Diamond miner De Beers' rough diamond sales increased to $545-million for the first sales cycle of this year.This was higher than the $426-million in sales recorded for the tenth sales cycle of 2019, as well as the $500-million in sales recorded for the first sales cycle of 2019.Advertisement“Demand for rough diamonds increased during the first sight of 2020 following the end-of-year sel...Read More
MOSCOW - The world's biggest diamond producing company, Russia's Alrosa, will restart production at Mir, a mine in the Yakutia region of the far east, shut since a deadly 2017 flood, the region's governor Aysen Nikolaev said in an interview.Yakutia, the world's biggest province by area, comprising half of Russia's vast far east, derives much of its revenue from a 33% stake in A...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers' January rough-diamond sales reached their highest level since last April as post-holiday stock replenishment boosted demand.Proceeds of $545 million at the first sales cycle of 2020 were 9% higher than a year ago, the miner said in a statement Wednesday. Sales also rose 28% from the $426 million the company garnered in December."Demand for rough diamonds increased during...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of jewelry and watches at LVMH increased 7% in 2019 amid a strong year for Bulgari.Revenue from the categories rose to EUR 4.41 billion ($4.85 billion), driven by Bulgari's Fiorever collection, which contributed significantly to growth following its launch at the end of 2018, LVMH said Tuesday. The brand's Serpenti Seduttori watch line was well received, while Chaumet and Hu...Read More
RAPAPORT... Graff-owned diamond manufacturer Safdico will cut and polish a portion of rough from the Lulo mine through a partnership with Lucapa Diamond Company.Safdico will have the rights to buy up to 60% of Lulo's annual rough production under the terms of Angola's new reform program, which went into effect last year. The new guidelines open sales to a wider range of buyers of the miner's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Crystal brand Swarovski introduced 16 new synthetic-diamond colors at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.The new hues fall into four creative categories in which Swarovski claims to play a role, it said last week. Each of the four areas - fashion, art, music and architecture - includes four colors of cushion-cut lab-grown diamonds. Every category in the collection is led by a "hero"...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss watch exports rose in December, as retailers stocked up in anticipation of the Chinese New Year.Shipments to all countries grew 6% to CHF 1.73 billion ($1.78 billion) in December, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported Tuesday. That figure mainly reflects a 49% increase in exports to China, which outweighed a 21% drop in orders from Hong Kong. Supply to the US r...Read More
RAPAPORT...The World Diamond Council (WDC) has hired industry veteran Elodie Daguzan as executive director to succeed Marie-Chantal Kaninda, it said Tuesday.Daguzan most recently spent eight years at Paris-based diamond-trading company Rubel & M?(C)nasch?(C) as head of communications and industry relations, responsible for educating the company's clients about industry supply-chain development...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Sixth Mediterranean Gemmological & Jewellery Conference will feature a roundtable debate on marketing lab-grown diamonds.The conference will take place from May 15 to 17 in Thessaloniki, Greece.Michael Schlamindger of Swarovski and Mark Cullinan of Cullinan Diamonds will be among the panelists at the discussion, which asks how synthetic diamonds and gems should be marketed...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Karelian Diamond Resources plc, a mining company operating in Finland, has been granted permission to carry out exploration in Lahtojoki South. The area is close to the Lahtojoki Diamond Deposit where kimberlite boulders - believed to derive from an undiscovered kimberlite - have been discovered. The exploration permit includes the area in which kimberlite boulders were discov...Read More
Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds has undertaken a placing with existing and new investors to raise £250 000 to fund exploration activities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.The company will issue about 41-million new ordinary shares, at a placing price of 0.6p apiece.AdvertisementEach placing share has one warrant attached, which allows investors to subscribe for one new ordinary share...Read More
RAPAPORT... Crystal brand Swarovski introduced 16 new synthetic-diamond colors at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week.The new hues fall into four creative categories in which Swarovski claims to play a role, it said last week. Each of the four areas - fashion, art, music and architecture - includes four colors of cushion-cut lab-grown diamonds. Every category in the collection is led by a "hero"...Read More
Christie's is holding an online sale featuring a selection of love-inspired jewelry. The sale, which runs from February 5-13, has over $300 lots. Among the lots are Graff diamond heart earrings ($10,000-15,000); Cartier, diamond "Love" bangle bracelet ($15,000-20,000); JAR aluminum rose petal earrings ($1,500-2,000) and a Verdura "Lace" gold necklace ($5,000-7,000), among other festive h...Read More
The Minerals Council South Africa has established the Associations Leadership Forum to serve the needs of the council’s association members.These members include the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa, the Clay Brick Association and the South African Diamonds Producers Organisation (Sadpo), which all represent a number of small miners.AdvertisementThe forum is expect...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Sixth Mediterranean Gemmological & Jewellery Conference will feature a roundtable debate on marketing lab-grown diamonds.The conference will take place from May 15 to 17 in Thessaloniki, Greece.Michael Schlamindger of Swarovski and Mark Cullinan of Cullinan Diamonds will be among the panelists at the discussion, which asks how synthetic diamonds and gems should be marketed...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The World Diamond Council (WDC) has announced the appointment of Elodie Daguzan as its new executive director, effective February 1. She takes over from Marie-Chantal Kaninda, who stepped down last year for a new opportunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Daguzan has worked in the diamond industry for the past 19 years. For the past eight years she has been head of commu...Read More
RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds' shares fell 11% in early trading Monday after the miner reported a slide in revenue resulting from weak rough prices.Revenue fell 6% to $193.9 million in the first fiscal half ending December 31, while sales volume was stable at 1.7 million carats, Petra said Monday.Rough prices fell 10% due to the weak market, while a poorer product mix from Petra's Finsch mine in...Read More
RAPAPORT... Martin Rapaport will be one of a number of speakers at this year's Palm Beach Show, where he will give a lecture explaining the challenges and opportunities in the diamond trade.The 17th edition of the annual event, previously known as the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, will feature exhibitors from the jewelry, art, antique and design industries in one location.Other...Read More
RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining's rough-diamond sales were flat year on year in the third fiscal quarter, as a shift to lower-quality goods led to a drop in the average price.The company sold 13,218 carats for $1.4 million during the period ending December 31 at an average price of $107 per carat, it said last week. That compared to the $1.4 million it earned during the same period the previous ye...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Petra Diamonds Limited has announced that while its production for the six months ended December 2019 was up 3 percent to 2,070,240 carats (H1 FY 2019: 2,019,147 carats), revenue for the same period was down 6 percent. Revenue fell to $193.9 million from 1,743,807 carats (H1 FY 2019: $207.1 million from 1,736,357 carats).The decline in revenue comes from lower diamond prices and th...Read More