A year ago, three people caused the theft of € 1 billion diamonds in Germany. One of these diamonds was encrusted in a 16th century sword. Police raided apartments in Berlin in the morning and arrested three suspects suspected of theft at the Green Vault Museum last year. Police searched 18 apartments, garages and vehicles and seized digital data, clothing and tools.
Arrest in different parts of the country It was an operation of such magnitude that 1,638 officers were involved, which hampered traffic. Three people from Germany have been arrested and will be brought before a judge. Force said the arrests were made in different parts of the country. However, little information has been given on this subject. Security camera footage showed two people breaking into the museum and entering a window grill.
Includes many diamonds One of the stolen items was a sword that contained 9 large diamonds and 770 small diamonds. At the same time, the 49-carat Dresden white diamonds were worn on the shoulder. These are among the most valuable gems that were included in the collection of the former ruler August the Strong. Police say thieves may have turned off alarm systems by cutting off the power.
Difficult to assess Museum director Marion Ackerman said last year that the material used in the jewelry was not very valuable, but overall it was worth more. He said that these gems are a treasure trove of art and culture and that it is difficult to assess them. Another director of the museum, Dirk Syndrum, said that these decorations were in some way equivalent to World Heritage. In addition to diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds were also among the stolen sets, he said.
Recovered from the famous Cullinan Mine in South Africa, these blue diamonds are among the world’s most expensive
Five blue diamonds have been recovered from Petra Diamonds’ famous Cullinan mine in South Africa.
They are among the world’s most expensive diamonds, and were formed deep within the Earth about 400 miles below the surface, which is four times as deep as white diamonds. The element boron, which is what gives the stones their blue colour, combines with carbon and crystallises under extreme pressure and heat.
The sales tender for the five Type IIb blue diamonds will close later this month, on November 24, following viewings in Antwerp, Hong Kong and New York. They weigh 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats, respectively.
Type II diamonds contain no detectable nitrogen in their chemical structure, which means they boast exceptional transparency.
Blue diamonds are so rare that most people, even in the jewellery industry, never have a chance to see one. It’s incredibly unusual that these five diamonds were all recovered within the space of one week’s production in September.
Their birthplace, the Cullinan mine, is one of the most important sources of blue diamonds. It’s also the origin of the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond, which was cut to form the 530 carat Great Star of Africa and the 317 carat Second Star of Africa, which are set into the British Crown Jewels.
It’s the first time that five rough blue diamonds have been offered for sale at the same time. In 2013, a 25.5 carat blue diamond was sold by Petra Diamonds for over US$16.9 million.
A fancy pink diamond ring by Meister was the top seller at the Bonhams London Jewels sale, garnering $1.1 million USD.
The piece, with a step-cut 3.62 carat center stone and designed in 1968 by Meister, exceeded its high estimate of $989,417 USD at the November 12 auction, Bonhams said last week.
A diamond brooch from the collection of Dame Joan Collins, designed by Van Cleef & Arpels, fetched $161,892 USD, more than six times its high valuation. It was part of a collection of the actress’s jewels that saw 100% of items find buyers, with the final sales total three times higher than the auctioneer had estimated. A portion of the proceeds from Collins’s jewelry will be donated to the Shooting Star Children’s Hospice, of which she is a patron.
Other notable items at the auction included a sapphire and diamond ring, which fetched $189,865 USD against a high estimate of $131,851 USD, and a three-stone diamond ring, which brought in $132,179 USD, nearly doubling its estimate.
In total, the auction achieved $5 million USD, with Bonhams selling 75% of items on offer.
“Despite the auction taking place behind closed doors, the bidding remained spirited and the results demonstrate that high quality pieces with extraordinary provenance continue to captivate buyers around the world,” said Jean Ghika, global head of jewelry for Bonhams.
Alrosa’s Spirit of the Rose has achieved the highest price for any purple-pink diamond, selling to an anonymous bidder for nearly $27 million at Sotheby’s Geneva.
The oval modified brilliant-cut, 14.83-carat, fancy-vivid-purple-pink, internally flawless, type II stone, named for the famous Russian ballet, sold for $26.6 million, beating its low estimate of $23 million. The diamond, which fetched $1.8 million per carat, led the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels live auction Wednesday, which garnered $52.2 million in total, Sotheby’s said.
The purchase comes on the heels of the recent closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia, which produced more than 90% of the world’s pink diamonds. Prices for stones of that color are likely to soar in the coming years, experts have noted.
“The Spirit of the Rose caught the imagination of everyone who had the chance to see it,” said Benoit Repellin, head of the Sotheby’s Geneva Magnificent Jewels auction. “With its size, beautiful color, perfect cut and oval shape, it is a wonder of nature, steeped in Russia’s century-long diamond tradition and cultural heritage. It fully deserves the price achieved tonight, which is also testament to the growing appreciation and awareness of the great scarcity of pink diamonds around the world.”
Sotheby’s also saw strong prices for white diamonds at the auction, with 10 out of 11 stones on offer selling above their estimates. A cushion-shaped, 18.03-carat, D-color, flawless, type IIa diamond fetched $1.9 million against a high estimate of $1.1 million, while a pear-shaped, 102.41-carat, light-brown diamond of VVS2 clarity brought in $1.3 million, exceeding its high valuation.
Noble jewels were in demand as well, Sotheby’s said, led by a Colombian emerald and diamond parure from the collection of the first Marquis de Guirior, viceroy of New Granada and viceroy of Peru. That piece also surpassed its high estimate, fetching $1.1 million.
The Karowe mine has produced a 998-carat diamond, the latest in a string of large rough stones from the lucrative deposit in Botswana.
Lucara Diamond Corp., which owns Karowe, will work with manufacturing partner HB Antwerp to assess how to maximize value from the rough, the miner said Wednesday. The unbroken, high-white, clivage stone — meaning it needs to be split before further processing — came from the EM/PK(S) unit of the site’s south lobe, which has yielded some of the world’s biggest and most famous diamonds.
“Lucara is extremely pleased with the continued recovery of large, high-quality diamonds from the south lobe of the Karowe mine,” said CEO Eira Thomas. “To recover two [500-carat-plus] diamonds in 10 months, along with the many other high-quality diamonds across all the size ranges, is a testament to the unique aspect of the resource at Karowe and the mine’s ability to recover these large and rare diamonds.”
The EM/PK(S) area produced the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona in 2015, as well as the 1,758-carat Sewelô, which HB bought in January this year in collaboration with luxury brand Louis Vuitton.
The Belgian manufacturer later agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s rough above 10.8 carats for the remainder of the year. Last week, Lucara announced the sale of a 549-carat diamond from the same high-value patch of Karowe, with HB and Louis Vuitton again partnering on the stone.
The arrangement with HB prevented a heavier decline in Lucara’s sales in the third quarter, the first period in which income from the partnership started appearing in the miner’s top line.
Group revenue fell 9% year on year to $41.3 million in the three months ending September 30, reflecting Lucara’s decision not to hold its usual tenders of stones above 10.8 carats, the company reported Wednesday. Instead, it sold 5,633 carats through the HB partnership, with sales taking place approximately twice a month, while the miner’s online selling platform, Clara, boosted sales of smaller goods.
Total sales volume fell 3% to 112,943 carats, with the average price down 6% to $365 per carat. The company’s net loss deepened by 35% to $5.4 million.
“Lucara is now receiving regular, predictable revenue for its [10.8-carat-plus] diamonds using a superior pricing mechanism based on estimated polished outcomes less a commission and the cost of polishing,” Thomas added.
The diamond sector’s rebound from the Covid-19 crisis will feature ups and downs that will continue into next year at least, De Beers predicted.
“The demand recovery is not expected to be linear, particularly as localized lockdowns take place,” De Beers explained Monday in its annual Diamond Insight Report. “Retailer expectations for the second half of the year are mixed, with more optimism in the US but muted sentiments in India and the Far East.”
The pandemic severely hit Chinese demand in the first quarter of this year and US sales in the second quarter, with the recovery likely to “extend well beyond 2020,” the company noted. The impact of Covid-19 on the global economy and the second wave of lockdowns in the fourth quarter have further harmed consumer spending, it added.
“The consequences of these events will determine the short to medium-term outlook,” De Beers added. “However, a weakening US dollar could offset some of the softness in demand in local currencies.”
The pandemic dented the positive trends that were visible at the end of 2019, De Beers said. Diamond-jewelry sales to Chinese consumers slid 45% year on year in the first quarter of 2020, and by around a third for the entire first half, the company estimated. The second-quarter recovery was “tentative,” mainly benefiting established brands and online sales, it added.
In the US, sales dropped about 40% in the second quarter of 2020, and by just under 20% for the first half. There was “evidence of rising sales” among independent jewelers and chains, as well as online, in June and the third quarter, the company continued. Demand in India dropped by more than 30% in the first half, reflecting a slump of nearly 50% during the April-May lockdown.
In 2019, global diamond-jewelry demand increased 0.5% to $79 billion — a weaker growth figure than in previous years as the strong dollar dented sales in China. Demand rose 4% in the US and 3% in Japan, offsetting weaker figures in other markets. The US expanded its share of the polished-diamond market to 48%, from 46% in 2018, while China slipped to 15% from 16%.
The Chinese yuan depreciated against the dollar in 2019 amid a trade war between Beijing and Washington, DC. In local-currency terms, demand from Chinese consumers climbed 1%.
A rare 6.70-carat VS1 natural fancy deep yellow diamond from the famous Zimmi mine, in Sierra Leone, could fetch as much as $705,000 at auction.
Canary yellow diamonds from Zimmi can command double the price of other fancy yellows because of their uniquely high color saturation levels. Yellow Zimmi stones over five carats are extremely rare.
This gem will lead the Tiancheng International Jewellery and Jadeite Autumn Auction 2020 in Hong Kong on 28 November.
Also at the sale is a pair of Zimmi natural fancy deep yellow diamond earrings 3.03 carat and 3.01 carat with an estimate of up to $320,000.
The Zimmi mine is in the heart of the rainforest region of Sierra Leone where the Mano river marks the border with Liberia.
Yellow diamonds occur when a single nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom, absorbing the violet and blue light.
Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., found a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond during his recent trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park. The discovery was the third largest diamond found at the park so far this year. Photo courtesy of Arkansas State Parks
An Arkansas man visited the state’s Crater of Diamonds State Park and discovered a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond the third largest diamond found in the park this year.
Steven McCool, of Fayetteville, said he had decided to spend the day at the park since recent rains had made for optimal diamond hunting conditions, and he was on his 11th sifting bucket of the day when he spotted something just 30 minutes before the park closed.
“As my eyes were panning to it, I was thinking it could be an amber piece of glass like an old Coke bottle,” McCool said. “Once I focused on it though, I knew it was a diamond. I was like ‘No way! No way!'”
McCool took his discovery to the diamond identification table, where his suspicions were proved correct.
“Mr. McCool’s find is a 4.49 carat sparkling, canary yellow diamond that is about the size of a jellybean and seems to have great clarity. It is a stunning diamond,” Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent Meghan Moore said.
Officials said it was the third largest discovery so far this year.
McCool dubbed his discovery the BamMam Diamond, in honor of his children’s initials.
“What’s more precious than a precious gem? My children. So, I named it after my children and the name will stay with the diamond forever,” he said.
“I called my son afterward and asked him if he remembered what Thanos’ Mind Stone looked like, and told him I found one!”
Lucara Diamond Corp. has sold a 549 carat diamond to Louis Vuitton through a partnership that will see the luxury retailer craft bespoke pieces to match client requests.
“In line with their long tradition of personalization, Louis Vuitton envisages. the ultimate personalized high jewelry experience, and the opportunity to create a truly unique gem, a storied family heirloom,” Lucara said Wednesday. “In this way, the client will be involved in the creative process of plotting, cutting, polishing and becoming part of the story that the stone will carry with it into history.”
HB Antwerp will manufacture the stone, which is the fourth largest in the history of Botswana. Lucara will receive a purchase price based on the estimated polished outcome, which HB will determine using scanning and planning technologies. Louis Vuitton will pay the miner more at a later stage if the final polished price exceeds this estimate, while subtracting manufacturing costs, Lucara noted.
Lucara recovered the 549 carat, unbroken diamond, which is of “exceptional purity,” from the high value EM/PK(S) unit of the south lobe of its Karowe mine in February. It has named the stone Sethunya, which means flower in Setswana.
The miner sold the 1,758 carat Sewelô rough, Botswana’s largest diamond, into the partnership with Louis Vuitton and HB in January.
“We are extremely pleased to be building on the groundbreaking partnership established for the manufacturing of the Sewelô earlier this year,” said Lucara CEO Eira Thomas. “[Louis Vuitton and HB Antwerp will] transform Sethunya. into an extraordinary, bespoke, polished diamond collection, catering exclusively to the desires of Louis Vuitton’s global customer base.”
Pink diamonds, already rare, are about to get scarcer as Rio Tinto has closed its iconic Argyle diamond mine, the world’s biggest and the main global source of high-quality pink diamonds.
Since opening its doors 37 years ago, the Western Australia mine produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds and became the source of about 90% of the world’s prized rose-to-magenta hued stones.
The Argyle ore body, a single pipe known as AK1, was discovered in October 1979. Alluvial operations began in 1983, open pit mining kicked off in 1985 and the mine became a fully underground operation in 2013.
Today, Rio has mined the very last of these unique diamonds from the site, located within the ancient Matsu Ranges more than 3,000 km north of Perth.
“Fifty years ago there were very few people who believed there were diamonds in Australia even fewer could have foreseen how the Argyle story would unfold,” Rio Tinto’s chief executive of Copper and Diamonds, Arnaud Soirat, said in a statement.
“To arrive at this final chapter has required vision, courage and determination to overcome significant challenges to enter new territory in diamond exploration, mining and marketing,” Soirat added.
The closure of Argyle will remove about 75% of Rio’s diamond output, yet the impact on the miner’s earnings will be negligible. Diamonds bring in only about 2% of its earnings, while iron ore the company’s main commodity accounts for almost 60%.
The operation will now undergo decommissioning and rehabilitation, which is expected to take five years. After that, Rio will monitor the site for a period yet to be defined.
End of an era
Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle, said the mine transformed the diamond sector since its opening, supplying gems for both ends of the market.
“A new chapter will now begin as we start the process of respectfully closing the Argyle mine and rehabilitating the land, to be handed back to its traditional custodians,” he said.
Argyle was Australia’s first large-scale diamond operation, pioneering the fly–in fly–out model, and seen as an opportunity for a workforce drawn from across the nation.
Forty years ago, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, four diamonds in a dry creek bed ultimately led Rio’s geologists to a massive diamond deposit.
It also triggered the creation and adoption of new technology and exploration methods to make the search for diamonds more efficient across the rugged and remote Kimberley landscape.
At its peak, Argyle churned out 40% of the world’s diamond output, which made it the biggest producer by volume.
Pricy gems
Analysts and auctioneers alike expect prices for pink diamonds to go up and, potentially spur exploration.
Pink stones have already been fetching record prices in the past few years and the closure of their main source could see that trend strengthen.
The “Pink Star” went for $71.2 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017, setting a record for diamonds sold in auctions.
In 2018, the 18.96-carat Pink Legacy fetched $50 million at Christie’s auction house, breaking the world record for price paid per carat for a pink diamond at auction.
The Pink Legacy diamond.
At Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2019 sale, one of the star pieces described as an “exquisite 10.64 carat vivid purplish pink diamond” sold for just under $20 million.
Rio Tinto’s own data show that prices for their Argyle pink diamonds jumped by 500% from 2000 to earlier this year.
