RAPAPORT... US brand David Webb's first in-house exhibition will highlight the animal-themed pieces that established it as a groundbreaking jewelry house.Titled "A Walk in the Woods: David Webb's Artful Animals," the show will take place at the high-jewelry company's Madison Avenue headquarters from September 19 to October 2. It was postponed from its original spring 2020 date because of Covi...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
(IDEX Online) - India's exports of polished lab-grown diamonds could double this year, amid a surge in US demand. Sales last year were $1.3bn, around five per cent of the country's total polished exports, but Vipul Shah, vice chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, expects that figure to double in the financial year from April 2022. "We have a huge potential to grow...Read More
(IDEX Online) - India's polished diamond exports fell by over 13 per cent last month (in dollars) as consumer demand was hit by the war in Ukraine and US inflation.Total foreign sales for July were $1.93bn, according to figures released by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), down year-on-year from $2.23bn. The drop was just over 7.5 per cent in rupee.Exports for the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sotheby's will auction three vintage Rolex watches owned by stuntman Stan Barrett at its next timepiece sale in New York.Barrett's colorful life has also included stints as a boxing champion and NASCAR driver, yet it was his Hollywood career that cemented a lifelong friendship with Paul Newman, the most famous owner of Rolex watches. The three pieces will headline the auction hous...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A gold and emerald ring is to be sold at Sotheby's, together with its twin NFT (non-fungible token).The buyer "will own the piece in both the physical world and in the metaverse," say Metagolden, the jewelry, fashion, art and NFT emporium that created the piece.Metagolden says it anchors luxury physical investments to NFTs to authenticate them and to provide long-term value to...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tennis icon Chris Evert has launched her own range of the jewelry item she made famous - the tennis bracelet.The American former world No. 1 tennis player famously halted a match in the 1978 U.S. Open to retrieve a diamond bracelet that fell off her wrist. And so the tennis bracelet was born.More than three decades on Evert, now 67, has launched a range of 13 tennis bracelets with...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The case against customs officials in India accused of over-valuing imported diamonds worth more than $19m has been suspended.Bombay High Court has set aside the show cause notices, which are issued when a government official is held prima facie responsible for misconduct.Pradeep Jhaveri, a customs valuer in Mumbai, was accused of misappropriating bills of entries relating to diamo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 3.00-carat fancy intense green diamond ring sold for $491,000 at Christie's Jewels Online: Summer Sparkle.That was above its low estimate of $450,000, but less than a high estimate of $550,000.The cut-cornered square modified brilliant-cut diamond, GIA-certified as SI1, (pictured) was set in platinum with a fancy purplish pink cushion modified brilliant-cut diamond of 0.45 c...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Six employees at a New York jewelry store were attacked with bear spray in a shocking $800,000 heist. Gang members sprayed the bear-repelling aerosol - like pepper spray but stronger - at Revel Jewelers, in the Bronx, last Wednesday. Workers were taken to hospital suffering bear spray exposure - stinging eyes, noses and lungs, and coughing fits. Ten masked raiders smashed glass dis...Read More
Swiss watch exports continued their positive streak in July, defying inflation and geopolitical factors to reach the highest monthly total since October 2014. Outbound shipments rose 8% year on year to CHF 2.22 billion ($2.32 billion) for the month, according to data the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry released Thursday. Following a trend seen in the past couple of years, much of the demand...Read More
Works by Alexander Calder, Salvador Dal?- and Pablo Picasso will feature in the first Sotheby's auction dedicated to jewelry by contemporary master artists - as will a ring with a non-fungible token (NFT) component.The online sale, Art as Jewelry as Art, will include jewels and accessories by 20th- and 21st-century artists and will run from September 24 to October 4. The pieces wil...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An elderly woman was reunited with her treasured engagement ring, thanks to the kindness of a metal detecting enthusiast.Elsie Brown, 85, had given up hope of finding the ring from her late husband a week after it slipped form her finger while she was gardening at her home in Middlesbrough, England.Lee Smith, 41, was visiting his partner across the road when he heard of his plight....Read More
Seaman Schepps, a jeweler synonymous with New York style and European refinement, has returned to New York after a two-year absence.Its former boutique on Park Avenue and 58th Street was a gathering place for New York society and international style icons for several decades. Its clientele included actress Marlene Dietrich and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Owner Anthony Hopenhajm c...Read More
News: Trading seasonally quiet during summer lull. Lack of sales to Far East weakening sentiment, with US demand supporting market. Increasing concern about impact of inflation and higher interest rates on mid-income consumers. Holiday outlook positive. Manufacturers maintaining lower production due to slowdown in orders. Polished trading sluggish. Rough prices stable at De Beers sight; prem...Read More
RAPAPORT... US retail revenues for July remained stronger than a year ago as consumers continued to shop despite soaring inflation. Sales were flat compared with the previous month, versus a 0.8% increase in June, according to data the US Census Bureau released on Wednesday. July sales were up 10% year on year. Declines in gas prices supported spending. However, consumers are continuing to focus o...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A man has appeared in court in the US accused of posing as a government official and persuading a woman to buy gold bars worth $330,000.Gaurang Contractor, 38, from New Jersey, is accused of attempted larceny from a person over 60.Police say he claimed to be a government official investigating an identity fraud ring and told the woman to buy the gold from a jewelry store, to "avoid...Read More
RAPAPORT... Gem Diamonds' sales of high-value rough from its Let??eng mine in Lesotho fell in the first half amid a decline in the average price.Rough sales for the six months that ended June 30 slipped 4.2% year on year to $99.6 million, even as sales volume rose 3.5% to 57,075 carats. The average price fell 7.5% to $1,745 per carat, the miner reported Wednesday.During the period, a total of 15 d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The USA's only active diamond mine is celebrating its 50th anniversary with limited edition replicas of its most valuable find - a $1m-plus gem.The Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murfreesboro, in Arkansas, charges day trippers $10 a day to sift the soil - and lets them keep any gems they find.In 2015, Bobbie Oskarson, from Colorado, found a rough, icicle-shaped 8.52-cts s...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Pandora reported its "third straight quarter with record revenue," in spite of lockdowns in China and a year-on-year comparison with post-Covid stimulus checks in the US.The Danish jewelry giant said sales in the three months to 30 June were $771m, three per cent up on the same period last year.Key European markets delivered double digit organic growth vs 2021, but the US was down...Read More