(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
(IDEX Online) - One of Britain's oldest jewelry stores is to finally cease trading, after almost 230 years.Martin Wilkinson Jewellers, in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, (pictured) will close when owner Andrew Campin retires after 60 years of service.The store, founded in 1794 during the reign of King George III, became renowned for servicing bomber command wrist watches during World War II."With...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Watchmaster, the online retailer that had $10m of luxury watches stolen from a vault in Berlin, yesterday filed for insolvency.The company says it's appointed an insolvency administrator to restructure the business, and hopes it will be able to continue trading.Its insurance only covers the purchase value of the watches, but not its investment in processing, certifying a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rounds fell yet again during November as the recession showed no sign of easing. Consumers turned to cheaper goods, pushing up some fancy prices. Rounds The decline that began in March continued, with price drops dominating almost every size category shown in 0.40-cts to 1.00-ct goods. There were very few price rises of any sort in goods below 1.25-cts. There...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The FBI has recovered $1m of Forevermark diamonds that were stolen by notorious conman James Sabatino - from his prison cell.Sabatino, 46, serving a 20-year term in Miami, USA, posed as a music executive and used a smuggled phone to persuade the De Beers subsidiary to provide gems, supposedly for a video of Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel.Nine pieces of jewelry, among...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds today said its Williamson mine, in Tanzania, is likely to remain closed for longer than expected following the dam breach a month ago."Interim deposition options are being developed that may enable the Williamson mine to resume production around the middle of 2023," said the UK-based miner.A week after the breach, Petra said a preliminary estimate suggested productio...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pink and yellow diamonds from two iconic Rio Tinto mines - Argyle and Diavik - have been brought together to create a unique ring.It's called Diavik Midnight Sun and has been valued at $1.24m.An 18.08 carat fancy intense yellow oval diamond from Diavik, in sub-Arctic Canada, contrasts with an intricate setting of rare Argyle pink diamonds, from the now-closed mine in in the re...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jewelry store worker was struck on the head with a gun during a violent $500,000 raid.Police are hunting five masked men responsible for a smash-and-grab robbery at Sara Jewelry (pictured), in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA.The raiders smashed display cases, stole jewelry and escaped in two getaway cars waiting outside.They forced one woman employee at gunpoint to open the safe, an...Read More
(IDEX Online ) - A platinum necklace with 104.84 carats of D-color diamonds sold for $5.9m at Christie's Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Sale.It was the top lot in an auction that netted a total of over $46m.Just over $11m of that was from the sale of 51 pieces from a collection including Cartier, Buccellati, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Louis Vuitton, and Boghossian that belonged to retired...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Over 1,000 high-end watches, with an estimated value of over $10m, have been stolen from a safe deposit facility in Berlin.They were being stored by Watchmaster, one of Europe's largest pre-owned watch traders, mostly on behalf of customers who were selling them.Many of the watches were Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, Audemars Piguet and Breitling, according to the company'...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Australian miner Newfield Resources says it has secured finance to expand the development of its Tongo Diamond Mine, in Sierra Leone.It has entered into an asset purchase and sales agreement with New York-based DelGatto Diamond Finance Fund (DDFF), at a time when miners globally are struggling to attain credit. Details of the arrangement were not disclosed.Newfield took over Tongo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced increased forecasts for 2023 diamond sales and recoveries.The Canadian miner expects to sell $200m to $230m from its 100 per cent owned Karowe mine, in Botswana, an increase on it 2022 forecast of $185m to $215m.It forecasts sales of 385,000 to 415,000 carats (up from 300,000 to 340,000 carats in 2022) and expects to recover 395,000 to 425,000 carats (an increa...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Experts say satellite monitoring of the dam that burst at the Williamson diamond mine, in Tanzania, would have revealed signs of instability.Thick gray sludge - waste from the mining operation - flooded an area at least five miles long after a wall in the tailings storage facility (TSF) was breached earlier this month.Value.Space, a UK based tech company, says Interferometric Synth...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Faberge has launched a series of high jewelry creations inspired by the TV fantasy drama Game of Thrones.The collection will be launched in a series of 'chapters' over the next two years, staring with Chapter One: Dragon. It features five designs, with each creation limited to 10 collectible pieces.It lifts design details from the dramatic sets, costumes, characters...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's government has pledged its support for the country's growing lab grown diamond industry as it aims to reach $5m of annual exports.Piyush Goyal (pictured), minister for commerce and industry, said it was working aggressively to develop both the growing and manufacture.He urged industry leaders in Surat to prepare a vision document and said he would share it with Pr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive Indian diamond merchant Jatin Mehta has lost his legal challenge against the freezing of his assets, worth $932m, by a British court.The high court in London ruled that the worldwide freezing order (WFO) imposed in May 2022 on Mehta and his family must continue.He is accused of defrauding15 lenders out of more than $1bn lent to his companies Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamond (MPD) says it has found more kimberlite during explorations at its Kennady North project in Northwest Territories, Canada, on the edge of the Arctic Circle.It's in addition to the kimberlite identified earlier this year, also on land surrounding the Gahcho Kue mine. The two finds are 450 meters apart.MPD said in a statement that the kimberlite was "a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rolex is reportedly planning a $1bn new factory, which would create 2,000 jobs and allow it to crank up production.The company, privately owned by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation currently produces just over 1m watches a year, but demand always outstrips supply. Rolex had a turnover of almost $8 billion in 2021, according to Morgan Stanley.Acccording to Swiss TV and newspaper rep...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra today announced sales of $61.3m during an extended October tender, in what it described as a "somewhat muted market".Revenue from its Tender 2 FY 2023 were down 40 per cent on Tender 1, in September, though the miner noted that volumes for the second tender cycle are typically lower than the first.Average price per carat fell sharply by 31 per cent from $198 at Tender 1 of FY...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A pink diamond valued at up to $35m has been withdrawn without explanation from auction in New York.The 13.15-carat emerald-cut fancy vivid gem, described as "VVS1 clarity, potentially internally flawless", had been due to lead Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction on 6 December.The auction house confirmed the diamond, belonging to a private collector, had been pulled from the...Read More