News: US market optimistic as holiday season approaches. Sales not expected to match 2021, but jewelers seeing steady interest as consumer confidence improves. Memo houses selling well. Luxury jewelry doing better than commercial qualities. International dealers and manufacturers cautious. China weak amid new Covid-19 restrictions. Ongoing quarantine for travelers is limiting Far East trade. Poli...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining garnered $1.6 million from its most recent tender as the average price rose amid the sale of large stones.The company sold 1,837 carats of rough from its Krone-Endora at Venetia deposit in South Africa at an average price of $883 per carat, it said Wednesday. The sale included a 59.35-carat, high-quality diamond. With the exception of that stone, the tender generated $42...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) has launched a new advertising campaign ahead of the holidays, signing up British actress Lily James as its global ambassador.Under a cloud of funding problems, the industry-wide marketing group has secured James for an initial two-year contract with possible extensions, NDC CEO David Kellie told Rapaport News Wednesday. She is the star of a 45-se...Read More
RAPAPORT... Israel's diamond trade slowed in August as the Ukraine crisis reduced access to rough and global market sentiment weakened.Polished exports dropped 21% year on year to $271.9 million for the month, with volume down 19% at 121,256 carats, the country's Ministry of Economy and Industry reported Monday. Polished imports slid 30% to $178.7 million. Rough exports rose 27% to $141.6 mil...Read More
RAPAPORT... Matt Stuller, founder and chairman of jewelry manufacturer Stuller, is upbeat about the market ahead of the holiday season despite the cautious economic environment. Full-year jewelry sales across the US retail sector should be just about in line with 2021, "which would be great considering how strong last year was," Stuller said on the Rapaport Diamond Podcast. In a conversation...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A huge 151.60-carat yellow diamond from the Gahcho Ku?? (C) mine, in Canada, is to be sold.The rough gem (pictured), described as an "octahedron of exceptional clarity," was recovered by Mountain Province Diamonds.It will be offered for sale by Bonas-Couzyn, in Anwerp, together with over 90 specials, the largest single collection the miner has offered since it started production in...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Kyrgyzstan, the former Soviet republic, and one of the world's poorest countries, says it has diamond deposits.The central Asian nation has never before reported diamond deposits. In 2020 it imported a negligible $61,000 of diamonds, primarily from UAE.Kanatbek Madumarov, the Kyrgz Director of Precious Metals Department, said the geological explorations were ongoing, but noted...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has resumed work at the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada after temporarily shutting operations following the death of an employee at the site."Limited production has now resumed at the mine and is expected to ramp up over the next few days," a De Beers spokesperson told Rapaport News Tuesday.The incident occurred on September 1 and involved a worker from a contract partner company...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, September 6, 2022, Las Vegas... Diamond prices declined in August, reflecting caution in the trading centers and weakness in China. The US is supporting the market with solid demand from retail programs and steady memo calls from independent jewelers. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds fell 3.6% in August. It was up 0.8% from the beginning of the year...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has temporarily stopped work at the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada following the death of an employee at the site."We are deeply saddened to confirm that an employee...succumbed to injuries sustained in an incident at Gahcho Ku?(C)," the miner said last week. "The circumstances around what happened are under investigation by the appropriate authorities. All nonessential work at...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A small-scale miner unearthed over 5.2kg (11lbs 8oz) of Tanzanite - one of the world's rarest gemstones - making him an overnight millionaire.It is found only in a four-mile strip of Tanzania, near the Mererani Hills in the north of the country.Anselim Kawishe found two stones, with a combined 5.2kg weight, after 15 years of searching."I did not expect that there will be a day...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has spotted lab-grown stones and a simulant in a parcel of four blue gems submitted as natural sapphires for identification and origin reports.The largest revealed polish lines on the surface, as well as gas bubbles and flow marks associated with blue coloration, when examined under a microscope, the GIA reported last week in the summer 2022 i...Read More
RAPAPORT... The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has added a cut grade to its reports for loose fancy-shaped diamonds that will assess the influence of cut quality on light behavior.IGI will offer the new category to manufacturers as an optional feature for the first six months, it said last week. The lab originally piloted the fancy-shape cut grade, which will be implemented at all 20 of...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury sales rebounded in July as the job market improved, giving shoppers more spending power.Sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts jumped 28% year on year to HKD 4.08 billion ($519.4 million) for the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. The figure was also strong compared to the same period the previous year, w...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 160-carat, high-quality rough from its Lulo mine in Angola, the sixth-largest stone the deposit has yielded.The company found the type IIa diamond at the same alluvial mining block from which it unearthed a 170-carat pink - the Lulo Rose - in July, Lucapa said last week. The new addition marks the 28th diamond over 100 carats from Lulo.Recently, L...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Swedish firm is selling diamond-encrusted versions of the Apple Watch 7, with a $15,000 price tag.Golden Concept says it will make a limited edition of just seven. Each watch features a special case, carved from a titanium block and set with 443 diamonds with a total weight of four carats.The company, which describes itself as an aftermarket electronic customization service, says...Read More
News: US market holding up well, but international trading under pressure with significantly weaker demand. China slow amid continued negative impact of Covid-19. Dealers uncertain about price levels. 1 ct. RAPI -3.6% in Aug. Top brands and retail programs buying at stable prices. Independents focused on memo. Polished inventory rising due to slowdown. Rough premiums declining on secondary market...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales and earnings fell at Signet Jewelers in the second fiscal quarter as inflation hit consumer spending and the sector's post-lockdown rebound tailed off.Revenue dropped 1.9% year on year to $1.75 billion in the three months ending July 30, the retailer reported Thursday. Net profit declined 35% to $145.4 million.The US company cited the "impact of the heightened inflationary p...Read More
RAPAPORT... A yellow rough diamond weighing 151.60 carats will be the star item at Mountain Province's sale in Antwerp later this month.The octahedron with "exceptional clarity" will be among more than 90 special stones available from the company's Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada, the company said Wednesday. The tender is Mountain Province's largest offering of gem-quality rough diamonds exceedi...Read More
RAPAPORT... When demand slides, India's diamond industry faces its fair share of challenges. As the largest manufacturing center, accounting for an estimated 90% of global polished goods, it is the market maker: How it buys rough and sells polished sets the tone for the rest of the trade. With both rough supply and polished demand declining in recent months, diamond cutters are navigating a comple...Read More