(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 9.1 percent in the U.S. market in May, when compared to the same month a year ago, as the graph below illustrates. Sales were an estimated $9.1 billion, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department. 2018 Jewelry Sales Continue Robust Pattern American jewelry consumers continued to prov...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa Diamond Company Ltd has completed the first sale of alluvial diamonds for H2 2018 from the Lulo diamond project in Angola, selling 2,527 carats for US$2.0 million. The sale figures represent an average price per carat of US$800. The sale excluded four large white specials and a pink coloured special which have been held back for sale later this year. Th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Representatives of 10 major Russian and international investment funds and banks will visit the facilities of Severalmaz, a subsidiary of ALROSA, to learn more about the company's operations on 27 July. The invitees include analysts and portfolio managers from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, VTB Capital, HSBC, April Capital, and others, the mi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company garnered $2 million at its July saleof diamonds from the Lulo mine in Angola, it said Tuesday. The miner sold 2,527 carats of alluvial rough at the tender,fetching an average price of $800 per carat. The sale excluded four large, type IIa white stones weighing43 carats, 70 carats, 75 carats and 114 carats, as well as a 46-carat coloredstone. Lucapa will sell tho...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Company has reported a 27% increase in mining volumes from its Lulo diamond project, in Angola, during the June quarter, increasing diamond production by 20%.The ASX-listed company on Wednesday reported that 5 058 ct were produced during the three months to June, with the weight of specials, or stones larger than 10.8 ct, up by 18% on t...Read More
Mining investors are losing confidence in the mineral exploration permit process in most Canadian provinces with applications taking longer to be approved and a lack of transparency, a new study released Tuesday shows.According to the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian policy think-tank, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec are the three main provinces where exploration reques...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bank financing to India's gem and jewelry sector has fallenat least 10% since April 1 due to stricter lending conditions, according to the nation's Gem& Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).Credit providers tightened their rules after allegations inJanuary that jewelry tycoon Nirav Modi had defrauded Punjab National Bank of $2billion. Financial institutions have been requirin...Read More
RAPAPORT... India-based Shreeji Rajendra Diamond Classes(SRDC) has changed its name to the InternationalInstitute of Gemology (IIG), reflecting the global focus of its educationalcourses, it said last week. The gemological center also inaugurated itsnew Panchratna Building location in the Opera House area of Mumbai in aceremony on July 19. "Thenew avatar of our prestigious institute, IIG, represe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has elected three seniorindustry members to its board, the US trade organization said last week. The new directors are Chad Berg, co-owner and vicepresident of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry (pictured, left); David Bouffard, vice president forcorporate affairs at Signet Jewelers (center); and Camile Hannoush of family businessHannoush Jewelers (right). They will ser...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales were strong at Firestone Diamonds in the fourth fiscalquarter amid robust demand for larger rough stones, the miner reported Monday. Proceeds from rough sales totaled $18.6 million during theperiod ending June 30, versus $17.6 million in the previous three months,Firestone said. The company did not provide a year-on-year comparison as itsLiqhobong mine in Lesotho only reached its...Read More
(IDEX Online) - World Diamond Council (WDC) executives visited Angola for a series of meetings with stakeholders involved in the Kimberley Process (KP). WDC Acting President Stephane Fischler and Executive Director Marie-Chantal Kaninda made the trip at the invitation of Angolan authorities, marking the first time there has been a WDC mission to Angola outside of a formal KP meeting. &nbs...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Firestone Diamonds plc, whose operations are focused in Lesotho, has reported record production figures for its fiscal fourth quarter ended 30 June at its Liqhobong diamond mine. It also provided guidance for FY 2019 for the Liqhobong operation which is 75% owned by Firestone with the rest belonging to the government of Lesotho. Firestone reported the following: ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The De Beers Group has begun to transport 200 elephants across 1,500km from its Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) in South Africa to Mozambique. The operation, one of the largest elephant translocations ever recorded in South Africa, is part of a major conservation initiative to protect the welfare of wildlife in South Africa and help restore Mozambique's elephant popul...Read More
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Lucapa has completed the first sale of alluvial diamonds for the second half of 2018 from its Lulo project, in Angola, generating $2-million in revenues.The parcel consisted of 2 527 ct and achieved an average price of $800/ct.AdvertisementLucapa said on Tuesday that the July sale excluded four large white specials and a pink coloured special, which h...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelers of America (JA) has elected three seniorindustry members to its board, the US trade organization said last week. The new directors are Chad Berg, co-owner and vicepresident of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry (pictured, left); David Bouffard, vice president forcorporate affairs at Signet Jewelers (center); and Camile Hannoush of family businessHannoush Jewelers (right). They will ser...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales were strong at Firestone Diamonds in the fourth fiscalquarter amid robust demand for larger rough stones, the miner reported Monday. Proceeds from rough sales totaled $18.6 million during theperiod ending June 30, versus $17.6 million in the previous three months,Firestone said. The company did not provide a year-on-year comparison as itsLiqhobong mine in Lesotho only reached its...Read More
Marking the first World Diamond Council (WDC) mission to Angola outside of a formal Kimberley Process (KP) meeting, acting president Stephane Fischler and executive director Marie-Chantal Kaninda travelled to Angola for a series of meetings with stakeholders involved in the KP, last week.The WDC on Tuesday noted that Angola’s second-largest export is diamonds, amounting to gross revenues to...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales were strong at Firestone Diamonds in the fourth fiscalquarter amid robust demand for larger rough stones, the miner reported Monday. Proceeds from rough sales totaled $18.6 million during theperiod ending June 30, versus $17.6 million in the previous three months,Firestone said. The company did not provide a year-on-year comparison as itsLiqhobong mine in Lesotho only reached its...Read More
Petra Diamonds Ltd forecast lower-than-estimated production for 2019 after reporting 2018 output at the bottom end of its previously guided range, sending its shares down more than 8 percent on Monday.The miner said it expects to produce 4.6 million to 4.8 million carats in 2019, well below the 5.0-5.3 million carats it forecast in July last year.The company, which has been hit by production delay...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has lowered retail prices for most of the jewelry it offers in the Chinese market in an effort to combat revenue lossfrom illegitimate sales. The jeweler has reduced the cost of products byapproximately 15% across all its platforms in the region, including eSTOREand its listings on Alibaba Group's Tmall-ecommerce site, it said last week. By lowering prices, Pandorahopes to limi...Read More