Earlier this month, Lucara Diamond Corp. recovered a 127 carat top white diamond from its Karowe mine. And the good new just keeps coming. This time the company has recovered a 240 carat top white gem from the same mine.
Since mining began in 2012 at Karowe, a total of 43 diamonds heavier than 200 carats have been recovered, including 12 stones larger than 300 carats.
Lucara CEO Eira Thomas commented, “This top white 240 carat gem diamond was mined from the M/PK(S) unit within the South lobe, providing continuing confirmation that large, high quality gem diamonds are recovered throughout the kimberlite, in all lobes and phases on a regular basis.”
Shares of Petra Diamonds Ltd slid as much as 10 percent on Monday after lower diamond prices at its flagship Cullinan mine and an increase in net debt took the shine off higher half-year revenue.
The company has been trying to keep a lid on debt after heavy investments and a stronger South African rand had burdened the miner, which pays in rands and earns in dollars.
Petra’s net debt jumped to $557.2 million (422.06 million pounds) in the six months to Dec. 31 from $538.9 million as at Sept. 30. The company was forced to raise $178 million last May by issuing equity to cut its debt burden.
Rough diamond prices fell to $96 per carat from $140 per carat in the previous year at the Cullinan mine, which in 1905 yielded the Cullinan diamond the largest rough gem diamond ever found and now part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
“The significantly lower realised Cullinan pricing and the impact on cashflow generation sees us take renewed caution,” said RBC, which cut the miner’s price target to 40 pence from 65 pence after the company’s half-year report.
Petra posted an 8 percent jump in revenue to $207.1 million, about 10 percent below RBC forecasts of $230 million, hurt by lower pricing at Cullinan. The company stuck to its production forecast 3.8 – 4.0 million carats for fiscal 2019.
Shares of the miner, which runs four mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania, were 8.5 percent lower at 41.12 pence.
De Beers’ sales volume fell 4% last year due to weakened demand for lower value diamonds in the second half.
The miner sold 33.7 million carats of rough, compared with 35.1 million carats in 2017, as clients bought fewer of its cheaper stones, it reported Thursday.
De Beers’ average price for sales excluding some sales by its joint-venture partners rose 6% to $171 per carat for the year, reflecting the larger proportion of higher-value goods. As a result, rough-sales value increased 2% to $5.39 billion for 2018, according to Rapaport estimates based on De Beers’ sight reports. The company’s average price index, which tracks its rough prices on a like-for-like basis, declined 1% in the second half, but ended 2018 up 1% versus the previous year.
Production grew 6% to 35.3 million carats, exceeding sales volume.
Sales jumped 21% to 9.9 million carats in the fourth quarter, with revenues also increasing, as the company allowed sightholders to defer purchases from the September sight to later months. Production grew 12% to 9.1 million carats for the quarter.
Canadian diamond miner Stornoway Diamonds has produced 1.32 million carats in the 2018 financial year, missing its guidance of “at least 1.35 million carats” for the year, Mining Weekly reports.
President and CEO Patrick Godin said that 2018 was a “challenging year” for the company, as the ramp-up of underground production of the Renard 2 underground mine was “impacted by delays in equipment deliveries, a competitive labour market and the presence of more-than-expected low-grade mineralisation on the northern margin of the Renard 2 orebody”. However, the company’s third and fourth quarter production results “demonstrated significant improvements in grade and carat recoveries”. For 2019, Stornoway expects to produce between 1.8 million and 2.10 million carats.
As for sales, in 2018 Stornoway sold 1.04 million carats for gross proceeds of C$141 million ($106,362,645). In the fourth quarter, sales amounted to 253,929 carats, netting C$31 million (23,384,695).
Luk Fook’s same store sales dropped 10% in the third fiscal quarter amid economic weakness in greater China.
The depreciation of the Chinese yuan against the Hong Kong dollar led customers to purchase cheaper products in the three months ending December 31, the retailer said Thursday.
Luk Fook, one of Hong Kong’s largest jewelers, derives a significant proportion of its revenue from tourists visiting the municipality from the mainland. The weakening of the yuan during 2018 reduced the purchasing power of those consumers, causing same store sales at branches open for more than a year to fall 9% year on year in Hong Kong and Macau. Same store sales in mainland China slid 14%.
“The recent market sentiment was adversely impacted by the US China trade war, the depreciation of the yuan , and the downward pressure in the stock and property markets,” the company added.
Same-store gold sales in Hong Kong and Macau dropped 9%, while gem set jewelry purchases fell 8%. The currency effect led to a double digit decline in the average selling price of gem set products, the jeweler noted.
In China, same store sales of gold products plunged 16%, while sales of gem set jewelry decreased 5% for the period.
Luk Fook’s results are for its self operated stores, and exclude licensed shops, which form the majority of its stores on the mainland.
Kim Kardashian has splurged on a new accessory diamonds for her teeth.
The reality star debuted her ‘new grillz’ on Friday posing a picture to her Instagram page.
The image showed a close up of her blindingly white teeth, with the lower teeth all completely covered in tiny diamonds, and her upper teeth baring a tiny cross.
Kim Kardashian shows off her new grillz
Kim Kardashian
The grill looks to be one Kim collected in November, when she posted a photo after getting her mouth molded for the custom design by jewelry designer Dolly Cohen.
Kim’s husband Kanye West is rarely seen without a fancy grill, and the mother of three has added a few of her own to her jewelry collection.
Back in August she unveiled a Kim grill, which spelled out her name on her lower teeth in diamonds.
The luxury jeweler is leading a new era of diamond transparency with its Diamond Source Initiative.
Tiffany Diamonds
Always wanted to know where your diamonds come from? Now you’ll be able to with Tiffany & Co.’s new Diamond Source Initiative that champions an era of diamond transparency.
In an industry first, Tiffany will be the only global luxury jeweler to provide consumers with geographic sourcing information specific to their diamond as the brand believes that knowing provenance is critical to ensuring responsible sourcing.
“Tiffany & Co. has long been committed to diamond traceability and going above and beyond industry norms to promote the protection of the environment and human rights,” said Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer, Tiffany & Co. “A transparent journey of responsible sourcing reflects the many positive and far-reaching benefits along every step of the diamond supply chain.”
Building upon 20 years of investment in responsible sourcing, the Tiffany Diamond Source Initiative will allow the brand to trace each of its individually registered diamonds (0.18 carats and larger) by a unique serial number that’s etched by a laser and invisible to the naked eye.
The initiative has already been rolled out and today, provenance information is displayed alongside a selection of diamond rings in Tiffany stores around the world. In addition, geographic sourcing information for all individually registered diamonds will be made available to consumers via Tiffany & Co. sales professionals and customer service.
Tiffany’s diamonds
By the end of March 2019, Tiffany Diamond Certificates will also include provenance for individually sourced diamonds and in 2020, the brand will begin sharing the craftsman journey (such as cutting and polishing workshop location) of its diamonds as well.
Chow Tai Fook followed a string of major retailers that have noted a slowdown in greater China as the jeweler’s same-store sales fell in the three months that ended December 31.
“A decline in same-store sales was recorded for both mainland China and Hong Kong and Macau markets in the third quarter amid uncertain macroeconomic environment,” the company said in a trading update Monday.
Same-store sales — at locations open for more than a year — dropped 7% year on year in China and 6% in Hong Kong and Macau. Same-store sales of gold products fell 11% in China and by 6% in Hong Kong and Macau, while gem-set jewelry declined 5% and 8%, respectively.
Other retailers have expressed similar caution about the region, with Cartier owner Richemont noting a slowdown in Hong Kong due to lower tourist spending resulting from a weaker yuan versus the Hong Kong dollar. Tech giants Apple and Alibaba also recently expressed concern about a decline in the region.
Hong Kong’s government this month noted that slower retail growth reflected more cautious consumption sentiment stemming from external uncertainties such as the US-China trade tensions and volatility in global financial markets.
Chow Tai Fook saw lower sales volume but slightly better average prices due to a shift toward higher weights in its gold products, which account for approximately 60% of its total retail revenue. The average price of its gem-set jewelry fell 4% to HKD 6,600 ($841) in China and by 3% to HKD 11,500 ($1,466) in Hong Kong and Macau.
The jeweler reported that total retail sales grew 1% in China, boosted by 259 new points of sale that opened in the country during the quarter, while overall sales in other markets slipped 1%.
Eurostar Diamond Traders has entered restructuring proceedings in Belgium, having amassed substantial debts, according to the company’s court-appointed administrator.
The Antwerp-based diamond manufacturer owes more than $500 million to creditors across its global operations, Alain Van den Cloot, one of the administrators, estimated in an email to Rapaport News.
Two Antwerp courts designated Van den Cloot and a second attorney, Nathalie Vermeersch, as provisional administrators for Eurostar’s Belgian business last month. Their role is to help the company protect its assets and pay off its debts.
“The reasons why [Eurostar] suffered those severe losses the last two years are under investigation,” explained Van den Cloot, a lawyer at de Clippele Advocaten. “Receivables should cover some debts, but if that’s still the situation, I can’t assess right now.”
The court documents list the trustees of bankrupt Antwerp-based diamond company Exelco among those that petitioned the court, as Eurostar owed the Exelco estate $600,320 for an unpaid invoice.
However, Eurostar was also the largest trade creditor of Exelco’s US affiliate, as Exelco North America owed it about $6 million, according to that company’s November 2017 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Eurostar has lost its status as a De Beers sightholder, but is still operating, Van den Cloot added.
The first competitive bid sale of large and premium quality diamonds from the Lulo diamond mine will take place on January 31, 2019, in the Angolan capital of Luanda.
According to a press release issued by Australia’s Lucapa Diamond, owner of a 40% stake in the prolific mine, the stones for sale will the first diamonds offered in a competitive process under the new diamond marketing policy enacted by President Joao Lourenco and the Angolan Council of Ministers.
The bid is organised in by state owned diamond trading firm SODIAM while the diamonds are being offered by Sociedade Mineira Do Lulo, which holds the alluvial mining licence to the Lulo concession and works in partnership with Lucapa, who has a 35-year license for the project. Empresa Nacional de Diamantes E.P. and Rosas & Petalas, also form part of the partnership.
Seven exceptional Lulo diamonds, including a 46 carat pink and six top colour Type IIa white gems ranging from 114 carats to 43 carats, will be showcased.
“Lulo diamonds have already established a reputation as being among the highest quality gems in the world. Together with our Angolan partners, Lucapa is delighted that SML will now start showcasing these exceptional diamonds to the strong interest shown by the world’s leading diamantaires,” Lucapa Diamond Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Wetherall, said in the media brief.
Lulo, a 3,000 square kilometre concession located in Angola’s diamond rich Lunda Norte region, hosts the world’s highest dollar per carat alluvial diamonds and has produced some of the largest gem-quality rocks in the planet.
Angola is the world’s No.4 diamond producer by value and No.6 by volume.
