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Petra to Hold Special Tender for 20.08-Carat Blue Diamond

Petra Diamonds will hold a special tender of the 20.08-carat blue diamond. The stone, a gem-quality Type llb diamond, was recovered from the Cullinan mine in South Africa last month.

Viewings will take place at Petra’s diamond marketing offices in Johannesburg from November 1-7 and at the Diamond and Exchange and Export Center from November 8-15.

South Africa’s Petra Diamonds could make up to $15 million for a 20.08 carat blue rough diamond it recovered in September at its iconic Cullinan mine, when it goes for sale at a planned tender in Johannesburg next month.

Investment bank Berenberg valued the “exceptional” blue gem quality diamond at between $10 and $15 million, based on prices Petra has achieved for similar roughs from Cullinan in previous years. In 2015, the miner sold “The Blue Moon of Josephine”, a 29.6 carat blue stone, for $48.5 million, marking a world record price per carat at auction for any diamond at the time.

Hong Kong Retail Falls to Record Low

Sales of jewelry and other luxury items in Hong Kong sank in August, marking the sharpest monthly decline on record as protests in the municipality hit tourism and consumption.

Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts dropped 47% year on year to HKD 3.93 billion ($501.3 million) during the month, the municipality’s Census and Statistics Department reported Wednesday. That marks the lowest monthly decline for jewelry since the department began publishing results in 2005, according to a public data archive. Sales across all retail categories slipped 23% to HKD 29.36 billion ($3.74 billion).

Demonstrations against an extradition bill have been escalating since June, forcing luxury stores, train stations and the city’s airport to shut down. Although the bill has been scrapped, unrest has continued, with police reportedly shooting an 18-year-old protester Tuesday, and more than 100 people, including 30 police officers, being hospitalized amid the increased violence.

The situation has led to a sharp decline in travelers from China and abroad, as well as weakened local purchasing. The number of tourists visiting Hong Kong was down 39% to 3.6 million in August, the Hong Kong Tourism Board reported. Of those, 2.8 million came from mainland China, a decline of 42% over the same period last year.

The overall retail decline was “even worse than that recorded in September 1998 during the Asian financial crisis,” a government spokesperson noted. “Apart from the weak consumer sentiment amid subdued economic conditions, the plunge in August mainly reflected the severe disruptions to inbound tourism and consumption-related activities caused by the local social incidents.”

The government expects weakness in the market to continue as conditions persist, it explained.

“Retail sales will likely remain in the doldrums in the near term, as the worsened economic outlook and local protests involving violence continue to weigh on consumer sentiment and inbound tourism,” the spokesperson added.

Swiss bank UBS also expects a continued decline in the market, noting a more challenging outlook for hard luxury, which includes jewelry and watches, versus soft luxury, comprising bags, leather and clothing.

“This is particularly prevalent in the Chinese market, with hard luxury more exposed to recent [yuan] depreciation and protests in Hong Kong,” the bank explained. “Because of their long-term availability and high price tag, these are less likely to benefit from repatriation of demand in case of short-term disruptions in Hong Kong. Note that 50% of Chinese diamond jewelry was purchased in Hong Kong in 2018, [so] the near-term disruptions to sales [are] likely to be significant.”

In the first eight months of the year, retail sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts decreased 14% to HKD 50.06 billion ($6.38 billion). Sales in all retail categories for the January-to-July period fell 6% to HKD 305.05 billion ($38.9 billion).

Source: diamonds.net

Diamond terminology guideline

When buying a Natural mined diamond make sure the diamond report has the following clearly at the top of the report.

Diamond or Natural diamond, Make sure you diamond is natural by looking for the following on the report “Natural Diamond” this refers to the origin and the absence of treatments

Hailey and Justin Bieber flaunt $750k worth of jewels

Justin 25 and Hailey Bieber 22 have unveiled the extremely blingy additions to their second wedding, including her dazzling wedding band and his grills.

After tying the knot in South Carolina’s Montage Palmetto Bluffs on Monday, the duo and their superstar guests have been intricately documenting the big day on social media, with their latest snaps showing their blinged up look.

In striking black and white shots taken in the photobooth, the couple showed off what amounted to an estimated $750,000.

The not so newlyweds who first tied the knot over a year ago, kicked off the night by exchanging vows in a chapel in front of a legion of celebrity guests.

Hailey perfectly matched her $500,000 engagement ring with a diamond wave shape band, believed to have come from Tiffany & Co.

The Vogue model was also seen wearing a large pair of platinum set studs from the designer jewelry brand that were over five carats and worth over $123,000.

Justin meanwhile opted for a more simple look than his blinged up bride as he donned a band of a thicker design on his wedding ring finger.

But that wasn’t the only piece of jewelry for the Sorry pop star, rocking his Israeli diamond $25,000 lavender grillz.

Justin showcased his new accessory on social media last week and it is estimated to be worth $25000.

The singer also accessorised with his new $100,000 Audemars Piguet watch that he splurged on just days before the big day.

Source: dailymail

Gold, diamonds from 2 African nations caught in U.S. forced-labor probe

Products from Zimbabwe and Democratic Republic of Congo are among those from five nations to be seized by the United States at its borders because they are believed linked to forced-labor violations.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Tuesday it initiated its investigation following complaints from the public and other sources. The allegations led to the issue of a Withhold Release Order for the five products, which include gold from artisanal small mines in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and diamonds from the Marange Diamond Fields in Zimbabwe. The Marange site has a long history of alleged human rights abuses, from a 2008 massacre of civilians to 2018, when new reports of forced labor and other rights violations emerged.

“A major part of CBP’s mission is facilitating legitimate trade and travel,” said Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan. “CBP’s issuing of these five withhold release orders shows that if we suspect a product is made using forced labor, we’ll take that product off U.S. shelves.”

Because it is illegal to import goods linked to forced labor into the U.S., the CBP has the authority to order their detention but also their release. “Importers have the opportunity to either re-export the detained shipments at any time or to submit information to CBP demonstrating that the goods are not in violation,” the agency said.

Also listed were specific garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia and bone-black char from Brazil.

Source: africatimes

Synova Launches Automated Diamond Cutter

A technology provider part-owned by De Beers has unveiled an automated cutting machine that, it claims, will significantly speed up diamond manufacturing and reduce costs.

Synova’s DaVinci system is the market’s first automated instrument that can produce all 57 facets of a round brilliant diamond in one process, the Swiss company said Thursday. The user only needs to perform one final polishing stage to finish the stone.

“Several cost, skill and labor intensive steps in the polishing phase, such as crown and pavilion blocking, girdle bruting or recurrent quality checks, become redundant,” noted Bernold Richerzhagen, Synova’s founder and CEO.

The machine, currently intended for rough stones from 0.50 to 10 carats, gives manufacturers increased flexibility to adapt their production levels to business needs, such as seasonal demand, Synova explained.

It also gives better symmetry and a higher and more predictable polished yield, and uses water jet technology to reduce the risk of diamond cracking, the company asserted. It’s based on its existing DCS 50 cutting machine.

De Beers bought a 33% stake in Synova in 2015, pledging to work with the company to develop a fully automated cutting and shaping solution. The miner has made diamonds available for some of the machine testing.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lucara finds blue and pink diamonds at Botswana mine

Canada’s Lucara Diamond continues to find gem quality, coloured diamonds at its Karowe mine, in Botswana, which in April yielded the 1,758 carat Sewelô meaning “rare find” diamond, the largest ever recovered in the African country.

The Vancouver based miner has now recovered a 9.74 carat blue and a 4.13 carat pink diamond from direct milling of the South Lobe, the area that yielded the famous 1,111 carat “Lesedi La Rona” in 2015.

The announcement comes on the heels of last week’s display of a 123 carat gem quality, top white, Type II diamond, found at the same section of the mine.

It also follows the recent sale of a 2.24 carat blue for $347,222 per carat.

Karowe, which began commercial operations in 2012, has this year yielded 22 diamonds larger than 100 carats, eight of them exceeding 200 carats.

Since the start of the year, the miner has sold 19 diamonds each with an individual price in excess of $1 million at its quarterly tender sales. This includes seven diamonds that fetched more than $2 million each, and one diamond that carried a final price tag of over $8 million.

“Lucara is extremely pleased with the recovery of these rare, sizeable, fancy coloured diamonds, which have the potential to contribute meaningful value to our regular production of large, high-value type IIa diamonds,” chief executive, Eira Thomas, said in the statement.

The precious rocks will be put up for sale in December, during the company’s fourth quarter tender.

Lucara, which has focused efforts on the prolific Botswana mine this year, is close to completing a feasibility study into potential underground production and life of mine expansion at Karowe.

Source: mining.com

313 Carat Diamond Emerges as World’s Largest D Colour

The Constellation 313 Carat Emerald Cut polished Diamond

Nemesis International on Thursday unveiled a 313 carat diamond that has been certified as the largest D colour polished stone in history.

The emerald shape, VVS1 clarity diamond, known as Constellation 1, is one of eight stones that make up a collection manufactured from the 813 carat Constellation rough, which Nemesis bought in partnership with Swiss jeweler de Grisogono for $63.1 million in 2016. At $77,613 per carat, the stone still ranks as the most expensive rough diamond ever sold.

Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer at the Gemological Institute of America, confirmed with Rapaport News that the stone was the largest graded D colour diamond on record.

However, Nemesis has no immediate plans to sell the diamonds, CEO Konema Mwenenge told Rapaport News on the sidelines of the Dubai Diamond Conference. “We want to showcase this as the work of art that it is,” he stressed. “Diamonds are not just a commodity and this stone is impossible to value. We’re focused on building its legacy.”

The company is considering a roadshow to display the collection around the world at museums and other platforms. “We want to keep them as a family from the same rough,” Mwenenge added. The eight stones vary in size and shape, and range in clarity from flawless to internally flawless and VVS. The second largest stone in the family is a 102 carat diamond.

The diamonds will also be presented in their full polished form for now, but will eventually be mounted into jewelry. That contrasts with the company’s last major project, the Art of de Grisogono, an emerald cut, 163 carat, D flawless diamond, cut and polished in New York from a 404 carat rough diamond. That piece was sold as a necklace that could also transform into a bracelet, fetching $33.7 million at a Christie’s auction.

Source: Diamonds.net

Alrosa Board Approves Kristall Takeover

Alrosa is set to finalize its acquisition of diamond manufacturer Kristall in a $29 million deal in October, following approval from its supervisory board.

Alrosa expects the RUB 1.89 billion sale-and-purchase agreement to be signed by the end of the month, with a concrete plan for the manufacturer’s integration into the company to be in place by the end of the year, it noted.

Kristall is the leading polished-diamond manufacturer in Russia and Europe, processing more than 200,000 carats of rough annually. While Alrosa already runs a manufacturing unit, the acquisition of Kristall is set to expand its share of the polished-production market from 20% to 70%.

“Despite the fact that Alrosa is currently a key supplier of rough diamonds to Kristall, it accounts for as little as 0.5% of Alrosa’s sales of rough diamonds,” Alexey Philippovskiy, Alrosa’s deputy CEO, said Wednesday. “The deal value is less than 1% of Alrosa’s net assets and, according to our estimates, the purchase price will not exceed Kristall’s net assets at the date of the transaction.”

Last year Kristall produced 105,700 carats of polished diamonds, with sales of 111,700 carats. It reported revenue of RUB 12.8 billion ($199.1 million) and profit of RUB 40.7 million ($633,040). The company also operates a jewelry entity and a business that produces tooling and equipment for the diamond industry.

Source: diamonds.net

Zimbabwe intends to sell another 500,000 carats of diamonds before end of 2019

Zimbabwe says it intends to auction between 400,000 and 500,000 carats of diamonds before the end of 2019.

This follows another auction two weeks ago, the third in 2019, in which the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) sold 316,000 carats, whose value is yet to be established as figures are still being reconciled.

Prior to the last sale, Zimbabwe had in June invited seven international buyers to participate in a private sale of nearly two million carats.

The Herald newspaper reported Wednesday that MMCZ general manager Tongai Muzenda had said that the corporation expected better returns in the short-term on account of the level of pricing systems that would prevail in the market.

“We are looking forward to conducting another diamond auction where we are targeting to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 carats by the end of November,” he said.

Zimbabwe expects to produce 4.1 million carats of diamonds this year, up from 2.8 million carats last year. At the peak of production in 2012, output was 12 million carats.

Source: xinhuanet