and trucked to surface averaged 6,039 tonnes per day against a budgeted design capacity of 6,000 to...Read More
World's top diamond producer by output Alrosa (MCX:ALRS) is stepping up efforts to tap into the Chinese market in an attempt to catch up with main rival De Beers in a market that has shown stable growth.The Russian miner currently supplies at least 5% of its rough diamonds to China (around $180 million in sales), but it believes that it could do more, such as selling directly to jewellery retailer...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds swung to a profit in the first half of theyear, boosted by the sale of large, high-quality stones from its Let??engmine in Lesotho. Profit was $24.2 million for the period ending June 30,versus a loss of $2.9 million last year, the company reported Wednesday. Sales rose 81% year on year to $167.7 million for the sixmonths, from 61,596 carats, with the average price at Let...Read More
RAPAPORT... Polished-diamond imports to Hong Kong increased in the first halfof 2018, despite a slight drop in the average price of the inbound shipments, according to the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China. Polished imports by value grew 4% in the January-to-June period, while exports fromthe country remained flat, the trade body said. $ Millions unless stated otherwiseRead More
RAPAPORT... An 11-carat diamond will feature in Alrosa's inaugural auctionof colored polished diamonds at the upcoming Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The cushion-cut, fancy-deep-purple-pink stone (pictured) -which will lead the sale - is the largest diamond of its color the GIA has graded,Alrosa said Tuesday. The miner will present 250 polished diamonds of variousshapes and colors at the auc...Read More
RAPAPORT... Private-equity firm Epiris has acquired Bonhams for anundisclosed amount, the companies said. The auction house was founded in 1793 and today competeswith the larger auctioneers Christie's and Sotheby's, selling fine art,antiques, cars and jewelry. "Bonhams is a global business operating in a market withlong-term structural growth and high barriers to entry," said Owen Wilson,partner...Read More