(IDEX Online) - ALROSA CEO Sergey Ivanov has held a business meeting with the Chair of the Kimberley Process (KP), Hilde Hardeman, during her visit to Moscow. Hardeman and Ivanov discussed the agenda of the European Union's (EU) chairmanship of the KP this year, prospects of the further development of the KP and the improvement of the KP Certification Scheme, ALROSA said in a statement...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Stephane Fischler, acting president of the World Diamond Council (WDC) and Marie-Chantal Kaninda, executive director of the WDC, traveled last week to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to meet with key stakeholders involved in the Kimberley Process (KP). Fischler and Kaninda met with the chair of the Working Group on Artisanal and Alluvial Production (WGAAP), the Minis...Read More
RAPAPORT...Global consumer demand for diamond jewelry grew 2% to anall-time record of $82 billion in 2017 amid a strong US market and a recoveryin greater China, De Beers reported Thursday.US demand rose 4% to $43 billion for the year as the keymarket enjoyed a strong economy and robust consumer confidence, the miner said.The nation was the leading driver of global growth for the fourth consecutiv...Read More
RAPAPORT...Dominion Diamond Mines plans to lay off 150 employees at itsEkati mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, according to union officials. "The employer's intent is to replace these positions withcontracted workers by October 1, 2018, as a cost-cutting mechanism to increaseprofitability for the private owner," Todd Parsons, president of the Unionof Northern Workers (UNW), which represents...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Israeli diamond industry will again be among the largest international exhibitors at the JCK Las Vegas show (June 1-4) the most important trade show in Israel's number one export market. The Israel Diamond Pavilion, organized by the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI), will feature 34 exhibitors. This year, however, IDI is planning something new: the Israel Diamond Pavi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) reported that fancy color diamond prices showed stability in most categories in Q1 2018, with fancy blue diamond prices rising moderately. The Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) indicated an overall rise of 0.1% in Q1 2018 for fancy color diamonds across all sizes and saturations. Continuing their trend from 2017, prices of bl...Read More
RAPAPORT...Pandora's revenue fell in the first quarter as the jewelryretailer suffered from weakness in its US stores and a slowdown in China. Global sales slipped 1% year on year to $812.2 million (DKK 5.12 billion) for the January-to-March period, the Danish charm-maker reportedTuesday. Revenue in the Americas region dropped 4% in local currencies, with US sales down 8%. "The US conti...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has confirmed the Special Consultative Status held by CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, for the coming four years. The decision follows CIBJO's successful submission and the acceptance of its Quadrennial Report, covering the period 2014 through 2017. One of the six main organs of the United Nations,...Read More
RAPAPORT...A 50.47-carat Harry Winston diamond ring was the top sellerat Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction in Geneva on Wednesday. The cushion brilliant-cut, D-color, VVS1-clarity piece sold for $6.5million, at the higher end of its pre-sale estimate of $5 million to $7 million,the auction house reported. The final price translates to $129,000 per carat. Pink diamonds sold well, with two makin...Read More
RAPAPORT... Antwerp's diamond industry dates back at least 570 years, making it the oldest and most established of the global trading centers. It's also the largest, and it maintains its relevance today despite the many challenges it faces. The local trade has dealt with change before, even in its earliest days. City archivists uncovered an edict from 1447 in which the "College of Mayor and A...Read More
RAPAPORT...Alrosa's revenue rose in the first quarter, driven by animproved product mix and higher average selling prices. Revenue grew 14% year on year to $1.52 billion (RUB 94.89billion) for the three months ending March 31. Profit soared 40% to $532.9million (RUB 33.18 billion) for the period due to a stronger rough market andstrict cost controls, the miner explained. Sales of rough diamonds fe...Read More
MOSCOW – Russian diamond miner Alrosa may buy State-owned diamond polisher Kristall in 2018, Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said on Thursday.Alrosa, the world's largest rough diamond producer by output, said previously it was "expedient" for it to buy Kristall when the state-owned company is privatised.Advertisement"Kristall will be sold at the market...Read More
Despite mining contributing about 6 per cent of Australia's GDP, a study by YouthSight revealed that 59 per cent of young people in the country know nothing at all about mining careers.The results from the study were made public today at the MCA Minerals Education Summit in Melbourne and also through a press release issued by the industry-led, government-funded think tank METS Ignited, the Minera...Read More
Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest diamond producer by output, plans to boost revenue from selling rare, coloured stones where demand is stable, although it is a niche business.Nature gives fancy colours to about one in every 10,000 rough diamonds of gem quality that are mined around the world.The stones that can be blue, pink or green form a special asset class, relying on a consumer passion...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has appointed Stuart Brown as its CEO, to succeed interim chief David Whittle, the Canada-based miner said Tuesday. Brown (pictured), currently CEO of Firestone Diamonds, recentlyannounced he would leave the company on June 30. He was previously CFO of DeBeers, as well as joint acting CEO of De Beers' global activities. Brown willbegin his role at Mountain Provin...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sales of fine jewelry and fine watches rose by 9.0 percent in the U.S. market in March, when compared to the same month a year ago, as the graph below illustrates. Sales were an estimated $8.8 billion, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Strong Start to 2018 Jewelry Sales American jewelry consumers appear to be in...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The short spell of hope for South Africa’s beleaguered mining sector, which burst forth with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as President, has been dashed, Shadow Mineral Resources Minister James Lorimer said during the mineral resources budget debate.Applying the ‘learning nothing and forgetting nothing’ lament of French statesman Talleyra...Read More
RAPAPORT... Ernie Blom will serve another two years as president ofthe World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), after Yoram Dvash turned downthe role. "The executive of the WFDB at their meeting [in Germany inMarch] asked me to stay for one more term," Blom (pictured) told Rapaport News onWednesday. He first became president in 2006, and he has held the position atvarious times since then....Read More
GENEVA – The Farnese Blue diamond, which was passed down through European royal families for 300 years, sold at auction in Geneva on Tuesday for 6.7-million Swiss francs ($6.7-million), beating auctioneers Sotheby's estimate of 3.5-million to 5-million Swiss francs.The 6.16 ct, dark grey-blue gem from the Golconda diamond mines of India was first given to Elisabeth Farnese, daughter of t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The historic Farnese Blue diamond smashedits pre-sale estimate at Sotheby's auction in Geneva on Tuesday. The 6.16-carat, pear-shaped, fancy dark grey-blue, SI1-clarity diamond,which Queen Elisabeth Farnese of Spain received on her wedding day, passedthrough four prominent European royal families. The stone fetched $6.7 million, or $1.1 million per carat, well above its pre-sale e...Read More