RAPAPORT... US retail sales saw soft growth in June as consumer prices climbed, especially for essential goods.Revenue rose 1% from the previous month, versus a 0.1% decrease in May, according to data the US Census Bureau released last week. June sales climbed 8% compared with a year earlier. Inflation is causing consumers to modify their spending behavior and prioritize essentials such as food, e...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Nehal Modi, younger brother of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, has been convicted by a US court of fraudulently obtaining diamonds worth over $2.6m.Modi, 41, a diamond trader, made false representations between March and August 2015, regarding a purported deal with Costco Wholesale Corporation to obtain the gems LLD, also known as Lev Leviev Diamonds.He then liquidated the d...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An Indian jeweler has landed a Guinness World Record with a ring made with 24,679 natural diamonds.The Touch of Ami took 90 days to make at SWA Diamonds, in Malappuram Inkel Educity, Kerala.It takes the title Most Diamonds Set in One Ring from the previous record holder Renani Jewels, based in Meerut, India. Their Ring of Prosperity is set with 12,638 individual diamonds."It is our...Read More
News: Polished market flat during summer lull. US jewelers optimistic for 2H despite economic uncertainty and inflation +9.1% in June. Rough prices stable at De Beers sight. Manufacturers competing for responsibly sourced rough. Cutters have reduced operations due to scarcities and lower polished demand; larger factories shifting between natural and lab-grown production based on availability and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook's sales fell in the first fiscal quarter amid a resurgence of the coronavirus and a drop in tourism.Retail sales value across the group slipped 3.7% year on year for the three months ending June 30, the Hong Kong-based jeweler reported Tuesday. The figure dipped 2.8% in mainland China and 11% in Hong Kong, Macau and other markets.Sales were also lower due to an unfavorabl...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Crime has cost US jewelers $2.2 billion in the last two decades, says the JSA, after adjustments for inflation.The total figure for 2021 was just over $70m, down from $83m the previous year, said the New York-based Jewelers' Security Alliance Releases in its newly-released 2021 Annual Crime Report.But the total number of crimes was up from 1,438 to 1,687, an increase of 17 per...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The Star-Orion South diamond mine, in Canada, will be put on care and maintenance at the end of this year, following disagreements between joint venture partners Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. and Star Diamond Corp.Rio Tinto said in a statement that it was reviewing its options and warned it could pull out of the project completely. Star Diamond said it was disappointed.Both sid...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lisa Bridge, CEO of jewelry chain Ben Bridge, chats with Rapaport's Avi Krawitz about her recent appointment as president of the American Gem Society (AGS) and the mood among US jewelry retailers as they head into the second half of 2022. In this episode of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast, the two also discuss how the industry continues to evolve in the post-pandemic environment, some of...Read More
RAPAPORT... The New York State Supreme Court has convicted diamond dealer Nehal Modi of grand larceny in the first degree, concluding that the brother of infamous tycoon Nirav obtained more than $2.6 million in goods through fraud.The Antwerp-based former Samuels Jewelers CEO made false claims to LLD Diamonds to secure merchandise, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., said in a state...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Baselworld fair has received much criticism in recent years, but one of the final shows before its public implosion appears to have facilitated a diamond deal that counts among the biggest in history.Antwerp-based manufacturers Tach?(C) and Samir Gems came to the March 2018 exhibition with the exquisite Lesotho Legend, a 910-carat, type IIa diamond they had bought together fro...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A British jewelry store will close this weekend after an astonishing 277 years in business, at the same address.Thurlow Champness, in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, (pictutred) was established by watchmaker George Lumley back in 1745. He also sold clocks, watches, diamond jewelry and gold pieces.Current owner Trevor Salt is retiring 40 years in the business and says there is nobody to h...Read More
RAPAPORT... US e-commerce spending slowed in June to its lowest this year amid a move in the date of Amazon Prime Day and continued inflation, according to Adobe Analytics.Shoppers shelled out $74.1 billion online during the month, a rise of 1% year on year. However, that figure is 6% lower than the $78.8 billion spent in May and 5% less than April's total, Adobe said Tuesday. This year, Prime Day...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Iris Van der Veken, who quit the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) in March, was today appointed as head of a new group that promotes sustainability in the watch and jewelry industries.The Geneva-based Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, established last October by Cartier and Kering, will focus on building climate resilience, preserving resources and fostering inclusiveness.V...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The CEO of Kareevlei, the South African mine owned and operated by BlueRock Diamonds, is reportedly stepping down after output was badly hit by rain.It hampered access to high-quality kimberlite, forcing the mine to use lower grade ore and delaying roll-out of its mining development plan.Processing production was down by 36 per cent - or 400,000 tonnes - on forecasts for April and...Read More
RAPAPORT... A Van Cleef & Arpels Zip necklace originally designed for Wallis Simpson was the breakout star of the most recent Christie's Paris jewelry sale, raking in nearly three times its high estimate.Created in 1951, the diamond and ruby piece sold for EUR 819,000 ($820,005), smashing its EUR 300,000 ($300,368) upper estimate and setting a new world record for a Van Cleef & Arpels Zip...Read More
RAPAPORT... Iris Van der Veken, former head of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), will lead an organization established by a consortium of luxury brands to promote sustainability in the jewelry industry.Cartier, part of Richemont, and Kering launched the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI) as a collaboration to drive three core sustainability goals: building climate resilience, prese...Read More
RAPAPORT... Mountain Province has reduced its output guidance for the Gahcho Ku?(C) mine in Canada amid a Covid-19 outbreak at the site and other challenges.The miner now expects to produce between 5.6 million and 5.8 million carats of rough in 2022, compared with its previous forecast of 6.2 million to 6.4 million carats, it said Tuesday. A reduction in the availability of the processing plant as...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds says total revenue for the last quarter were $76m - the second highest in the company's 36-year history.The Canadian diamond miner, which operates Gahcho Kue (pictured), in Northwest Territories, in a joint venture with De Beers, said the market remained strong and it was on track with its refinancing and strategic objectives. It sold 586,763 carats...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales bounced back at India's Titan Company last quarter as the market stabilized following disruption resulting from Covid-19.Jewelry revenue jumped 207% year on year for the three months ending June 30, the retailer reported last week. Sales of watches and wearables leaped 158%, while CaratLane, Titan's e-commerce jewelry brand, saw growth of 207%. The company, which owns the Ta...Read More
RAPAPORT... Major jewelry outfits from Stuller to Graff have already fallen prey to cyberattacks, so it's only a matter of time until smaller jewelers become the next victims of digital fraud. Many may remember reports of Stuller's cyberattack in 2020 that shut down phones and delayed shipments, and then Graff's ransomware attack in 2021 breached customer names and addresses. "Big retailers s...Read More