An unnamed diamond trader is suspected of stealing diamonds valued at around US$1 million from several dealers in the Johannesburg diamond center in South Africa, according to a report in The Star.
The diamonds were apparently handed over to the diamond trader with the expectation that payment for them would be made within a few days, as is the custom in the diamond trade. The news source says an industry insider told them that the man was known to have a gambling problem and it was discovered that he had pawned the diamonds and gambled the money away over a period of two weeks.
The diamond trader is said to be in hiding, and his life is believed to be in danger.
South African Diamond Dealers Club Treasurer Michael Ellis is quoted by the news source saying that he is aware of the incident, and that the man is not a member of the Diamond Dealers Club, although he is known within gem circles. "You get a few incidents like this ever so often, but it happens with fringe members, not mainstream dealers," said Ellis, as quoted by The Star, adding that when any theft takes place, a ban on the dealer is placed worldwide, meaning that they will never be able to work in the industry anywhere in the world.
Debswana’s Managing Director Balisi Bonyongo said, the Diamond Company will cut diamond production at its mines as the company tries to match demand in the short to medium term.
The company would prefer to keep the diamonds in the ground until the market to recovers.
Bonyongo said that the company expected the market to return to normal after it slowed in the last year. In part due the liquidity constraints in India.
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According to the police, robbers used heavy cutting equipment to break into the vault at Hatton Garden. The vault founded in 1954 is in use by almost 300 diamond and gold dealers and more than 50 stores.
The robbers broke into an office upstairs and then abseiled down a disused lift shaft. They then cut through steel exterior walls and finally broke into the vault on Friday. The gang then opened 300 boxes belonging to Diamond dealers and jewellers.
The gang took advantage of the holiday period to open the boxes. This robbery dwarfs any of Britain’s previous biggest heists, with an estimated lost exceeding 300 million USD.
The major investment in Surat facility reflects a world class diamond cutting and polishing centre characterised by skill, innovation and the effective use of technology.
De Beers the world’s leading diamond company is considering a diamond auction centre in India.
This laboratory is the second of its kind in the world owned International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research.
The laboratories primary function will be to select and inscribe Forevermark diamonds with the unique serial number to deliver an accurate and reliable grading for diamonds.
De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company established in 1888 experts in exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds.
Biggest reforms in a decade from De Beers’s over concerns of the financial stability and transparency of their sightholders.
The world’s largest supplier by value is changing the deal, introducing tougher rules for companies wanting to join its coveted group of sightholders.
De Beers will also insist customers hold a specified proportion of equity in their businesses, making them less reliant on bank borrowing.
Bank finance has receded and no new banks are coming forward after Antwerp Diamond Bank closed to new business in September. Over the past two years banks have cut credit lines to the diamond trade, causing liquidity problems and a sharp fall in rough diamond prices.
The De Beers group which sells $6bn of unpolished diamonds annually will clarify the financial situation of all the companies. The belief is transparency will benefit the whole sector.
Orange / yellow Orange one of the rarest colours found in natural diamond.
In 2014 a spectacular orange fancy vivid pear shape diamond mined in South Africa, weighing 14.82 carats was auctioned for a record price of $2.39 million per carat or $35.54m for the diamond. Setting a new record price per carat for any fancy colour.
The 1.03 ct Intense Fancy yellow Orange Round brilliant is made rarer because of the combination of the size, shape, colour and clarity.
A meteorite impact 35 million years ago in Siberian, is said to have brought enough industrial diamonds which could supply the globe for thousands of years.
The discovery of meteorite crater known as Popigai in the early 1970s contains more industrial quality diamonds than all the present known deposits around the world.
The Diamonds crystal formation makes them much harder than gem quality diamonds, and could make them important in high grade industrial uses.
The meteorite crater is 100 kilometres in diameter was kept secret for close to two decades.
