Tuesday 20th September. Two diamonds submitted to the DCLA laboratory by a Sydney jeweller were identified as laboratory created.
No mention of treatments or origin were forthcoming as per the instruction of international industry bodies and associations. The diamonds are both high colour, one of VS1 clarity the other Si2 clarity.
Both having no visual identifying characteristics even under high magnification. The notation of laboratory created usually lasered on the girdle was not present and may have been removed.
The diamonds were screened out by the absence of nitrogen in the carbon bond, and identified positively as type two HPHT by the growth structure.
Dealers and jeweller wanting further information can call the DCLA trust line 1300 413 425
HRD Antwerp has invalidated 156 diamond grading certificates and fired three employees who accepted a financial incentive for tampering with the reports at its Mumbai laboratory.
A Mumbai-based trader attempted to improve the grade of diamonds he submitted to the laboratory by enticing three full-time staff members, Peter Macken, HRD’s chief executive officer, told Rapaport News.
The client, a “one or two person” firm, has been banned from working with the grading company in future, while the employees admitted to their actions and were subsequently dismissed, Macken added. The diamonds in questions were submitted to the lab for their first grading.
HRD’s internal controls picked up on a discrepancy between the stated grade in two places. That alerted checkers to a problem, leading to their discovery that the reports had been tampered with. “We uncovered it pretty early on,” Macken (pictured) said. HRD filed a complaint with the local authorities and has engaged with external lawyers in India and Belgium. The company released a list of the reports under investigation, which relate to diamonds ranging from 1.01 carats to 3.96 carats with a combined weight of 327.25 carats.
HRD is offering a free check to anyone holding one of the documents. The list relates to reports that may have been affected, but not all of them were definitely altered, Macken stressed. “HRD Antwerp strongly believes that the most effective way to strengthen consumer confidence and safeguard the integrity of the global diamond trade is by making these acts public and by holding those who commit these acts fully accountable for their actions,” he said a separate statement.
RapNet, Rapaport’s diamond trading network, has removed and blocked the reports from its website. As of Thursday morning, 11 of the reports were on RapNet and have been removed, while 70 have been listed in the past but are no longer active.
Petra Diamonds announced that it had recovered a 138.57-carat, Type IIa, D-colour diamond at its historic Cullinan mine near Pretoria in South Africa. The company said the diamond would be offered for sale in Johannesburg later this month.
Swarovski, the Austrian company famed for its signature crystals, is now selling synthetic diamonds.
A Swarovski spokesperson confirmed that the renowned jewellery brand has launched Diama, its first lab-grown diamond line, marking a shift for a company that has traditionally sold diamond simulants.
A Swarovski statement says Diama is an amalgam of Dia for diamond and Ama for love. All the diamonds are set in 18k gold, it says. “Swarovski Created Diamonds are identical to mined diamonds according to their optical, physical, and chemical properties,” it says. “They are diamonds with all of the essential qualities of a diamond, only the origin is a laboratory, not the earth.”
DCLA verification, loan valuations of your diamond or diamond jewellery.
DCLA in conjunction with Assetline are now offering valuation services and assistance in getting short term loans with the established, reputable short term secured asset lender.
With a national presence, offering finance in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and WA. The loans are available from 1 month to 12 months. Assetline short term lender will fund up to $5,000,000 per individual transaction.
The individual loan approval process is designed to provide you with a fast and efficient funding solution.
If you have a diamond certified by GIA, HRD or DCLA call us for an appointment.
Uncertified diamond jewellery or estate jewellery is welcome for assessment.
Assetline Capital has been recognized as Australia’s leading short term lender in the market and has been awarded the “Best Short Lender of the Year” award by The Adviser in both 2014 and 2015.
Petra Diamonds has found a large 121.26 carat white diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The rough diamond is a Type II diamond of exceptional colour and clarity, and is an outstanding example of the large, high quality diamonds for which the Cullinan mine is known.
The Cullinan mine is north east of Pretoria in South Africa, and was home to the largest rough gem diamonds ever discovered, the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond.
Sotheby’s teamed up with two other firms to collectively own the Pink Star diamond, which has been valued at $72 million.
In November 2013, the oval mixed cut, 59.60-carat, fancy vivid pink, internally flawless stone was sold to diamond cutter Isaac Wolf for a world auction record of $83.2 million in Geneva.
The gem was returned to Sotheby’s after Wolf defaulted. “Diacore and Mellen Inc. have acquired an ownership interest in one of the world’s natural treasures: the remarkable Pink Star diamond,” Sotheby’s said in a statement. “The three parties have formally partnered to achieve the value of the 59.60-carat stone, which Sotheby’s holds in its inventory.” No other details, including financial, were disclosed. However, a Sotheby’s annual report published in February 2014 shows the diamond was recorded in the company’s inventory at about $72 million.
It remains the largest internally flawless, fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America, Sotheby’s said. Diacore purchased the original 132.50-carat rough and took two years to cut and polish it, the statement added.
Diacore is a diamond manufacturer headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mellen Inc. is a family-run private jeweler based in New York.
The exceptional diamond was recoverd from a mine in South Africa, originaly named the Steinmetz Pink.
Christie’s will sell the Cullinan Dream on June 9, the 24.18 carat is the largest fancy intense blue diamond ever offered at auction.
The diamond will headline the Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction. Hot on the heels of the May 18 sale of the Oppenheimer Blue, which sold for $57.5 million USD, setting a new record for any jewel at auction.
The sale of the 14.62 ct. Oppenheimer diamond broke an earlier record price for another blue gem, the Blue Moon, which sold for $48.5 million in November and still holds the record for a per carat price. Christie’s has given the Cullinan stone it a $23 – $29 million sale estimate.
The Cullinan is relatively new diamond but is notable for its provenance, It is one of four blues cut from a piece of 122.52 ct. blue rough recovered in 2014 at the legendary Cullinan mine in South Africa.
