RAPAPORT... The World Diamond Council (WDC) has invited the public to review reforms to its System of Warranties (SoW), a method the organization established to keep the supply chain conflict-free. The WDC created the SoW in 2000 to add extra assurances beyond what the Kimberley Process (KP) offers. Thesystem obligates diamond suppliers and jewelry manufacturers to provide aconflict-free warranty...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has introduced branded-cutnames on grading reports. Proprietary-cut names will now appear alongside thediamond's shape and a description of its cutting style when the lab returnsstones with their grading reports, it said. The program will be available to members of the trade orpublic who submit stones directly to the GIA for grading or other...Read More
(IDEX Online) - China will be slashing import taxes on jewelry, as part of tariff reductions on a wide range of consumer goods, as of July 1. The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council in China issued the "Notice on Reducing the Import Tariffs of Daily Consumer Goods" last week. According to the notice, China will cut Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariffs for daily consumer goods involv...Read More
(IDEX Online) - HRD Antwerp and Gem Lab, a division of Malca-Amit Group, have launched a service whereby Gem Lab becomes an authorized 'HRD Antwerp LabDirect Program' participant. Gem Lab will serve as the point of contact for clients in their network who wish to obtain an HRD Antwerp grading report. They will handle all logistics and administration, allowing HRD Antwerp to focus solely on...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia's ALROSA sold $277.5 million of rough diamonds in May and $2.26 billion in the first five months of 2018, indicating ongoing strong demand for rough stones. De Beers' rough diamond sales in the first five months of this year are of a similar level. "We continue seeing good demand for almost all assortments of our diamond products," commented Deputy Ge...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales plunged 39% to $288 million in May due to apause in activities at some of the company's mines. "There was a planned decrease in sales in May compared tothe similar period last year due to the sale of...inventories...[at]the beginning of the year and a seasonal decline in the current production, mostlydriven by mining suspension at some alluvial deposits in the first mont...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports rose in May, according todata from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Polished exports increased 5% year on year to $1.18 billionand, by volume, grew 4% to 439,380 carats. The average price climbed 1% to$2,688 per carat. The jump was mainly due to a 6% rise in shipments to the USto $438.8 million and a 22% surge in exports to India to $58.6 mil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA is to hold auctions for the sale of special size rough diamonds (weighing over 10.8 carats) in Hong Kong and Vladivostok later this month. The Hong Kong auction will take place from June 13-27, with the results announced on June 28. The company will auction 105 gem-quality lots with a total weight of 1,620 carats. The Vladivostok auction will be held from June...Read More
RAPAPORT... The World Diamond Council (WDC) has invited the public to review reforms to its System of Warranties (SoW), a method the organization established to keep the supply chain conflict-free. The WDC created the SoW in 2000 to add extra assurances beyond what the Kimberley Process (KP) offers. Thesystem obligates diamond suppliers and jewelry manufacturers to provide aconflict-free warranty...Read More
RAPAPORT... Belgium's polished-diamond exports rose in May, according todata from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Polished exports increased 5% year on year to $1.18 billionand, by volume, grew 4% to 439,380 carats. The average price climbed 1% to$2,688 per carat. The jump was mainly due to a 6% rise in shipments to the USto $438.8 million and a 22% surge in exports to India to $58.6 mil...Read More
Using effective, remote marine mining tools that can handle rugged and uneven midwater terrains has placed abundant midwater diamond deposits within reach of small-scale mining operations, says local diamond exploration company Mza Diamond Resources CEO Willem Steenkamp. He notes that geologists estimate that more than 90% of South Africa’s total diamond reserves lie off the West Coast of So...Read More
Diamond miner Alrosa Group sold $288-million worth of rough and polished diamonds in May.Rough diamond sales amounted to $277.5-million and polished diamond sales to $10.5-million.AdvertisementThis brought the group's total diamond sales for the five months to May 31 to $2.3-billion, comprising rough diamond sales of $2.26-billion and polished diamond sales of $43.3-million."We continue s...Read More
GABORONE, June 7 (Reuters) - Botswana Diamonds (BoD) wants to buy liquidated BCL Mine's shares in a diamonds exploration joint venture project, its managing director said on Thursday.BCL mine group, which has been under liquidation since 2016, is selling its 51 percent stake in Maibwe Diamonds for an undisclosed amount."We have put in an offer to the liquidator of BCL and we hope to get a response...Read More
GABORONE, June 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cupric Canyon will begin construction of its Khoemacau copper project in Botswana in October, with first sales of the metal expected in 2021, a company executive said on Thursday.Sparsely-populated Botswana is the world's top diamond producer by value, but the government of the southern African country is trying to diversify the economy to reduce it...Read More
Brazil's President Michel Temer is set to issue a decree next week introducing key changes to current mining regulations, aimed at making the country's industry more competitive and sustainable.The executive order will technically be a reinterpretation of 50-year-old regulations, rather than a new law, Adriano Trindade, attorney specializing in mining rules from Pinheiro Neto Advogados told MININ...Read More
June 07, 2018 - ALROSA, the world's largest diamond mining company, has entered Top-5 of pilot sustainability rating "Polar Index" among Russian companies operating in Arctic. The rating is developed by Project Office of Arctic Development and the environmental economics department of Faculty of Economics of the Lomonosov Moscow State University."Polar Index" became the first specialized rating o...Read More
JCK show sees fewer participants, but tradingreflects healthy US market. Big jewelry brands and top-tier independentsadjusting to dynamic retail environment and enjoying 2018 growth. Suppliersmaintaining stable prices, with 1 ct. RAPI -0.2% in May. De Beers' entry intolab-grown diamonds dominates discussions at the show, with industry largelysupporting the move to disrupt the synthetics market. Fo...Read More
RAPAPORT... Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, gave his annual "State of the Diamond Industry" address in Las Vegas on Sunday, outlining his concerns about the supply side of the market. "Not only must you know where your diamonds are coming from, but you must also know where your money is going," he told the sold-out audience of more than 730 jewelers and diamantaires at the JC...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook's sales and profit rose during the fiscalyear, amid a recovering Chinese market and increased tourism to Hong Kong,the retailer said Thursday. Group sales grew 15% to $7.54 billion (HKD 59.16 billion)for the year that ended March 31. Retail sales in mainland China jumped 16% to $3.58billion (HKD 28.1 billion), while revenue from Hong Kong and Macau climbed 7%to $2.63 bill...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) said it hosted its mostsuccessful award show to date, raising funds to provide higher education toyouth in diamond-producing countries. The event's new Balloons For Good appeal, which was emceedby awards chair and Hearts on Fire president Caryl Capeci and JCK news directorRob Bates, helped the group raise additional capital. The DEF's goal is to urge...Read More