Gem Diamonds announced the recovery of a 115 carat, top white colour Type IIa diamond from the Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
115 carat top white diamond recovered by Gem Diamonds
Date set for Mugabe diamonds hearing
A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on Wednesday about diamond corruption alleged to have cost billions of dollars during his rule.
Mugabe, who was ousted from office in November after a brief military takeover, has not commented on whether he will appear before the committee.
A parliamentary notice for May 23 was released on Monday.
“Subject to confirmation, oral evidence from His Excellency, the former president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, comrade RG Mugabe, on diamond mining revenues,” it read.
Mugabe, 94, who is in frail health, was also called to give evidence last month but the meeting was postponed.
Lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost $15 billion in revenue due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.
No one in Mugabe’s office was available to confirm whether he would appear.
The former president, whose own regime was accused of syphoning off diamond profits, has described his ousting as a coup.
He has not been seen in public since November, though he hosted a private birthday party in February at “Blue Roof” – the lavish mansion where he and his wife Grace, 52, have been living in apparent seclusion in recent months.
Mugabe was replaced by his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, a veteran loyalist in the ruling ZANU-PF party who was backed by senior military officers.
Zimbabwe discovered alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa, in the east of the country, over 10 years ago.
Rights groups have accused security forces of using brutal methods to control the scattered deposits.
The parliament committee, headed by independent MP Temba Mliswa, has already interviewed former ministers, police and intelligence chiefs on mining at Chiadzwa.
Zimbabwe is due to hold elections in July or August, the first since Mugabe was unseated, with the Zanu-PF widely predicted to retain power.
AFP
Meghan Markle Accessorizes Her Wedding Dress with Cartier Diamonds
Meghan Markle’s engagement ring may be the pièce de résistance of her royal wedding jewelry but the rest of her accessories require notice.
The diamond bandeau tiara, made from diamonds and platinum, was made in 1932, with the centre brooch dating back to 1893.
The bandeau is formed as a flexible band of eleven sections, pierced with interlaced ovals and pavé set with large and small brilliant diamonds. The centre is set with a detachable brooch of 10 brilliant diamonds.
To complement her beautiful tiara, Markle kept the rest of her jewelry simple, opting for a pair of diamond stud earrings and a stunning bracelet.
No necklace here the Duchess kept the boatneck of her wedding gown clean and modern.
Markle is also wearing Galanterie de Cartier earrings and Reflection de Cartier bracelet made by French jeweller Cartier.
Rare Diamonds Blow Away Estimates at Sotheby’s
The royal pedigreed Farnese Blue as well as two jumbo size D flawless stones all zoomed past their estimates at Sotheby’s May 15 auction in Geneva, showing that life remains in the high end gem market.
The 6.16 ct. Farnese Blue nabbed $6.7 million ($1.09 million per ct.), a substantial improvement over its $3.6 million $5.2 million estimate. Its buyer was anonymous.
The pear shape blue gray Farnese’s price was undoubtedly boosted by its unique heritage: Originally given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, as a wedding present in 1715, it passed through four royal families, although its existence was a closely guarded secret until recently. The gem (pictured, below) is believed to have originated from India’s historic Golconda diamond mine, one of the world’s first gem producers and the source of the Hope and Wittelsbach diamonds.
Daniela Mascetti, senior director and deputy chairman of jewelry at Sotheby’s Europe, said in a statement: “The Farnese Blue is quite simply an unforgettable diamond, and everyone who set their eyes on it was mesmerized by its extraordinary color the rich blue of the deepest ocean.”
Also doing well were two Botswana mined D flawless type IIa diamonds a 51.71 ct. round (below, left) and a 50.39 ct. oval (below, right). Both topped their estimates as well as the price fetched by the Farnese Blue. The round sold for $9.3 million ($178,918 per ct.), and the oval fetched $8.1 million ($161,219 per ct.).
If all that weren’t enough, two purplish pink diamonds set auction records. A 9.7 ct. fancy light purplish pink (below, left) fetched $2.5 million ($267,290 per ct.), setting a new record price for a fancy light purplish pink as well as a new record price per ct. A 2.63 ct. fancy vivid purplish pink (below, right) fetched $2.4 million ($917,443 per ct.), which is a new record price for a fancy vivid purplish pink.
All in all, the auction set five world records and sold 80 percent of its lots, with 70 percent of the lots selling above their high estimates.
Top: Caroline Lang, chairman of Sotheby’s Switzerland, auctioning the Farnese Blue (all photos courtesy of Sotheby’s).
Blues Lead Fancy Colour Prices
Fancy blue diamonds out performed other major color categories in price terms during the first quarter, the Fancy Color Research Foundation said.
Prices for fancy blues jumped 5% year on year for the three months ending March 31, according to the FCRF, which released its quarterly Fancy Color Diamond Index on Monday.
By contrast, prices of fancy pink diamonds declined 1.7%, while the index for yellows slipped 0.6%, the organization said. The overall index for fancy color diamonds edged up 0.1%.
Vivid blues and vivid pinks weighing 2 carats showed the best performance in their respective color categories during the quarter.
The Fancy Color Diamond Index tracks prices of fancy yellow, pink and blue diamonds in Hong Kong, New York and Tel Aviv.
Source: diamonds.net
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Diamond Organizations Launch Banking Platform
Two leading industry organizations launched a digital know your customer (KYC) platform at a major banking summit in Mumbai on Friday.
The summit titled “Diamond & Jewellery Financing 2018 Mitigating Risks Efficiently” addressed the financial industry’s concerns about the diamond sector in the wake of recent fraud cases. The new platform, released by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), will bring greater transparency to the diamond industry, and make regulatory compliance more efficient by helping with the due-diligence process, the Belgian organization said.
MyKYCBank is a global compliance platform for the diamond industry. Users can share KYC data with other companies located in Antwerp and India, as well as banks and other financial institutions, the AWDC explained.
“This initiative will improve confidence and boost lending to the sector, and…ensure better sharing of information and transparency and growth of this SME small and medium sized enterprise sector,” India’s Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said at the summit. “It is important for the banking sector to support the gems and jewelry industry, as it forms an integral part of the country’s gross domestic product.”
The new platform will lower compliance risks for banks, and improve confidence in the sector, said AWDC CEO Ari Epstein.
Source: diamonds.net
Robert Mugabe’s appearance in diamonds inquiry delayed
Former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe will not appear before a parliament committee this week to answer questions on multi-billion-dollar corruption in the diamond industry after the hearing was postponed, a lawmaker said on Monday.
The 94 year old Mugabe had been summoned to appear before the mines and energy committee on Wednesday.
But the member of parliament who is leading the inquiry said the hearing had been postponed to a date yet to be decided by the clerk of parliament.
“The committee had already resolved to invite the former president to give evidence,” Temba Mliswa, mines and energy committee chairperson told AFP.
“It is the clerk of parliament who will write to him (Mugabe) to come to parliament.”
Mugabe’s name did not appear on the parliament committee meetings scheduled for this week.
The lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost $15-billion (R188-billion) due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.
The committee has already interviewed former ministers, police and intelligence chiefs to answer on diamond mining operations at the vast Chiadzwa gem fields.
Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was ousted last year after the military took over briefly and his once loyal Zanu PF party turned against him.
The former ruler, whose own regime was accused of siphoning off diamond profits, has described his ousting as a coup, and that it must be “undone”.
Zimbabwe discovered alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa, in the east of the country, over 10 years ago, and rights groups have accused security forces of using brutal methods to control the scattered deposits.
Rights groups say over 200 people were killed during operations to remove illegal panners from the area.
Amid allegations of massive looting, Zimbabwe allowed several diamond companies to mine the area – most of them as joint ventures between the government and Chinese firms.
Source: AFP
The Farnese Blue diamond
The Farnese Blue diamond a 6.16 carat pear shaped, GIA graded as Fancy dark gray blue.
Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels in Geneva will auction the diamond on May 15.
The history of the diamond : Recovered in Indian Golconda region, the diamond was first given to Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain in 1714.
It then passed to her son Philip, Duke of Parma, and through various Italian nobles ending with the Habsburg family.
Sarine Secures First Retailer for 4Cs Grading
Japanese jewelry retailer K-Uno is the first to adopt Sarine Technologies’ 4Cs diamond grading reports.
K-Uno has implement the artificial intelligence based platform at all its stores across Japan. The record will add additional features, including 4Cs grades, to the current Sarine Profile report, which lists characteristics such as light performance and hearts and arrows. The report will use artificial intelligence to grade qualities such as clarity and colour.
“Our 4Cs report creates an intuitive digital experience that will help engage K-Uno customers throughout the diamond-purchase journey,” Sarine CEO David Block said last week. “We expect additional retailers in the Asia Pacific region to soon be adopting the new reports.”