(IDEX Online) - Canada's vast, frozen Nunavut territory has been granted control over its natural resources in a move that could attract prospectors seeking diamonds, gold and other deposits.De Beers is among a small number of miners which already have interests in the sparsely-populated Arctic region. It is seeking approval for the Chidliak Project, a diamond deposit on Baffin Island, Canada...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Kiran Gems has moved staff out of the new Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) just months after it opened, and back to Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB). It's a blow for the brand new $388m SDB - the world's largest office building - which opened last November but has so far failed to attract major tenants aside from Kiran.Kiran Gems is a privately-owned company, desc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Christie's New York is to sell a collection of 32 watches owned by Sir Elton John, as part of a unique home clearance.The 76-year-old Rocketman singer is auctioning the contents of his home on Peachtree Road, Altanta, USA, (after which he named his 2004 album) in a series of eight sales. John, one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, is a passionate watch collecto...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Australian jeweler Michael Hill has closed six under-performing stores and axed some senior positions amid "challenging" retail conditions.Sales actually rose by 4.1 per cent during the half year ending 31 December 2023, to US$239m (AUS$362.8m), across the 302 outlets in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.Australia and New Zealand saw retail revenue rise by just over 10 per cent. St...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California and star of The Terminator movies, was ordered to pay a $38,000 fine in cash after failing to declare an Audemars Piguet watch at Customs.He was stopped at Munich airport last Wednesday, en route to a Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative event in Austria, where the specially-made watch wnet on to sell at a charity auction for $295,0...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Registration for JCK 2024, the jewelry industry's key trade show, has opened.The Las Vegas show is expected to attract 18,000 visitors and 12,000 exhibitors, in line with last year's attendance.Organizers say the theme of its 2024 edition, which takes place from 31 May to 3 June, will be "love". Select events will start on 30 May."There are truly no connections like those...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has introduced a new online "sealed bid" tender for some of its rough diamonds.The Offer, which went live last week, allows buyers to key in the price they're prepared to pay for a lot, unseen by other bidders.It is an additional sales channel rather than a replacement for the online auctions that have been taking place since 2008.Online auctions have accounted for th...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's diamond industry is calling on the government to introduce for a range of tax and other breaks in its upcoming budget to ease the importation of rough stones.The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) wants a safe harbour rule for the sale of rough diamonds in Special Notified Zones (SNZs).It is also seeking the introduction of a Diamond Imprest License o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - LVMH, parent company of Tiffany & Co, TAG Heuer and many other jewelry brands, is reportedly in talks with TikTok to crack down on sales of counterfeit goods on the Chinese video-sharing app.The "shoppable video" marketplace TikTok Shop was launched in the US last September and aims to generate $17.5bn of e-commerce business this year, but it is becoming a popular m...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine says its latest software will revolutionize rough diamond planning, adding as much as 5 per cent to the value of a polished stone.The Israel-based company says it Most Valuable Planning (MVP) is is a fully-automated cloud-based service that will be offered as an optional service to its Advisor 8.0 rough planning software package, and will be charged on a per-use basis.It is...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jewelry store manager in New York admitted selling lab grown diamonds as natural, and stealing more than $137,000 in jewelry from customers.Laura Bee, aged 59, switched the $15,000 natural diamond in a friend's engagement ring for a $2,000 lab grown when she took it for repair.She pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the third degree while working at Ever Love Jewelry in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's exports of polished diamonds slid again during December, but rough imports soared, as expected, after the two-month voluntary ban.Foreign sales during the month fell almost 22 per cent to just $862m compared to $1.1bn in November, according to new figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council). Exports were $1.26bn in October and $1.67bn in Se...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond production in Angola will increase by 50 per cent this year, from 9.7m carats in 2023 to 14.6m carats, says the national diamond company Endiama.And revenue will climb from $1.51bn in 2023 to $2.5bn this year, Jose Ganga Junior, chairman of Endiama's board of directors, told a press conference. He said the production plan for 2024 was "quite challenging".Angola forecas...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Louis Vuitton is launching a jewelry collection featuring a unique Monogram Star diamond cut - replicating the fashion brand's famous pattern, as used in handbags, suitcases, leather goods and accessories.Diamonds cut as a 53-facet four-pointed star are being set in rings, earrings and pendant necklaces that will be launched next week in Singapore as part of the LV Diamonds co...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamonds Do Good, the global non-profit, has announced $365,000 of grants for diamond mining and manufacturing communities.It's supporting girls' education and entrepreneurship training in Tanzania, where it launched the Diamonds Do Good Bracelet (pictured) to raise funds. Diamonds Do Good (DDG) is also empowering youth with HIV through in Botswana, supporting...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra's Q2 revenue fell by almost 15 per cent, faced with what the company described as "continued lower diamond pricing environment."Rough sales were down from $105.7m to $90.2m. Half-year sales were down just over 9% from $207.1m in 2023 to $187.8m, the UK-based miner said in its H1 FY 2024 Operating Update published yesterday (16 January). There was no revenue from the sale...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia's finance ministry says Alrosa has a "colossal safety margin" and currently needs no intervention to survive sanctions imposed by G7 nations from 1 January.The state-controlled miner has previously offloaded diamonds it couldn't sell to the Gokhran - Russia's state-run repository of precious stones and metals.Russia's deputy finance minister Alexei Moisey...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Rio Tinto today (16 January) announced a 50 per cent drop in its Q4 diamond production at Diavik, Canada's largest diamond mine.It said the closure of two kimberlite pipes - one underground, the other open pit - towards the end of the year had impacted output.Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation, reported production at Diavik, its only diamo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers has reportedly slashed rough diamond prices across the board by at least 10 per cent.Some larger goods have been discounted by as much as 25 per cent as the first Sight of the year opened in Gaborone, Botswana, yesterday (15 January), according to insiders. De Beers does not comment on prices.The UK-based miner is keen to push sales after its last two Sights of 2023 brough...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India will lead demand for natural diamonds in 2024, says David Kellie, CEO of Natural Diamond Council (NDC), as US buyers increasingly switch to lab growns."The Indian market remains the strongest growth market in the world because of its strong financial position and changing demographics," he told The Economic Times, in India."Indian women are now financially stronger, and they...Read More