Angola’s national diamond trading company, Sodiam announced on Wednesday in Luanda that it has suspended receiving proposals to buy rough diamonds because the demand is higher than the supply.
The state-owned company, announcing the closure of the reception of bids, pointed out that it has already concluded purchase and sale contracts of diamonds mined in the country for the next two years.
The company also said in a statement that interested parties could register on Sodiam’s electronic platform from September in order to qualify as potential customers for the purchase of diamonds by auction.
In the second quarter, Sodiam sold 1.5 million carats at an average price of US$155.3 per carat and gross revenues of US$232.8 million, down by US$135.8 million from first-quarter revenue, “due to the fact that it did not sell the April lot.”
The company posted revenues of US$368.6 million in the first quarter of 2019 from the sale of 2.647 million carats of diamonds.
Diamond purchases at De Beers’ latest sale in Botswana plummeted 44 per cent, as the industry struggles with weaker consumer spending and the rise of lab-grown stones.
The world’s largest diamond miner said on Wednesday that sales of rough diamonds were $280m at last week’s sale compared with $503m in the same period a year ago.
The sharp decline follows another weak sale last month. So far this year, at $2.9bn, De Beers’ rough diamond sales are 26 per cent lower than the $3.9bn recorded at the same time last year. In July, Russian diamond producer Alrosa reported a 51 per cent fall in diamond sales.
“The current malaise in the market is due to oversupply,” said Paul Zimnisky, an analyst in New York, who said diamond buyers had too much inventory.
Macroeconomic uncertainty and, in particular, the trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest diamond-consuming countries, has fuelled nervousness among wholesalers and retailers.
Diamond buyers, who polish and cut diamonds for retailers, are struggling to make money this year due to lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases.
Tiffany’s on Wednesday reported a 3 per cent decline in like-for-like sales, with the luxury retailer’s chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo warning that unrest in Hong Kong was “taking a toll on our business”, as did a drop in Chinese tourists visiting the US.
Shares in Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, have fallen more than 60 per cent this year.
Increased sales of lab-grown diamonds, which are chemically identical to traditional stones, are also “taking a very precious piece of the mined industry’s modest growth”, noted Mr Zimnisky.
De Beers has responded by cutting production — with a target of 31m carats this year compared with 35.3m lin 2018 — and pledging to increase the amount of money it spends on marketing diamonds.
Anish Aggarwal, a partner at consulting firm Gemdax, said economic uncertainty was being aggravated by retailers shifting to a “just-in-time” stocking model.
De Beers, which made up around 10 per cent of Anglo-American’s earnings in the first half of this year, sells most of its diamonds to approved customers at 10 “sights” a year in Africa.
As an incentive to buyers, at the latest sale it increased the amount of stones customers were allowed to reject in each lot purchased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, according to people familiar with the auction.
Gem Diamonds has recovered its third yellow diamond over 100 carats this year, following a two year dearth of stones in that hue and size.
The miner found the 114.2-carat rough on August 22 at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, it said Monday. The company unearthed a 135-carat, yellow diamond from the deposit in June, and a similar 134-carat stone was brought up in March. Prior to those recoveries, Letšeng hadn’t yielded a yellow diamond over 100 carats since June 2017, when Gem Diamonds retrieved a 151.52-carat rough at the site.
The discovery is also the sixth over 100 carats the miner, known for its large-stone retrieval, has unearthed so far this year. These include three white diamonds, weighing 123.5, 140 and 161 carats.
During the first six months of the year, the miner recovered three stones over 100 carats, compared to 10 of that size during the same period a year ago. The lack of large stones in comparison with last year has hurt Gem Diamonds’ revenue. Sales of rough diamonds fell 44% to $94.5 million in the first half, with the average price dropping from $2,742 per carat to $1,697.
I first met Mayuri Vara in 2014 at an upscale Hong Kong bar with sweeping views of the city. It was there that the former pharmacist showed me her first collection of jewels under the brand, Vara of London.
Diya pink sapphire and diamond ear jackets in 18k Gold that can be converted to studs VARA OF LONDON
At the time I lauded her initial collection of classic and elegant of jewels as a well-thought-out mix of products where individual pieces match but in a variety of innovative ways. The jewels were made of sterling silver plated with yellow gold or white gold, with some pieces having a black rhodium finish. The collection was dominated by a mix of smoky quartz, amethyst, citrines, peridot, tourmaline with some diamonds sprinkled among the gems.
Rani ruby and diamond ear drops in 18k rose gold that can be converted into ear jackets. VARA OF LONDON
Five years later I met Mayuri at Madame Fù, a contemporary Chinese restaurant in a recently opened cultural and shopping center that used to be the Central Police Station. She showed me pieces from her newest collection, “Privé,” which remains true to her original inspirations that include the glamour of Elizabeth Taylor, her British and Indian heritage and the dynamic city of Hong Kong. The self-taught designer said she started creating jewels because she had difficulty finding pieces she loved.
Serpentina Linea 18k rose ring with diamonds VARA OF LONDON
“I design fine jewelry that I would wear myself as an everyday accessory,” she said. “Statement pieces, worn with a crisp white shirt during the day, through to evening wear. My clients, most of whom are women, financially independent, choose to purchase fine jewelry for themselves, wearing pieces that empower them, choosing to self gift for a birthday or reaching a personal or business goal.”
The new collection of approximately 12 elegant and fashionable pieces reveals how Vara has upped her game in materials and versatility. Her new collection boasts pieces in 18k white and rose gold set with rubies, pink sapphires and diamonds.
Mayuri Vara
Mayuri Vara founder of Vara of London VARA OF LONDON
Like her previous collection it has strong focus and the pieces could be mixed and matched without appearing as if it is a suite of jewels. However, she has increased this versatility by creating a few transformable pieces. For example, her Rani earrings, which feature rows of round rubies, could be worn as long silky drops or as ear jackets. Her Diya ear jackets are available with either diamonds or pink sapphires as the dominate gem. Like her other earrings these are transformable with the jackets being removable so they can be worn as elegant studs.
Meanwhile, her Serpentina Linea necklaces, bracelets and rings use thin coiled 18k white or rose gold in the form of a snake, paved with rows of diamonds. Earrings from the same line use black rhodium gold and black diamonds. Like her first collection, the dark color contrasts provide an edge to the elegance of the pieces.
Serpentina Linea earrings in black gold and black diamonds VARA OF LONDON
Vara is involved in certain charitable causes. For example she has donated jewels for charity auctions such as Christina Noble Children’s Charity which support underprivileged children in Vietnam, and The Womens Foundation Hong Kong, which empower women in poverty.
Vara’s next plan is quite ambitious, saying she wants to exhibit at Paris Couture week, which would place her young brand with some of the most important high jewelers in the world.
Serpentina Linea bangle in 18k white gold & diamonds VARA OF LONDON
Vara of London jewels are available through the company’s website or on the website of the Harvey Nichols department store.
KIMBERLEY Ekapa Mining, the last major diamond company operating in Kimberley, has imposed a three-month, 12.5% salary reduction across the board on its staff in an attempt to remain economically viable in the face of slumping diamond prices and renewed problems with illegal miners on its property.
The operation was formerly run as a joint venture with London-listed, Petra Diamonds, which sold its 75.9% controlling stake in July last year to partner Ekapa for R300m.
At the time, Ekapa was experiencing major problems with illegal miners operating on its properties, but had – hopefully – reached a workable solution after surrendering 600 hectares of its ground to the illegal miners provided they stayed off the rest of the company’s lease area.
That was in terms of a deal brokered by the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy and the Sol Plaatje Municipality which runs Kimberley. The deal, lauded at the time by mines minister, Gwede Mantashe, was called the Batho Pele initiative and the former illegal miners were reclassified as artisanal miners.
Yet KEM CEO, Jahn Hohne, has now revealed that KEM is still spending R3m a month on security measures to keep the miners off mine property after further incidents including arson on some of the company’s haul vehicles.
Hohne could not be reached directly for comment.
In reply to written questions the company issued a statement saying: “Kimberley Ekapa Mining is reliably informed that an alleged new third force of illegal miners is attempting to muscle in and around the Batho Pele initiative.
“They are using force; trespassing; conducting illegal mining; sabotaging mine infrastructure and allegedly being supported by illegal diamond traders”.
Asked what was being done about the situation, the company replied: “Kimberley Ekapa Mining is working closely with all relevant stakeholders … to ensure the success of the initiative”.
According to the statement the current crunch in the global diamond market, which has hit small diamond prices particularly hard, “… equates to an approximately 20% year-on-year price decrease in dollar terms for Ekapa’s mining operations in Kimberley”.
Hohne had originally proposed a 25% wage cut which was vehemently rejected by the National Union of Mineworkers and the union has also rejected the 12.5% cut now imposed.
This is despite Hohne’s commitment that the reductions will be repaid “… from the earliest available distributable profits when the new business model is successful”.
The statement said management was engaging directly with the NUM in the Northern Cape and that “… at the time of this response Kimberley Ekapa Mining had not received any formal notification of a dispute being declared”.
Gem Diamonds, which operates the Letšeng diamond mine in Lesotho, has published its sales performance for the first half of the year ended June 20, 2019. Gem Diamonds sold 55,714 carats during the period, achieving an average price of $1,697 per carat – 10% more than the average price for H2 2018. Revenue for the period totaled $41.6 million USD.
During the period, the miner sold a 13.32 carat pink diamond for a Letšeng record of $656,934 per carat, and recovered three diamonds greater than 100 carats. It sold 15 diamonds for more than $1 million each. Gem Diamonds added that it is on track to deliver its targeted $100 million “in incremental revenue, productivity improvements and cost savings over the 4-year period to end 2021”.
Gem Diamonds concluded by announcing that prices for the smaller and commercial goods “have been under pressure for some time with the larger goods having been less affected, although showing recent signs of weakness”. However, the miner expects “Letšeng’s unique, ultra-high-quality goods to be less vulnerable over time to market pressures”.
Shares in Botswana Diamonds PLC jumped Thursday after it extended two “strategic” diamond licences for further two years, as it considered forming a joint venture to develop the projects.
Shares in Botswana Diamonds were 9.9% higher at 0.54 pence in London on Thursday.
Botswana Diamonds – through its wholly-owned Sunland Minerals Ltd subsidiary – extended the Prospecting Licences PL232 and PL235 in Botswana to the end of September 2021.
The firm explained the “key” licences were “strategically located” in the centre of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, covering 500 square kilometres. Botswana Diamonds has already identified “prospective drill ready targets” following “intensive” work at the sites.
Botswana Diamonds said it was “already in extended discussions” with a “major” diamond producer regarding the formation of a joint venture for the next phase of the work on the licences.
With London’s supercar season underway, it’s only natural that you will see a variety of Ford Fiestas, Volkswagen Polos and Vauxhall Corsas. Who are we kidding, eh?
The streets are actually packed with extravagant cars such as a £280,000 Rolls Royce Dawn, a £140,000 Porsche 911 GT3 and even a Bugatti Chiron worth an unbelievable £2.5 million. Wonder whether you can get it on finance.
Despite these, it was Russian model Daria Radionoca’s Swarovski crystal encrusted £350,000 Lamborghini Aventador that got the most attention.
According to the MailOnline, the 26 year old studied business management in London and now customises fur and leather products for wealthy clients.
So, now we know where she got the inspiration from herself, it is believed that the revamp took 700 man hours and over two months to apply two million of the crystals. Phew, bet she didn’t do that on her own.
Daria clearly likes her cars as well because she had previously owned a Lamborghini Huracan and a Mercedes CLS which she also adapted to suit her style. Wonder how much she forks out on insurance though…
Daria lives in Knightsbridge, central London, and is just one of 600 owners of the SuperVeloce version of the V12 model.
As well as this supercar, the model is CEO of two companies: DRJACKETS by Daria R. and a beauty salon called Royale Dolls Beauty.
She has over 150,000 followers on her personal Instagram account and in a recent Instagram Q&A on her story when she was asked how she could afford the whip, she said: “If you work as hard as I do – then you would afford one as well, even at a younger age. Whatever I show on Instagram – that’s what I decide to show.
“There is much more behind all these fancy pictures. I’m a very hardworking and ambitious person and I work 24/7, even when I sleep my mind is always on and always thinking about work and ££.
“I love luxury, I don’t want to depend on anyone – hence I’m working like crazy and being able to afford whatever I want.” Fair play to her.
When someone asked how she got insurance on the SV (SuperVeloce), she wrote: “Everything is possible, it’s just a matter of £££££. I’m paying way too much for insurance but this car is worth it”.
Five pieces created by contemporary high jewelry artist, Anna Hu, will be among the jewels being offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale on October 7.
The high jewels on offer will come from Hu’s latest collection, “Silk Road Music Collection.” Unveiled in Paris during the first week of July, it consists of a group of about a dozen jewels inspired by musical and cultural exchanges that took place on the Silk Road – an ancient trade route connecting the eastern and western parts of the world.
Leading the five pieces at the upcoming auction is the “Dunhuang Pipa Necklace,” set with a 100.02 carat fancy intense yellow diamond provided by Sotheby’s. Its estimate is $5 million – $6.25 million. The silhouette of this necklace resembles a Chinese pipa a four stringed Chinese lute attached to lines of a western musical staff in 18k white gold that flows in twists and waves, and sparkles with pavé diamond along the neckline.
Hu was inspired by images of women playing the pipa depicted on murals in Dunhuang, considered an oasis for travelers in China’s northwest desert area along the Silk Road. The necklace can be transformed into a brooch and earring.
“It is absolutely a pleasure to collaborate with Sotheby’s on this project and be given the opportunity to work with the 100.02 carat yellow diamond, which is a true gift from nature,” Hu said.
Yvonne Chu, acting head of department, Jewellery, Sotheby’s, said this necklace “is one of the most important jewelry pieces on offer this season.”
As with much of Hu’s work, this latest collection combines her passion for music and western art with the Chinese themes from her upbringing in Taiwan. A resident of New York for many years, Hu’s brand is known for creating one-of-a-kind pieces with rare gemstones crafted by skilled French-trained artisans.
