(IDEX Online) - Gemological Science International (GSI) announced it has received its ISO 17025 and DAC - REQ - 01 accreditation in Dubai, making it the first international gemological organization to do so in that country. The ISO standard covers testing and calibration performed using standard methods, non-standard methods, and laboratory developed methods. The GSI said it is considered t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA has reported a strange find, with one natural stone in a package containing more than 1,000 undisclosed pieces of lab-grown melee submitted to its New York City lab. Up to now, it has been the case that undisclosed lab-grown diamonds have been mixed in with packages of natural stones. The GIA lab received a package of 1,102 melee diamonds with a total weight o...Read More
RAPAPORT... The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing diamond andjewelry heir Moshe Lax, Ivanka Trump's friend and former business partner, fortax fraud.Lax (pictured) and several of his family members sought to hide earnings from his latefather's trust in a series of "sham transactions" and "fraudulent transfers"designed to evade tax liability, the suit alleges.Members of the Lax family ow...Read More
Lucara Diamond Corporation’s Clara Diamond Solutions subsidiary has entered into a collaboration agreement with diamond industry technology developer Sarine Technologies.Clara, a digital sales platform acquired by Lucara in February, will be the exclusive, worldwide customer for customised interfaces and versions of Sarine's Galaxy inclusion mapping technology and Advisor optimal rough p...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Zambian Revenue Authority (ZRA) launched aninvestigation into alleged tax evasion at the Kagem emerald mine, owned by Gemfields. In an unannounced visit to the mine last week, ZRA servedtwo search warrants on Kagem Mining and Limpopo Polygraphs, a South African company thatconducts periodic testing at the Kagem asset. Authorities seized documents and files including thoseallegedly...Read More
RAPAPORT... Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS) sold $20.9 million worth ofrough diamonds during a tender it held in Dubai in early August. The company sold 25,342 carats of high-quality stonessourced from mines in South Africa and Angola for an average price of $824 percarat, TAGS reported last week. "The...rough diamond tender was slightly smaller to reflectthe forthcoming holiday period," a compa...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales increased in July, as consumers continued tospend despite fears over the escalating trade war. Total purchases - excluding automobiles, gasoline andrestaurants - rose 0.4% over June sales and 4.9% year on year, accordingto data the National RetailFederation (NRF) reported, citing the US census Bureau. Online and other non-store sales climbed 11.3% year on year,the NRF n...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has announced that its Asian Summit/Executive Committee meeting is set to be well attended, and will feature a wide range of representatives. The meetings take place in Vladivostok, Russia, on August 26-27, and will be hosted by the Moscow Diamond Bourse (MDB). Russian diamond miner ALROSA is sponsoring the meetings in the Far...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has provided pointers to members of the industry on the most significant changes to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) final revision to its Jewelry Guides and will hold webinars for the trade. "JVC exists to translate legal compliance issues for the trade, there are currently a lot of misconceptions circulating and we want you...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA, the world's largest diamond miner, will hold an auction for the sale of special size rough diamonds (weighing over 10.8 carats) in Israel from August 19 to September 6. The company will auction 202 gem-quality rough diamonds with a total weight of 3,165 carats. About 100 companies from Israel, Belgium, India, Hong Kong and Russia were invited to participate in t...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail sales increased in July, as consumers continued tospend despite fears over the escalating trade war. Total purchases - excluding automobiles, gasoline andrestaurants - rose 0.4% over June sales and 4.9% year on year, accordingto data the National RetailFederation (NRF) reported, citing the US Census Bureau. Online and other non-store sales climbed 11.3% year on year,the NRF n...Read More
Precious gemstones miner Gemfields revealed Friday the Zambia's Revenue Authority (ZRA) had served the company with two search warrants for its Kagem emerald mine, as part of a probe into alleged tax evasion.The two search warrants were served during an unannounced visit to Gemfield's Kagem mine.During an unannounced visit on Thursday, the ZRA seized documents and files including those supposedly...Read More
Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola has reported that diamond mining companies operating in the country will, in future, be able to sell up to 60% of their production in the free market, under the country’s new Diamond Commercialisation Policy.Under the previous system, adopted in 2007, miners had to sell their diamonds to “preferred buyers” designated by the State-owned Empresa N...Read More
Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds, which owns and operates the Kareevlei mine, in the Kimberley region of South Africa, has entered into a loan with chairperson Paul Beck and CEO Adam Waugh.The principal amount of the loan is £231 400, comprising £50 000 from Beck and £181 400 from Waugh. AdvertisementThe key provisions of the loan include a term of up to three years, but pre-pay...Read More
Diamond markets quiet andconservative, with dealers in Belgium and Israel returning from vacation nextweek. Diamantaires hopingSeptember Hong Kong fair will stimulate stronger 4Q polished trading. IIJS showsees busy gold-jewelry section, but wholesalers cautious as rupee depreciates toINR 70/$1 for the first time. Rough demand stable as cutters prepare forholiday orders. Alrosa July sales +16% to...Read More
Activity relatively quiet following last week'sIIJS show. Polished trading slow as expected at the fair, but solid demand forgold and diamond jewelry. Retailers looking for lower price points, withlightweight gold and fancy-shape diamonds proving popular. Dealer sentimentcautious amid ongoing bankruptcy rumors. Manufacturers maintaining steadyproduction ahead of fourth quarter. RoundRead More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) found just onenatural diamond in a melee parcel containing more than 1,000 undisclosedsynthetic stones, according to a recent lab note. The organization's New York center received 1,102 smalldiamonds weighing a combined 9.67 carats for its melee-analysis service.Initial screening referred 1,093 of them for further testing, while the GIAcould n...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA, the world's leading rough diamond miner by volume, has tested a payment mechanism with foreign clients using the Russian currency. In the experiment, transactions were conducted with clients from China and India. If necessary, the company is ready to use this payment scheme in rubles in the future, the miner said. The Chinese company paid for the goods p...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tracr, the end-to-end diamond industry blockchain being developed by De Beers Group in collaboration with industry stakeholders, has appointed Jim Duffy as General Manager to lead the next phase of the platform's development. Duffy is joining Tracr as the platform starts to build greater scale, with more than $100 million worth of rough diamonds having been registered on th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has accepted payment for diamonds in Russian rubles as partof a pilot program, the miner said Thursday.The process is potentially faster and simpler than dollartransactions, the more common method for international rough-diamond sales, thecompany noted. That's because the money goes to branches of Russian banksoutside of the country, rather than having to involve other financial...Read More