(IDEX Online) - A British auctioneer has admitted that his story of a 34-carat diamond, worth $2.5m, being found among worthless bric-a-brac at a garage sale was a complete fabrication.Mark Lane, of Featonby's Auction House, told a court he made it all up to generate media interest, in the hope it would save his 100-year-old family business.At the time, Lane told reporters an unnamed woman in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook (CTF) is finally enjoying the effects of the long-awaited bounce in tourism after China's Covid restrictions were lifted last August.It has posted a 46.1 per cent increase in its Q3 retail sales value, helped by a Christmas surge and by Chinese New Year celebrations in late December. That's a notable improvement on its a 5.8 per cent increase...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Canadian miner Diamcor says 2024 is a "year of opportunity" after two loss-making years at its Krone-Endora at Venetia project, in South Africa.It suffered net losses of $762,000 in 2023 as it battled power supply issues and $2.4m in 2022, but said in a statement that it had navigated its way through the complex global and industry issues of recent years.Diamcor acquired Krone-Endo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The owners of Ekati, Canada's first diamond mine, say they plan to extend its life by developing its underground operations. Australia-based Burgundy aims to continue operations "towards 2040", it said in a letter to shareholders dated 9 January. The initial mine life was forecast as 2015 when it opened in 1998.It plans to expand underground mining at one of the mine'...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucara has announced its first notable recovery of 2024, a 166-ct Type IIa gem.It is the 328th +100-ct diamond since the Karowe mine, in Botswana, began commercial production in 2012.The stone was recovered in the Coarse XRT unit from direct milling of ore sourced from the M/PK(S) unit of the South Lobe.Karowe has also yielded four +1,000-ct diamonds in that time, most recently a 1...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's Titan Company saw revenue from its jewelry stores rise by 23 per cent during Q3, driven by increasing consumer confidence and moderate price rises. Earnings from CaratLane, the e-tailer now owned almost entirely by Titan, were up by 31 per cent year-on-year, according to a quarterly update which provided percentage increases but not actual revenues.Titan, which wa...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gem Diamonds has recovered a high quality 295 carat Type II white diamond from its Letseng mine in Lesotho.It's the miner's first +100-ct diamond of 2024. Last year Gem recovered five, including two in October, weighing 117.47 carats and 110 carats. But that's down on its long-term average of eight a year. In 2022 it recovered four.Letseng, known as the highest...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The CEOs of De Beers and Signet Jewelers met this week in Botswana to discuss future collaboration opportunities.Al Cook and Gina Drosos met their teams at Jwaneng, the world's most valuable diamond mine, and at Signet's dedicated diamond polishing factory, which employs over 200 people.They are working together to identify opportunities to promote the positive economic i...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Debswana has approved a $1bn investment to enable underground mining at Jwaneng, its biggest deposit.Work will start in May on a drilling platform for the comprehensive sampling of kimberlite pipes, it said today (10 January).Jwaneng opened in 1982 as an open pit operation run by Debswana, a 50:50 joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government. Open pit operations...Read More
(IDEX Online) - GIA says it aims to combat "cloned diamond" fraud by offering same-day verification of its inscriptions.The move comes as an increasing number of lab growns are being fraudulently submitted for re-grading. They are cut to match the specifications of natural diamonds that have already been graded and inscribed with either with a GIA number (genuine or fake).GIA says that from next w...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers is resuming its rough diamond auctions next week for the first time since last September.The UK-based miner cancelled the online sales during its 9th and 10th sales cycles as demand slumped globally.Al Cook, CEO, said at the time that De Beers was suspending the auctions to help "re-establish equilibrium between wholesale supply and demand".The first rough auction of 2024...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine and GCAL are opening a new grading lab in Surat, India, after the companies merged last year.Sarine, the Israel-based diamond tech business known for its Galaxy mapping systems, acquired a 70 per cent stake in US-based GCAL (Gem Certification & Assurance Lab).GCAL currently operates just one lab, at its New York base. Sarine said the merger would allow GCAL to expand its...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora reported a Q4 surge in revenue, with strong Black Friday and Christmas performances, and a near doubling of its lab grown sales.The Danish jeweler best known for its charm bracelets reported a 12 per cent increase in organic growth (9 per cent like-for-like) to $1.58bn."Key markets in Europe remained solid at 5 per cent growth, US accelerated to +10 per cent growth and Rest...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Bruce Cleaver is stepping down from his remaining roles with De Beers, after quitting as CEO last February.He will no longer serve as co-chairman of the De Beers' board of directors and is resigning from the board of Element Six, its lab grown company."The focus of Bruce's role on these boards was to enable a smooth transition of leadership to Al Cook," said De Beers."Bru...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Even wealthy clients, who can readily afford natural diamonds, are buying lab growns, says the founder of a luxury jewelry brand in Dubai.Fergus James says he sells high-end lab-grown diamond bracelets to wealthy socialites, influencers and Premier League footballers.He says one client, an ultra-high net individual from India, spends over $500,000 a year - all on lab grown rather t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lab grown pioneer Diamond Foundry (DF) has created a huge diamond wafer with a 10cm (4 inches) diameter.It describes it as "the world's first single-crystal diamond wafer - and also the largest-sized diamond that ever existed on Earth".Technology developed by the Silicon Valley startup will open up a new world of supercomputing and electric vehicles.Diamonds are the best heat...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IIJS Signature show is set to generate $4.2bn of business, an increase of $500m on last year.Organizers say 30,000 visitors are attending the five-day, two-venue event in Mumbai which ends tomorrow (9 January).Shri Nirav Bhansali, convener of national exhibitions for GJEPC (Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council) said: "As the first show of the year, IIJS Signature plays...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The US department store JCPenney says it saw a 50 per cent increase in lab grown diamond jewelry last year.It was one of the first mass retailers to embrace lab growns, with the launch in 2018 of its bridal Grown with Love collection aimed at "ethically-minded shoppers".Pam Mortensen, head of fine jewelry, said bridal was driving the increase in its lab grown sales."You've hea...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lab growns and natural diamonds will coexist in the future, says Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).He was speaking at the IIJS Signature, which opened in Mumbai on Friday (5 January 2024)."With natural diamonds, there is an aspiration, whereas lab-grown diamonds are for affordability, and for fun and fashion," he said."So, it's a c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The G7 sanctions are unlikely to have a significant impact on exports of Russian diamonds, according to analysts quoted by Tass, the state-owned news agency.They say Russia, the world's biggest diamond producer by volume, will simply sell to other markets.They also say it will take years to properly develop the technology needed to outlaw the diamonds it produces.Alexey Kalach...Read More