RAPAPORT... Israel saw a jump in polished trading but a drop in rough shipments during June, reflecting forces affecting the global diamond industry.Rough shortages have emerged across the sector due to the lack of Russian goods since Western sanctions on Alrosa began in March. However, demand has mostly stayed strong in the important US market, with exhibitors reporting brisk business at las...Read More
RAPAPORT... BlueRock Diamonds' stock price dropped 29% after it signed a financing deal that could dilute current shareholders' interest in the company.The miner, which runs the Kareevlei deposit in South Africa, made a deal with Teichmann Company that will potentially increase the investor's stock from 17.4% to 51%, BlueRock said Tuesday.The company will initially issue a GBP 1 million ($1.2...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) is reporting a "surge in trading", with transactions worth $3.82bn from January to June of this year.That's an increase of 86 per cent on the same period in pre-Covid 2019. The pandemic saw China's diamond imports down by almost a half in 2020 and 2021.Lin Qiang, president of SDE, said: "The strong rebound of diamond import not...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers will more than double the number of its stores in India, buoyed by a strong 2021 performance.The company reported positive consumer sentiment during the first half of 2022 and predicted similar success.De Beers India will increase the number of exclusive operative stores from 14 to 30, managing director Sachin Jain told PTI."The year 2021, the calendar year, was the best y...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Amazon and Cartier are jointly taking legal action against a Chinese social media influencer and eight businesses accused of counterfeiting.They accuse defendants named in court papers as Phmn9y3v, Vfdnytu, Amazing Jewelry You Want, Miao-He and others, of selling luxury goods through Instagram and other websites, infringing on Cartier's registered trademarks and violating Amaz...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams has purchased French auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr in a deal that beefs up the UK-based company's international presence.Established in 1973, Cornette de Saint Cyr is based in Avenue Hoche in Paris, with a second salesroom in Brussels, Belgium."Cornette de Saint Cyr is one of the most loved auction houses in France," Bonhams CEO Bruno Vinciguerra said last week.The French...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Four million viewers have watched a TikTok video of hapless romantic Ross Bamber, 26, dropping a $1,200 diamond engagement into a lake during a disastrous marriage proposal.Video shows the ring falling from its box as he prepares to slip it on to the finger of fianc?? (C)e-to-be Geri Ashforth, 23 after a candlelit meal for two."That wasn't what I thought it was, was it?" she a...Read More
RAPAPORT PRESS RELEASE, July 5, 2022, Las Vegas... Diamond market sentiment received a boost from the Las Vegas shows, which demonstrated robust US demand. However, polished prices declined amid a weak global economic outlook and a rise in inventory levels. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI?,,?) for 1-carat diamonds slid 1.8% in June but increased 7.4% between the beginning of the year and July 1....Read More
(IDEX Online) - British stores run by TJ Maxx are cutting the price of diamond rings by as much as 75 per cent.The global budget retail chain, which brands its 350 UK stores as TK Maxx, is selling a $4,800 14ct white gold ring (pictured) with 0.90ct diamonds (no further details given) for $1,200.A 9ct gold ring with 1-ct tcw of diamonds (again, unspecified) is down from $3,700 to $1,200.The compan...Read More
RAPAPORT... US polished-diamond imports increased 13% to $1.8 billion in April, but the growth was weaker than in the first quarter of the year, according to recent data from the US Department of Commerce. The month was the first in which the US ban on direct imports of Russian diamonds had a sizable impact on the market, as the sanctions went into effect in mid-March.US Trade Data for April...Read More
RAPAPORT... India has increased the rate of goods and services tax (GST) on polished diamonds - a move that, perhaps surprisingly, has received a positive welcome from the industry.The levy for the category has risen to 1.5% from 0.25%, the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported last week. This is of benefit to the trade, the organization explained, as it will...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough at BlueRock Diamonds more than doubled in 2021 as strong demand drove up the average price for its goods.Revenue came to GBP 7.8 million ($9.5 million), compared with GBP 3.6 million ($4.4 million) the year before, BlueRock said last week. The average price surged 59% year on year to $470 per carat. Although the average price in 2020 was lower than usual amid the Covid-1...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The prices of used Rolex Daytona watches, and other super-desirable luxury timepieces are falling for the first time since 2019, as the stock market and cryptocurrencies hit hard times.They're now changing hands on the secondary at well below their 2022 peak, although still for many times their original retail price.The Daytona 116500LN Black Dial (pictured) was selling for $4...Read More
RAPAPORT... Canada-based jewelry retailer Birks Group saw sales rise for the full fiscal year amid an improvement in the health situation and a decrease in discounting on its products.Revenue jumped 27% to CAD 181.3 million ($141.2 million) in the 12 months ending March 26, the company reported recently. Comparable-store sales - at branches open for more than a year - climbed 33%. The growth is at...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A US pastor failed to show for a court hearing after police seized thousands of fake Cartier bracelets from his church. The goods would have been worth $24.4m if genuine.Rev JianGang "Frank" Lan, of the Deer Park Community Church, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is reported to be in China.He was arrested in 2091 after police found more than 3,200 counterfeit bracelets.Accordi...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index continued its gradual decline through June, down by 1.18 per cent at the close of the month. The near-straight line slide was somewhat steeper than May, when it fell by 0.69 per cent. In April it declined by more than 2.1 per cent. Before that, January and February showed sharp increases, down by 5.67 per cent and 4.14 per cent respectiv...Read More
RAPAPORT... Rough prices jumped at Petra Diamonds' sixth tender of the year as demand increased.The June sale realized $93 million, up 8% from $86.1 million in May, the miner reported last week. Like-for-like prices rose 8%. The average price climbed 21% month on month to $163 per carat, according to Rapaport calculations. The growth came even as Petra did not sell any special stones during the Ju...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury sales saw an upturn in May amid an improved health situation, even as total retail revenue dipped slightly.Sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts climbed 7% year on year to HKD 3.33 billion ($424.4 million) for the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. The increase builds on April's growth following three mo...Read More
(IDEX Online) - This is the dramatic moment when raiders armed with a sledgehammer smashed display cases at an international art fair in the Netherlands and fled with diamond jewelry.One shocked visitor at The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) in Maastricht tried to grab a large vase of flowers to fend off the gang, but retreated when he was threatened with what appears to be a gun.Four gang me...Read More
RAPAPORT... The number of crimes against US jewelers exceeded pre-coronavirus levels last year - but the value of losses fell, according to the annual Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA) report on the subject.The tally rose 17% to 1,687 events in 2021 compared with 1,438 in 2019, the JSA said last week. The total dropped 1.8% versus 2020, when 1,718 crimes occurred. Dollar losses declined 31% t...Read More