(IDEX Online) - A "new" precious gem, found only in Israel, is now being sold in biblically-themed pieces of jewelry costing up to $1m.Carmeltazite was first discovered in 2014 at Mount Carmel, from which it takes its name, and has since been recognized by the International Mineralogical Association.Small quantities of the mineral are being recovered by the Shefa mining company at the Kishon mine....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Brides in Hong Kong expect at least a one-carat diamond in their engagement ring.And most say they'd reject a proposal outright if there was no ring at all.Those are the findings of survey of 1,226 men and women with marriage plans carried out by the e-commerce website ESDlife.The average wedding budget rose nine per cent year-on-year to by nine per cent to $49,445, after two...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two more diamonds from the De Beers Exceptional Blue Collection have failed to sell at auction.A 3.24-carat cushion brilliant-cut internally flawless fancy vivid blue, with a $5m to $8m estimate, was withdrawn before the sale at Sotheby's New York last week.And a 2.08-carat cushion-cut fancy intense blue, with a $1.2m to $1.5m estimate failed to find a buyer at the same auctio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A court in India has ruled in favor of diamond tech firm Sarine and issued injunctions against five manufacturers that illegally used its software. It follows a series of court-ordered raids at eight locations in Surat, India's cutting and polishing capital, on 18 May.Gopi Impex, Nirghay Impex, Pramukh Gems, Dhiren Diamonds and Bhumika Gems were all found guilty of copyri...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) is finally set to open by next April, after more than three years of delays.The $355m bourse (pictured) was originally supposed to open in January 2020, according to the SDB website. That was put back by September 2021, and then to 2022. Vallabhbhai Patel, chairman of the SDB project, said the government had now granted permission for the building to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The total value of the raid that netted $10m from a Watchmaster vault has now been put at $32m.Sebastian Buchner, spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor, told reporters on Friday that valuables worth a total of $22m were stolen from lockers rented to private customers at the same venue.Police say the perpetrators, disguised as security guards, sprayed paint on surveillance came...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Congress (WDC) is to take place in Israel next March, it has been announced.The Covid pandemic forced organizers to hold the 2020 event online and to cancel the physical congress, which had been due to take place in Hong Kong. The last physical congress, in 2018, was also held in Israel.The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and International Diamond Manuf...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa reports the "best kimberlite diamond recoveries to date" from ongoing explorations at its Lulo mine, in Angola.The Australian miner says bulk sampling of diamond-bearing kimberlites had yielded 20 stones with a total weight of 15.51 carats.Among them were five +1.0-ct diamonds, including one of 1.95-cts. A number of stones have been classified as Type IIa."While the processi...Read More
(DEX Online) - British actress Lily James has visited Botswana in her new role as global ambassador for the Natural Diamond Council.The 33-year-old Emmy-nominated star, known for roles in Pam and Tommy and Downton Abbey, visited Lucara's Karowe Diamond Mine, as well as the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales facility in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. She also went to the KGK Diamo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The world's largest internally flawless diamond, a 303.1-carat fancy deep brownish-yellow stone, sold yesterday for $12.4m at at Sotheby's New York.It became the third most valuable yellow diamond ever sold at auction, but fell short of its $15m high estimate. Sotheby's described the price as "strong".Quig Bruning, head of jewelry for Sotheby's Americas, said th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamcor today announced a huge increase in carats sold this quarter, as it saw average per-carat prices fall by more than half.The Canadian junior miner said it sold 8,327 carats of rough from its Venetia mine in South Africa, during the the current quarter, ending December 31. That's an increase of 121 per cent on the 3,776 carats sold in the previous three months.But gross r...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The mined diamond sector is being "cannibalized" as almost three quarters of jewelry retailers now sell lab growns, according to new research by The MVeye, market research specialists in gems and jewelry. Most of them say margins are 20 per cent to 40 per cent higher than mined diamonds. The survey found 72 per cent sell lab grown, and half of those who don't currently ar...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Zimbabwe's central bank is to buy up excess diamonds in a government-structured deal aimed at outlawing smuggling and corruption.The government hopes the arrangement with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) will help it clear an $80m debt owed to the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), formerly the PTA Bank, according to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.It said the bank had con...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sergey Ivanov is to step down early as CEO of Alrosa, Russia's state-controlled diamond miner, according to media reports.He will reportedly join the private investment firm Volga Group, owned by Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko, a billionaire and long-time friend and ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin.Mr Ivanov (pictured) was appointed as Alrosa's youngest ever...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers is extending sightholders' three-year contracts for an extra year as global uncertainties persist.The UK-based miner said it was seeking to provide them with flexibility. Existing contracts, which determine allocations of rough, will now run until the end of 2024, instead of the end of 2023. In January 2021, De Beers introduced new contracts dividing buyers into...Read More
(IDEX Online ) - Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group - a private army that has been sanctioned by the US - are reported to be selling blood diamonds from the Central African Republic (CAR). The Belgian newspaper De Standaard claims they've been offered for sale on Facebook, and says some of the stones have reached Antwerp. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reacted angril...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index fell 2.62 per cent in November, its biggest monthly drop since April of this year. Uncertainties over the US economy, where inflation is expected to hit 10 per cent, together with the war in Ukraine and persistent Covid lockdowns in China - as well as protests against such moves - are dampening demand and squeezing prices The decline during...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Watch and jewelry sales in the US are now lower than a year ago, according to the latest figures from the Department of Commerce. They fell by 1.9 per cent year-on-year during October, the first month of negative growth since May 2020, when Covid lockdowns devastated the industry. Growth in sales has been slow - below six per cent for every month since May - but has always managed...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Romantic Scott Clyne planned a sunset marriage proposal on a boat off Florida's Gulf Coast - but managed to drop the engagement ring into the sea.Video of the ring box bouncing off the deck into the water - and of him instinctively diving in to find it - has gone viral and racked up well over 8m views on TikTok and beyond."Dropped the ring in the gulf during my proposal," read...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Prices of used Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and other luxury watches are sliding.They were down 6.7 per cent in November according to the Subdial50 Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most traded luxury watches.Among the biggest losers were the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 Reference: 124300, down 10.8 per cent to $8,283 and the Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference: 5712/...Read More