RAPAPORT... Early projections for the US holiday season are upbeat, but that sentiment hasn't filtered through to the rest of the diamond market, Rapaport's editorial team observed. "I was a bit surprised by the optimism," noted Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz, chatting with News Editor Joshua Freedman on the Rapaport Diamond Podcast. "The economic activity, [with] inflation, rising interest rates and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Online retailer Blue Nile has begun offering larger and pricier lab-grown diamonds, including for engagement rings.The e-tailer, which Signet Jewelers acquired in August, lists synthetic diamonds ranging from under 1 carat to more than 4 carats on its "Design Your Own Ring" page, with prices running from about $800 to $36,500 as of press time. At last count, there were over 4,400...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province reported a loss in the third quarter despite record revenue, as the weak Canadian dollar dragged down its bottom line.The company had a net loss of CAD 7.2 million ($5.4 million) for the three months ending September 30, compared with a profit of CAD 8.8 million ($6.5 million) a year earlier, it said Wednesday. The decline resulted from unrealized foreign exchange los...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Fortune Pink diamond was the top seller at Tuesday's Christie's jewelry auction in Geneva, bringing in nearly $29 million.The 18.18-carat stone, the largest pear-shaped, fancy-vivid-pink diamond ever offered at auction, fetched CHF 28.4 million ($28.9 million) at the November 8 Magnificent Jewels sale, Christie's said Wednesday. That price was at the lower end of its CHF 25 million...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Fugitive diamond tycoon Nirav Modi today lost his last-ditch battle against extradition to India, where he faces charges of fraud and money laundering.The 51-year-old, who has been in a British prison since March 2019, had argued he was a suicide risk if he was sent back.He is accused of fraudulently using letters of undertaking offered by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in an alleg...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The 18.18-carat Fortune Pink diamond sold yesterday at Christie's Geneva for $28.8m - above its $25m low estimate but below the $35m high estimate.The largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond ever to be auctioned was bought by an unnamed Asian private collector after a three-way battle between telephone bidders.The diamond, mined in Brazil more than 15 years ago, was displ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The owner of the Tiffany & Co jewelry empire in Turkey died after plunging from a cruise ship off the coast of Tahiti, in the South Pacific.Relatives of Dilek Ertek, 71, believe CCTV footage shows her falling to her death at 3am, but say her partner, 74, did not report her missing until 20 hours later.He was questioned by police in Tahiti when the Norwegian Spirit cruise ship (...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has reported a slump in quarterly revenue and profits, blaming a shortage of the high-value specials that account for most of its income.The Canada-based miner said revenue was down 31 per cent year-on-year from $72.7m to $49m and net profits plunged 86 per cent from $12.8m to $1.8m (all figures are US dollars).It sold 99,301 carats in the three months to 30 September 2022,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The number of active US jewelry businesses continued its downward trend in the third quarter, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).Some 152 businesses shut during the three months ending September 30, compared with 113 in the same period a year earlier, the JBT said Monday. In total there were 23,702 companies operating in the US industry, a 1.9% drop com...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora is holding steady in its sales projections for the year as it rolls out plans to withstand a possible recession, and even expects to hit the upper end of its predicted revenue.Sales will rise 4% to 6% on an organic basis for 2022, the Danish jewelry retailer predicted Tuesday. The company expects revenue for the full year to be between DKK 25.9 billion ($3.48 billion) and...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The price gap between new and used Rolex watches is widening. The company has just announced a second increase this year, of about five per cent, for outlets across Europe. But the most popular used models have seen prices plunge by 21 per cent since peaking in April, according to WatchCharts, which tracks the luxury watch market. Geneva-based Rolex, which produces ar...Read More
RAPAPORT... Attempts to discuss Russia at the annual Kimberley Process (KP) plenary failed after the organization received differing views on whether the matter was under its remit.The European Union (EU) and five national governments wrote to the KP chair ahead of the gathering asking for the Ukraine conflict to be on the agenda at the meeting, which took place in Botswana last week.However,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds has halted operations a wall of the tailings dam at its Williamson mine, in Tanzania, was breached. The UK-based miner said there were no confirmed deaths or injuries as a result of flooding from the eastern wall of the facility that stores mining waste. It's less than two months since the tailings dam at Jagersfontein, a former diamond mine in South Africa, was...Read More
(IDEX Online) - UAE is to chair the Kimberley Process again in 2024.Delegates at a plenary session in Botswana, which currently chairs KP, approved the move last week.Belarus had also applied for the position, according to a Reuters report, at a time when KP faces mounting pressure to consider broadening its definition of conflict diamonds to include Russia Zimbabwe will chair KP...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond shipments slumped in October as religious holidays compounded the negative impact of geopolitical and economic trends.Polished exports fell 24% year on year to $432.8 million for the month, after returns of unsold goods, the Economy and Industry Ministry reported Sunday. Export volume dropped 31% to 109,512 carats, with the average price up 9% at $3,952 per carat,...Read More
RAPAPORT... The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will become chair of the Kimberley Process (KP) in 2024, trade leaders in Dubai announced following the organization's plenary meeting.The UAE will assume the role of vice chair for 2023 and take the helm the following year, in line with KP procedures, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) said Sunday. The KP, which aims to keep conflict diamonds...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index continued its near-straight line decline for a seventh consecutive month in October. It fell by 1.86 per cent, slightly less than September's 2.34 per cent, but still the second biggest drop since April. The Index started falling early in March. It was down 2.1 per cent in April, 0.69 per cent in May, 1.18 per cent in June and 2.05...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The growth in sales of US jewelry and watches in September hit its lowest level since the Covid lockdowns of 2020. It was down to just 1.3 per cent. The figure for August, originally given as 3.7 per cent, has now been revised down, based on actual rather than estimated sales to 3.0 per cent. This paints a grim picture. The last time sales growth reached a low p...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) has elected a new board of directors, to be chaired by Angela Betteridge.Betteridge, president of her eponymous jewelry company in British Columbia, will serve a two-year term from 2023 to 2025, the CJA said last week. Her career spans multiple facets of the industry, including diamond exploration, mining, rough and polished sales, advertising a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Growth at the retail division of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway slowed in the third quarter as supply-chain issues led to an inventory shortage.The unit - which includes jewelry chains Borsheims, Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler - saw sales increase 5% year on year to $4.8 billion, the company reported Saturday. That represented a gentler rise than the 8% gain the company...Read More