(IDEX Online) - An Indian jeweler has received national recognition after landing a Guinness World Record for a ring made with 24,679 natural diamonds.The Touch of Ami (pictured) took 90 days to make at SWA Diamonds, in Malappuram Inkel Educity, Kerala.The company has now received a Makers of India award for taking the title Most Diamonds Set in One Ring.Renani Jewels, based in Meerut, India, prev...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz today (Monday) launches an appeal after he was convicted of bribing officials in Guinea for valuable iron ore mining rights.He was sentenced to a five-year jail term and ordered to pay a $52m fine by a judge in Switzerland in January 2021.The court heard that Steinmetz, 66, a French and Israeli citizen, and others, paid $8.5m in a series of bribes...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A jewelry collection owned by US heiress and philanthropist Mary Anne Sammons Cree is expected to raise over $1.5m for charity.Highlight of the 125-lot auction is a 17.6-carat yellow diamond ring (pictured), with an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. Cree, who died last July aged 91, was the daughter of the late billionaire Charles Sammons, from Dallas, Texas.In 1938 he founded...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has updated its Human Rights Due Diligence Toolkit, originally published in 2013.It includes practical step-by-step advice that will help members to meet the requirements of COP 6 Human Rights.The London-based jewelry and watch standards organization says each step includes a practical set of tools, including templates, forms, and checklists...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Exports of Swiss watches hit their highest monthly total in almost eight years, amid "very positive" sales.Total foreign sales for July were $2.31bn, up 8.3 per cent on the same month in 2021, according to the the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. It's the highest monthly result since October 2014.Much of the growth was driven by watches priced for export at o...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports fell 13% year on year in July, according to recent data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The decline reflects a global market slowdown and an unfavorable comparison with 2021's post-lockdown rebound.India Trade Data for July 2022 Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales declined at Hong Kong-based retailer Chow Sang Sang in the first half of 2022, when a fifth coronavirus wave hit consumer spending across greater China.Group revenue slid 7% year on year to HKD 10.09 billion ($1.29 billion) for the six months, the jeweler reported Thursday. Retail sales slipped 1% to HKD 9.67 billion ($1.23 billion). Other revenue, mainly from property inves...Read More
RAPAPORT... It's almost 45 years since a 20-year-old Steven Lagos started a small jewelry-repair business in Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row district.Today, the Lagos jewelry brand is represented in more than 350 retail doors, including some of the most prestigious department stores in the US, such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's. The company specializes in silver jewelry adorned with natura...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tanzania's diamond revenue slumped by 55 per cent in the second quarter of this year, down from $38.4m to $17.4m.Production was also significantly reduced, from 108,165 carats to 63,973 carats, said the Bank of Tanzania. That's a drop of 41 per cent.Williamson (pictured), the country's only large-scale mine, was put on care and maintenance last year by UK-owners Petr...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Gemstones from Ukraine - topaz and heliodor beryl - are being sold in an online charity auction to fund the country's war effort.It's being organized by New York-based artisanal gem cutters Nomad's, founded by ex-pat Ukrainians."We condemn the Russian state's unjust, brutal, criminal act of aggression toward Ukraine," they said in an Instagram post about the auc...Read More
News: Diamond market cautious with slow trading as Belgian and Israeli dealers return from summer break. Some optimism for US holiday season as New York trading improves slightly. Rise in memo calls. Far East quiet, particularly China, with reduced demand for 0.20 to 0.30 ct. sizes. Primary rough supply expensive; premiums on secondary market declining. Bloomberg reports Alrosa selling approximat...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A London-based jewelry designer sold a collection of rings for $23,000 in under a minute, thanks to her TikTok profile.Susannah King has amassed over 133,000 followers on the video-hosting site, with regular posts detailing how she uses brightly-colored gemstones to make her pieces.The fourth-generation goldsmith received more than 2,000 messages and sold her entire collection of 2...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has increased its focus on retail with the expansion of its business development department in North America. The organization has appointed former Tiffany & Co. director Matthew Morabito and industry veteran Daniel VanDrew as directors of business development. They will work with team leader Richard Pesqueira, vice president of business d...Read More
RAPAPORT... The editorial team members discuss some of the key events and surprising stories that dominated the headlines in the past month. In this episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz and News Editor Joshua Freedman are joined by Acting Editor Rachael Taylor. They talk about Signet Jewelers' acquisition of Blue Nile, how the independents are relating to the big bra...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook has been accused of having links with organized crime dating back over decades, following an investigation by ABC News, Australia's public news broadcaster.It claims the Hong Kong-based jewelry empire, with almost 6,000 stores globally, has "a long history of association with organised crime figures and people blacklisted by gambling regulators around the world"....Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa is reportedly selling over $250m of diamonds a month, despite sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine.Sales have resumed, says Bloomberg News, primarily to India, where banks have become more comfortable with transactions in rupees and in currencies other than US dollars, which have been outlawed.Alrosa, the state-controlled miner, is now said to be selling at levels...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sarine is rolling out its AI-based e-Grading technology to midstream manufacturers, allowing them carry out third-party grading of the 4Cs on site.It means they no longer need to send stones to a grading lab, saving time and money.The e-Grading system builds on automated 4C grading systems developed by Israel-based Sarine and available since 2016.Sarine first announced e-Grading in...Read More
RAPAPORT... The market could split into two segments as high- and low-value goods react differently to the current economic uncertainty, Martin Rapaport said in last week's webinar. The absence of US stimulus payments has created a lull in demand compared with last year, the Rapaport chairman explained in the quarterly session, entitled "Treading Cautiously." Macroeconomic challenges suc...Read More
RAPAPORT... Richemont has sold a 47.5% stake in Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) to Farfetch as it edges closer to removing the loss-making e-commerce business from its books.The Swiss conglomerate will receive shares in Farfetch in return, the group said Wednesday. It has also sold 3.2% of YNAP to Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar.The transaction contains options for Farfetch to acquire the remain...Read More
RAPAPORT... Watches of Switzerland warned of a "potentially more challenging trading environment" for the rest of the year despite reporting strong growth in the past three months.Group sales jumped 31% year on year to GBP 391 million ($460.2 million) in the first fiscal quarter, which ended July 31, the UK-based company reported last week. Revenue in the UK and Europe rose 8% to GBP 239 mill...Read More