(IDEX Online) - A white diamond described as the largest ever to appear at auction could sell for $30m.The 228.31-ct pear-shaped gem will lead Christie's Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva.The G/VS1 stone, named The Rock (pictured), was mined and polished in South Africa over 20 years ago. It has an estimate of $20m to $30m.The previous auction record for the largest white diamond was a 163.41...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co says it has stopped sourcing diamonds mined in Russia, which are said to account for a third of its general supply.It's the second major US jeweler to implement a boycott on newly-mined stones from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Signet said last week it would not accept precious metals of diamonds from Russia, even if suppliers were not su...Read More
RAPAPORT... The UK has placed sanctions on Russian diamond miner Alrosa in an effort to weaken its business and stem the flow of funding to President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine."Today's sanctions target key industries supporting Russia's illegal invasion," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said last week. "These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civili...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Russia has reportedly seized millions of dollars worth of Audemars Piguet watches in response to a Swiss ban on the sale of timepieces and other luxury goods.Agents from the FSB security service took the from the firm's Moscow premises, claiming there had been customs irregularities, according to the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.But Swiss foreign affairs department officials...Read More
RAPAPORT... Christie's will offer a 228.31-carat diamond that could fetch up to $30 million at its upcoming Geneva sale.The pear-shaped, G-color, VS1-clarity stone, called The Rock, is the largest white diamond ever to appear at auction, Christie's said Friday. The previous record for a white diamond was set by a 163.41-carat stone the auction house sold in Geneva for $33.7 million in 2017, Christ...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Young adults are more likely to buy a lab grown than a mined diamond, says new research.Forty-four per cent said they'd opt for a lab grown, compared to 32 per cent who said they'd buy a mined diamond. The remaining 22 per cent were unsure.Size and price were the key factors for Millennial and Gen-Z shoppers, according to market research company the MVEye, which quizzed 7...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Two thirds of Tiffany & Co employees have left the company since the LVMH buyout last January.The current workforce is "one-third original Tiffany staff, one-third LVMH veterans, and another equal share coming from outside both companies," says the fashion Bible WWD, after an interview with the jeweler's president and CEO Anthony Ledru.He said: "We are living in a fast-mov...Read More
RAPAPORT... Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has developed a new mentoring and apprenticeship program to help the industry attract and train workers.The initiative aims to counter the severe labor shortage the trade is currently experiencing due to the "Big Quit," MJSA said last week. The program will provide businesses the tools they need to recruit and train apprentices.I...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The British government today announced sanctions against Alrosa.It named the diamond producer as one of 65 new Russian businesses and individuals being sanctioned in a move to "to cut off vital industries fuelling Putin's war machine".A statement from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured) describes Alrosa as "the world's largest diamond mining company specializing in exp...Read More
Polished prices under pressure. Russian sanctions, China Covid-19 wave, US inflation, and hike in interest rates impacting demand. Polished inventory rising. Buyers lack urgency and expect further price declines. Suppliers reducing prices after 2022 surge. Melee and goods below 0.30 ct. weak. 1 ct. stable. Investment-quality diamonds waking up. Secondary rough market softening after speculative Ja...Read More
(IDEX Online) - An extremely rare 8.82-ct fancy intense purple-pink pear modified brilliant-cut diamond, set in a platinum ring with two smaller stones, is to be auctioned with a high estimate of $6m.It is among the highlights at Christie's Magnificent Jewels auction in New York on 13 April.The Fuchsia Rose diamond (pictured) is certified by GIA as "VVS1 clarity, potentially Internally Flawle...Read More
RAPAPORT... Hong Kong-based retailer Chow Sang Sang has officially entered the lab-grown space, creating an e-commerce site that connects consumers with synthetic-diamond brands.The site, called The Future Rocks, features brands from the US, the UK, Israel, Japan and other countries, Chow Sang Sang said Wednesday in its annual results announcement.Retailers in greater China have started dipping th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Bonhams has bought three auction houses in the US, Sweden and Denmark this year, as it looks to broaden its global footprint and digital network.The company purchased US-based Skinner - which has locations in Boston and Marlborough, Massachusetts - and will rename that business Bonhams Skinner, it said last week. Skinner holds about 80 sales a year in categories including fine art, win...Read More
RAPAPORT... Burgundy Diamond Mines will begin commercial production from its Ellendale deposit in Australia before the end of the year.The company is getting the mine ready to resume operations after it was on long-term care and maintenance, it said Wednesday. Burgundy will explore both the Ellendale and adjoining Blina projects over the next six months and will set up a bulk-sampling plant by the...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lab-grown producer Diamond Foundry has sued the US government over President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods.The San Francisco-based company filed a complaint against US Customs and Border Protection and the US Trade Representative on March 17. It alleged the government failed to issue a list of affected products within 12 months of initiating an investigation into China's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Titan Company has shelled out $20 million to invest in e-commerce lab-grown diamond business Clean Origin, its first foray into the synthetics sector.The move is "a strategic investment that will provide Titan a ringside view of the fast-growing lab-grown diamond (LGD) and direct-to-consumer (D2C) sectors," the Indian company, which owns the Tanishq brand, said in a recent statement.In...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond Foundry is suing the US government over the "egregious" tariffs it has to pay to have its lab growns polished in China.The Silicon Valley start-up, which counts Leonardo DiCaprio among its high-profile backers, says the tariffs are higher than the actual cost of the polishing.It blames former president Donald Trump for imposing four punitive increases during his term, and J...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Rolex watch that belonged to British rock icon Eric Clapton is expected to fetch at least $1.6m at auction.The gold Daytona (pictured), known as the Crazy Doc (reference 6239) leads The Geneva Watch Auction: XV by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo.Clapton, 76, bought the watch in Italy in 1990 and went on to sell it at auction in 2003.Other highlights of the sale, to...Read More
RAPAPORT... The upcoming Hong Kong jewelry shows have been postponed yet again amid measures to contain the coronavirus in the region.The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) rescheduled the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, which were due to take place concurrently from August 14 to 18. They are now slated for July 29...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond manufacturers in Surat are now importing the vast majority of rough direct to the city, rather than via Mumbai.In the financial year to March 2020, rough imports to both cities were on a par, at just over $6bn.But in the 10 months to February 2022, Surat imported $13.2bn of rough, almost four times as much as Mumbai's $3.7m, according to new figures from the Gem and Je...Read More