The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)
Buy and sell diamonds with the help of the experts
Twelve Indian diamond companies including Kiran Gems, Asian Star and Rosy Blue India, have signed three year contracts with ALROSA at the World Diamond Conference,
Each of the companies signed separate contracts with ALROSA and will buy rough diamonds worth USD 2.1 billion or about USD 700 million per year for a period of three years. This will assist the companies save considerable amount of commissions.
Russia and India to strengthen trade ties in gem and jewellery trade, By signing long term contracts, which include an agreement on direct supply of rough diamonds from Russia.
Business leaders from the two countries will sign contracts during the World Diamond Conference during President Vladimir Putin’s visit.
As the world’s largest manufacturing centre for cut and polished diamonds India produces 85 percent of the world’s polished supply, and Russia is the world’s largest miner of rough diamonds.
The diamond cutting and polishing factories in Namibia have been in decline, now employing only one thousand people.
The agreement between diamond producer De Beers and the Namibia Diamond Trading Company NDTC, which is equally owned by the two entities, currently supplies ten percent by value of all locally mined diamonds to the market.
The Namibian government is weighing up all options to provide more rough from (NDTC) to be supplied to the local cutting and polishing firms, said Minister Isak Katali.
International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of the state owned diamond miner on Monday after previously ordering the seizure of about $45 million of rough diamonds.
The rough diamonds eventual ownership depends on a separate claim by fourteen Dutch farmers, who are seeking compensation for land seizures. The court also ruled that the diamonds belong to Zimbabwean mining companies, rather than the government. The court will hear the farmer’s case in December.
President Vladimir Putin is visiting India later this week. Hopes are high for the signing of a diamond supply agreement with Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa and India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin will deliver speeches at the opening of the World Diamond Conference in New Delhi.
The speakers include De Beers Executive Director Stephen Lussier, Alrosa President Ilya Raschin and vice president Andrey Polyakov, Rio Tinto Diamonds CEO Jean Marc Lieberherr, and Endiama CEO Antonio Carlos Sumbula.
Government officials who will address at the event include Walter K. Chiadkwa, Minister of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe, and Ngoako Ramatlhodi, Mining Minister of South Africa.
Consumers can now save thousands of dollars on diamonds, with a technological breakthrough that allows Synthetic diamonds to be created in a lab.
Bissell said the lab diamonds are not different in any material way and have all the optical, chemical and physical properties of mined diamonds, and they’re 100 percent carbon because they’re genuine diamonds.
The lab created diamonds are grown in pressurized containers on a small piece of carbon known as a seed,. The ultimate result is a high quality Synthetic diamond with the same properties as a natural diamond.
John King of the Gemmological Institute said lab grown diamonds are essentially the same as natural ones, and it’s just a matter of educating consumers.
To keep up with the new technology equipment to test stones and prove natural or synthetic is available at laboratories.
Created diamonds do come with certification from some laboratories with regard to colour and clarity.
In Australia DCLA does not certificate treated or synthetic diamonds and guarantees all diamonds ever submitted have been tested and are natural as stated on the certificate.
NOTE: If you have a certificate or report which does not say the diamond is natural, it has NOT been tested.
The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research is part of the
De Beers group of companies.
Based in Antwerp and run by the world’s top diamond experts, the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research benefits from proprietary equipment of the De Beers group of companies that enables the most precise grading and assessment for both rough and polished diamonds
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A reported a loss of RUB 10.3 billion for the third quarter ending September 30, is primarily foreign exchange losses. ALROSA posted a profit of RUB 8.3 billion $180 million for 2013.
Western sanctions imposed in response to the Ukraine crisis have devalued the Ruble by 27 percent since January.
ALROSA reported operating profit fell only 2 percent year on year to $258 million. Revenue rose 8 percent to $909 million with the average price of its gem-quality diamonds down 9 percent from the previous quarter to $182 per carat.
The company noted that the average price fell mainly due to a change in its product mix, while market prices rose 3 percent.
A blue diamond has set a new record price of $US32.6 million at Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The magnificent blue diamond broke the world record for any diamond of its colour, and set the new record for the price per carat for diamond of any colour.
A Hong Kong collector purchased the 9.75 carat pear shaped diamond after 20 minutes of bidding at the Thursday evening auction.
Colleagues and friends,
The diamond industry is facing a serious challenge to its integrity which could lead to major consumer confidence problems, if diamonds are sold with overstated certification. I want to stress that this is an industry problem that must be resolved by the industry in order to retain consumer confidence in our product and sustain and develop the international diamond trade.
Recently, awareness was raised regarding problems existing within a specific laboratory group and the overstating of grading from certain laboratories in this group, which has led to the exclusion of said laboratories certificates by the Rapaport Group.
Your attention is drawn to the following issues:
(a) Ethical grading and certification are the most basic principles of the industry and these cannot be compromised.
(b) As part of the sales transaction the seller of diamonds provides a guarantee to the buyer of what is being sold and this forms a binding contract between the two parties. The seller cannot later hide behind an overstated grading report claiming ignorance as he/she will be held responsible regardless of any grading report supplied with the diamond(s) being sold. Diamantaires cannot hide behind certificates with the excuse that these goods sell cheaper. There is a common standard of colours and purities, and it is not about price but quality.
(c) In blatant cases the misrepresentation can amount to fraud with criminal consequences, depending on a countries consumer laws.
(d) Member Bourses must implement action in countries experiencing this kind of practice:
(i) If the offending party is a member, then the bourse concerned should take action under its own rules.
(ii) If the offending party is not a member, then the bourse concerned should report it to that countries consumer rights regulator in order to protect consumers rights..
On behalf of the Board and with regard to this issue, I commit the WFDB to ensure that we resolve matters as quickly as possible. We cannot reserve our position whilst this kind of practice prevails from a few laboratories that are damaging the entire diamond industry. Decisive and immediate action is required to eliminate this practice and the WFDB is in terms of its mandate compelled to take the lead. To this end a meeting will shortly be called of all the major laboratories to find common ground on the way forward.
I call on all responsible stakeholders across the world to stand together to eliminate this practice as it will harm our industry in a way that could dwarf any previous problems faced by the diamond industry.
I look forward to your full and ongoing support in this matter.
Ernie Blom