news – Page 23 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

GIA Spots Natural-Synthetic Hybrid Diamond

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has discovered a synthetic layer that improved the weight and color of a natural diamond, and has warned that the phenomenon may be happening more often.

The cushion modified brilliant, 0.64-carat stone contained about 0.10 carats of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, the GIA estimated in a lab note last week. The lab-grown layer was greyish-blue, in contrast to the natural section’s yellowish color, giving the combined stone a fancy-greyish-greenish-blue appearance.

This was not the first time a stone of this type has turned up at the GIA: In 2017, it reported on a 0.33-carat, fancy-blue diamond that featured a CVD overgrowth similar to this one.

“With the second of these composites seen at GIA, this could be a new type of product entering the market,” research associate Troy Ardon and analytics technician Garrett McElhenny wrote in the note, which the GIA published in the Spring 2019 issue of its quarterly scientific journal, Gems & Gemology. “The resulting color was likely the main motivation for growing the CVD layer on top of the natural diamond, though the extra weight gained could also be a factor.”

The stone’s unusual nature came to light after testing indicated it had features of both type Ia and type IIb diamonds — a rare combination. It appeared to have absorbed both nitrogen — a feature of type Ia diamonds that gives yellow color — and boron, which is present in type IIb stones and can turn them blue. “Mixed-type diamonds always call for additional scrutiny,” Ardon and McElhenny explained.

The pavilion — the section from the girdle to the bottom — showed natural growth features during fluorescence testing with DiamondView, a De Beers machine for identifying synthetics. However, the crown displayed characteristics of CVD, proving that manufacturers had grown CVD diamond over a natural base. Using computer modeling, the research team was able to calculate the weight of the synthetic part as approximately one-tenth of a carat.

The stone was well disguised: Numerous readings of its photoluminescence showed no indication of any synthetic origin, despite the fact that such tests are usually effective at revealing CVD. This may be because the lab-grown layer was so thin, the note pointed out.

“Natural diamonds with synthetic diamond grown on the surface require extra scrutiny due to the presence of natural-looking features, both spectroscopic and gemological,” the authors continued. “Careful inspection still reveals the presence of synthetic indicators, which expose the true nature of the diamond.”

Source: diamonds.net

Monica Bellucci Wore the Historic Cartier María Félix Tribute Necklace at Cannes

There are a select few necklaces that might be deemed jewelry royalty Marie Louise’s diamonds from Napoleon, the Maharajah of Patiala’s bib, Daisy Fellowes’s Tutti Frutti, the Duchess of Windsor’s Zip, and of course, the one made by Cartier in 1975 to resemble two fully articulated crocodiles and using 1,023 yellow diamonds, 1,060 emeralds, and two cabochon rubies for Mexican actress María Félix.

Félix’s necklace was based on her own pet croc she even brought it into the store to make sure Cartier got it just right. She even suggested they live there for a while, just in case. Only one person other than María Félix has ever worn that necklace, now owned by the Cartier Collection.

In 2006, actress Monica Bellucci paired the necklace with a crisp white shirt for the red carpet at Cannes.

Over the weekend, on that same red carpet, Bellucci wore Cartier’s one of a kind diamond and emerald necklace made in tribute to the iconic piece and created by the same artisanal sculptor who brought María Félix’s little pets to life.

The María Félix Tribute necklace is in all diamonds and emeralds totaling 46.45 carats, and is by all reports “strikingly realistic with a body and legs ready to move!”

The crocodile necklace is of course but one proud member of the Cartier menagerie. The Panther, brought to three dimensional life in 1948 for the Duchess of Windsor, being the most iconic.

To make sure those diamond and onyx figures looked ready to pounce, legendary Cartier jewelry Director Jeanne Toussaint made all her designers spend quality time at the Paris zoo.

Source: townandcountrymag

Russia’s major diamond mining firms including Alrosa have urged India to amend consumer laws on synthetic diamonds so that there is clarity on the quantity of synthetic diamonds entering the country and how they are being used.

Industry executives said that around 5 million carats of synthetic diamonds are produced globally, and the volume is increasing, causing concern to rough diamond producers. A senior executive, who did not wish to be identified, told the Economic Times that a meeting was recently held between India and Russia on synthetic diamonds.

“India is the chair of the Kimberley Process Certification System (KPCS) for 2019 and the Russian Federation is the vice chair. The KPCS is a joint initiative of 54 members, including India and the European Union, to stem the flow of ‘conflict diamonds’ that are used by rebel groups to overthrow legitimate governments.

It came into effect on January 1, 2003 through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution and includes governments, civil society and industry.”

“During the meeting between Aleksey Vladimirovich Moiseev, the KPCS vice chair 2019 and deputy minister of finance of the Russian Federation Peter Karakchiev, Alrosa’s head of international relations department and other senior representatives of the Russian foreign office it was decided that the KPCS should work towards having separate HS (harmonized system) code implemented for synthetic rough diamonds at the national level and encourage participant countries to expedite the process of implementation.

Source: IDEX

118ct. Yellow Smashes Estimate at Christie’s

A diamond bought in memory of late diamantaire Sam Abram sold for more than double its high estimate at Christie’s Geneva auction Wednesday.

The cushion brilliant-cut, 118.05-carat, fancy-yellow, VS2-clarity stone fetched $7.1 million, or $60,000 per carat, at the Magnificent Jewels auction. The diamond, which was estimated at $2.5 million to $3.5 million, was purchased by Siba Corp. in honor of its former president. The company subsequently named it The Siba Diamond.

Three ruby pieces broke the top 10, all selling for well above their estimates. A 22.86-carat Burmese ruby ring by Harry Winston went for $7.2 million against its high estimate of $3 million, a final price of $314,900 per carat. Meanwhile, a Van Cleef & Arpels ruby and diamond necklace, which was valued at $400,000 to $600,000, garnered $2.4 million, and a ruby and diamond bracelet by the same jeweler fetched $1.6 million. That piece was estimated at $150,000 to $250,000.

A necklace comprising 110 natural pearls achieved $5.8 million, well above its high estimate of $3.5 million. All other pearl pieces of note offered at the sale also exceeded their original estimates, Christie’s said.

Other notable lots included a pear-shaped, 75.61-carat emerald pendant necklace that belonged to the Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia, which sold for $4.3 million, or $57,300 per carat. It was estimated at $2.3 million to $3.5 million.

“Natural pearls and jewels with noble provenance, such as the 75.61-carat emerald from Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia, found much acclaim and sold for far above their presale estimates,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s international head of jewelry. “Also of note was the 118-carat, fancy-yellow diamond that was purchased by Siba Corp. in honor of Sam Abram, a prominent figure in the jewelry world, who very sadly passed away last week.”

In addition, the rectangular-cut, 25.27-carat, D-color Jonker V diamond connected to Anglo American founder and former De Beers chairman Sir Ernest Oppenheimer fetched $3 million against a valuation of $2.5 million to $3.5 million.

Christie’s sold 87% of all lots on offer, it said. The sale brought in a combined $62.1 million.

Source: Diamonds.net

Debmarine Namibia invests in custom diamond vessel

The vessel, which has an expected total capital cost of US$468 million, will be the seventh in Debmarine’s fleet. It is expected to start production in 2022 with the capacity to add 500,000 carats of annual production, a 35% increase above current levels.

De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said some of the highest quality diamonds in the world were found at sea off the Namibian coast.

“With this investment we will be able to optimise new technology to find and recover diamonds more efficiently and meet growing consumer demand across the globe,” he said.

Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani said the addition of the vessel would bring numerous benefits, including improving De Beers’ production profile by value and volume, greater efficient and productivity through the vessel’s deployed technologies, and sustained economic benefits for Namibia.

“This highly attractive investment offers a three-year payback, a more than 25% IRR and an EBITDA margin of more than 60% – typical of the high quality of our brownfield growth options,” Cutifani said.

“We will continue allocating appropriate levels of capital in a disciplined manner across Anglo American’s wider organic pipeline of near- and medium-term growth opportunities, including the world-class Quellaveco copper development in Peru, that we expect to contribute towards our 20-25% production growth by 2023.”

Debmarine last ordered a new vessel in November 2017. At the time it was projected to cost US$142 million and was expected to start operations in 2021.

Source: miningmagazine

130 carat gem quality diamond recovered at Lulo

130 Carat rough diamond from Lulo Angola

The 130 carat diamond is the 13th +100 carat diamond recovered to date and the second recovered so far in 2019.

This recovery, together with the continued recovery of other large special white and fancy coloured diamonds continues to highlight the very special nature of the Lulo diamond concession.

The 130 carat diamond adds to the current inventory of high-value large Special run-of-mine diamonds, including top colour white diamonds, weighing 128 carats and 62 carats, as well as a number of fancy pink coloured diamonds.

The majority of the diamond inventory is scheduled for sale this quarter by the alluvial mining company, Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo, however, some diamonds may be extracted and held for tender at a later date.

Lucapa is a growing diamond company with high-value mines in Angola and Lesotho, along with exploration projects in Angola, Australia and Botswana.

Lucapa’s vision is to become a leading producer of large and premium-quality diamonds – from both alluvial and kimberlite sources – in Africa and other known diamond provinces around the world.

The company’s focus on high-value diamond production is designed to protect cash flows in a sector of the diamond market where demand and prices remain robust.

Lucapa’s flagship asset is the Lulo diamond project in Angola, which is a prolific producer of large and premium-value alluvial diamonds.

Lulo has produced 13 +100ct diamonds to date and is the highest average US$ per carat alluvial diamond production in the world.

Lucapa and its Lulo partners continue to advance their search for the primary kimberlite sources of these exceptional alluvial gems through a systematic drilling and exploration program.

Lucapa commenced commercial diamond recoveries in January 2019 at the company’s second high value mine, the 1.1 Mtpa Mothae kimberlite mine in diamond-rich Lesotho and has already recovered five +50 carat diamonds in its own sampling and commercial mining operations.

Lucapa also has early stage exploration projects at Brooking in Western Australia and Orapa Area F in Botswana.

Lucapa’s Board and managements team have decades of diamond industry experience across the globe with companies including De Beers and Gem Diamonds.

Source: miningreview

11 Carat Purple Diamond Expected to Fetch Over $10M

Hong Kong based M&B Diamonds expects to sell a record setting purple diamond for more than $10 million, after buying the stone from Alrosa.

The cushion modified brilliant cut, 11.06 carat diamond is the largest fancy deep purple pink stone the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has examined, according to the August 2018 grading report.

Alrosa originally debuted the gem as part of its “True Colour” collection in September at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. M&B bought it at tender in Moscow about two months ago, Roi Sheinfeld, owner of M&B Diamonds, told Rapaport News Wednesday.

M&B will preview the stone to customers by appointment only at its M&B Private Jewelers retail shops in Hong Kong and Singapore. While Sheinfeld chose not to reveal the stone’s purchase price, he expects the sale to yield more than $10 million, depending on the design.

“As it’s one of a kind…we will exhibit it as [a] polished loose diamond,” Sheinfeld added. “The client who buys it will have the privilege of sitting with our design team and creating a one of a kind bespoke piece.”

Synthetics: Coming to a Bourse Near You?

Exchanges in Mumbai, Dubai and now Israel are dipping their toes in the water.

The rise of lab-grown diamonds might finally be trickling through to the historic heart of the trade: the diamond exchanges.

It began last November, when Anoop Mehta, president of Mumbai’s Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), told Rapaport News some of its members had asked for a rethink of its total ban on synthetics in the complex. The BDB delayed taking action due to “issues” in the market in the last six to eight months, but could hold a vote later this year, Mehta said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Diamond Exchange hosted a tender of rough synthetic diamonds earlier this week — the first of its kind at any member of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB).

And in a Hebrew Facebook post on May 7, Yoram Dvash, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), announced he had sat down with senior bourse members to discuss how to approach the lab-grown question.

The James Allen effect

Dvash’s move was perhaps inevitable, after James Allen entered the synthetics sector earlier this month. The Israeli trade is a major supplier to James Allen through a special arrangement the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) has with the e-commerce business that is owned by Signet Jewelers. The Israeli trade sold about $30 million of goods to James Allen in 2018, according to a spokesperson for the IDI.

But the opportunities in synthetics go beyond just one client. The category has made headway in the US, though demand is less strong in Europe and the Far East, participants at Dvash’s May 6 gathering concluded. There were voices for and voices against entering the market, he reported, with some arguing that promoting man-made stones would damage the natural market.

It’s not clear what form any Israeli market entry would take. The bourse currently bans lab-grown diamonds from its IDE trading floor, and has no plans to change that, Dvash said. It doesn’t monitor what goes on in companies’ offices within the rest of the exchange building.

“Other members felt we must join [James Allen] in carrying synthetic stones,” he wrote. “A decision was made to continue to investigate the issue more deeply, and to hold a further discussion in the near future.”

In the meantime, the IDE plans to tighten its rules to ensure that any activity in lab-grown diamonds doesn’t lead to undisclosed mixing with natural stones. It wants traders to put a clear mark on the small envelopes for diamonds (commonly called “brifkas”) to indicate that a stone is synthetic, as well as on invoices, Dvash explained. The bourse will also allocate part of its budget to improve segregation of the two markets. The exchange has approved the budget, and is waiting for its legal committee to finalize the other two provisions.

Bourses’ independence

Bourses have the autonomy to make decisions on these issues themselves, so long as they ensure clear differentiation and ethical marketing, noted Ernie Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). Recent actions by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Diamond Producers Association have successfully alleviated many of the concerns about lab-grown producers misleading the public with their marketing, he added.

“[Bourses] have the right to decide if they want to have lab-grown diamonds on their bourses or not,” Blom said. “Whatever their decision is, we will basically support it.”

That gives the diamond bourses freedom to pursue ventures that benefit their members. The question that remains is whether that will result in the introduction of synthetics to the trading floor, thus entrenching the product in the industry’s core.

Source: Diamonds.net

Miner Petra Diamonds sells its 425 carat legacy diamond

Petra Diamonds said on Tuesday it sold its 425-carat ‘Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine’ diamond to Belgium-based Stargems Group for $15 million.

The miner, which recovered the diamond at its flagship Cullinan mine in March, said the sale was significant for the company.

Petra has been struggling to clear its multi-million-dollar debts after it borrowed heavily to revamp the Cullinan facility and began mining a new section of ore last July.

However, Cullinan has been profitable every year since Petra acquired it in 2008 and the mine is expected to generate free cash flow this year.

ASIC liquidator push turns up the heat on Diamond Joe Gutnick

Australia’s corporate watchdog has sought Federal Court approval to wind up Joseph Gutnick’s publicly-listed company, Merlin Diamonds, and flagged an inquiry into whether the colourful Melbourne businessman has breached his director’s duties.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) move against the man known as “Diamond Joe” due to his appetite for outback diamond and gold deposits confirms the worst fears of Merlin Diamonds’ shareholders, who have already endured a seven-month trading ban on the company’s stock.

Court filings released to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday show ASIC is seeking an order to appoint Deloitte as liquidators of Merlin Diamonds, which had a market capitalisation of just $20 million when its stock was banned from trading last October.

ASIC has for months been probing how Merlin Diamonds has loaned $13 million of investor money to a private company, AXIS Consultants, which has long been associated with Mr Gutnick.

“The loans have been used to fund private companies associated with Joseph Gutnick and provide no discernible benefit to Merlin Diamonds,” ASIC said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

In one example cited by ASIC, it alleges Merlin Diamonds in October 2016 received $900,000 from a Mr Gutnick-linked company, Chabad Properties, for convertible notes and options issued to Chabad.

“The ultimate source of the $900,000 paid by Chabad, through a series of transactions involving related companies, was Merlin Diamonds. Mr Gutnick is a former director of Chabad,” ASIC’s media statement revealed.

Mr Gutnick, who resumed the chairmanship of Merlin Diamonds after emerging from a self-imposed bankruptcy last year, and his wife, Stera Gutnick, are also named in the ASIC’s court filing to wind up Merlin Diamonds. Mrs Gutnick is not a director of Merlin Diamonds and is not understood to be personally under investigation.

ASIC has asked the liquidators to examine and provide an opinion on whether Mr Gutnick and other past and present Merlin Diamonds directors and officers, have breached the Corporations Act.

It wants this opinion, as well as advice on the company’s assets, solvency and likely return to creditors, within 42 days of the liquidators being appointed.

Mr Gutnick is one of Australia’s best-known business figures, was once a regular on the BRW richest 200 list and a benefactor to many Jewish charities.

As president of a stricken Melbourne Football Club during the 1990s, the ordained Rabbi’s financial support kept the club alive.

Mr Gutnick said on Tuesday that Merlin Diamonds was reviewing ASIC’s filings.

“It’s been handed to lawyers to examine and defend,” he said.

ASIC has sought an order to release to Deloitte documents it has amassed relevant to Merlin Diamonds, Mr and Mrs Gutnick and a host of Gutnick-controlled or associated private companies.

Among the named private companies is AXIS Consultants, which The Age and Sydney Morning Herald revealed in February was at the heart of ASIC’s investigation into Merlin Diamonds.

AXIS, which shares the same Moray Street Southbank office as Merlin Diamonds, has received about $18 million dollars in unsecured loans from publicly-traded companies led by Mr Gutnick, including Merlin Diamonds and the company formerly known as Top End Minerals.

Unfortunately for shareholders, AXIS has been unwilling or unable to repay bulk of the loans, which have had to be written off by the public companies as impairments and are, most likely, unrecoverable.

“The terms of the Loans appear to be unreasonable, uncommercial and non-arm’s length,” ASIC’s media statement said.

Merlin detailed the terms of these AXIS loans in its 2015 annual report stating: “No fixed terms for repayment of loans between the parties, no security has been provided and no interest charged.”

When the Australian Securities Exchange started asking questions about the loans to AXIS in October last year, Merlin Diamonds reported that it “does not have access to the financial information of AXIS”.

This was despite Mr Gutnick, his son Mordechai Gutnick and long-time business associates, Peter Lee and David Tyrwhitt, all having served as directors of Merlin Diamonds and AXIS at some stage in relevant years when money was loaned.

At the same time as Merlin Diamonds was transferring money to AXIS- which would then often makes loans to other Gutnick-associated entities – staff and consultants at the company’s Northern Territory mine complained they had gone months without pay.

Mr Gutnick earlier this year said nearly all outstanding claims had been resolved.

In February Mr Gutnick appeared unconcerned by ASIC’s investigation into Merlin Diamonds and his network of private companies saying: “I’ve had ASIC look at transactions I’ve done for 30 years.”

But with ASIC’s new leadership team of chairman James Shipton and prosecutor Daniel Crennan QC promising a more aggressive approach in the wake of the banking royal commission, Mr Gutnick may face a more rigorous examination.

The Federal Court has yet to schedule a hearing for ASIC’s action against Merlin Diamonds, with the corporate watchdog filing its documentation last Thursday.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald