LVMH saw revenue from its watch and jewelry division slip by 5 per cent during the first nine months of 2024 to $8.2bn.
Across all its 75 maisons the French luxury conglomerate reported a 2 per cent dip for the same period, to $66.1bn.
LVMH said it had shown “good resilience” and that it remained confident in an uncertain economic and geopolitical environment
It said it would “maintain a strategy focused on continuously enhancing the desirability of its brands, drawing on the authenticity and quality of its products, excellence in distribution and agile organization.”
LVMH’s eight watch and jewlery brands – Bvlgari, Chaumet, Fred, Hublot, Repossi, Tag Heuer, Tiffany & Co and Zenith – generated a total of $11.8bn in 2023. The company does not provide a brand-by-brand earnings breakdown.
It said the third quarter decline in revenue across all LVMH brands was largely due to a stronger yen and lower growth in Japan.
Russia’s Finance Ministry is considering new purchases of rough diamonds from Alrosa for the State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository (Gokhran) in 2025, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told reporters on the sidelines of the Moscow Financial Forum.
“We are considering this possibility,” Moiseyev said in response to possibly resuming purchases. “In order to allow Alrosa the opportunity to be calm and not feel obliged to sell on the market in order to maintain its liquidity position. Because the market looks alarming.”
The government could use budgetary allocations for precious metals and stones to purchase rough diamonds. The purchase limit is planned at 51.5 billion rubles for next year, Moiseyev said.
It became known in March that Alrosa and the Finance Ministry had concluded an agreement to buy out part of the raw materials produced in 2024 and completed a transaction for the first consignment of rough diamonds. There have been no reports since then regarding Alrosa purchasing diamonds from Gokhran.
“There are no plans for this year, though we are considering the possibility for next year,” Moiseyev said. “In general, this is all confidential, so we may not announce it.”
The near-empty Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) is hoping the arrival of around 40 lab grown traders will signal a change in its fortunes.
The vast new center, recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest office building in existence, was officially opened last December by India’s prime minister Narendra Modi .
It has a capacity of 4,500 offices, but remains virtually empty.
The bourse has, according to local media reports, now reached an agreement with the Lab Grown Diamond Association (LGDA) to relocate around 40 lab grown companies from elsewhere in Surat.
Mahesh Gadhvi, CEO at SDB, said recently that 250 offices were currently occupied (that’s less than 6 per cent of the total).
“Steadily we are progressing towards opening more offices and starting more businesses from SDB,” he told the business news channel CNBC.
The global supply of natural diamonds has already peaked, according to Moses Madondo, CEO of De Beers Group Managed Operations. Speaking at the Joburg Indaba, a major mining and resources conference in South Africa, he explained that production is on the decline, with several mine closures on the horizon and no significant new discoveries in sight.
Madondo highlighted that this limited supply could push diamond prices higher. “Since the turn of the century, we’ve only seen one major commercial discovery, the Luele mine in Angola, where we aim to start production by the 2030s. But on a broader scale, global diamond production is set to decline,” he said. This trend, while concerning from a supply perspective, offers the potential for price growth.
In the short term, Madondo expects production to dip, but he anticipates a recovery after 2025, driven by the Luele mine ramping up and South Africa’s Venetia mine shifting to underground operations. However, the looming closure of Canada’s Diavik mine in 2026 and the shutdown of several mines in Russia will further tighten supply.
The Criminal Investigative Service (SIC) in Angola seized 710 diamonds of different carats on Sunday in Lucapa, a municipality in the northeastern Lunda-Norte province of Angola.
According to Graciano Lumanhe, the SIC spokesperson in Lunda-Norte, three individuals from Guinea Conakry were found in possession of the diamonds.
Angola Seizes 710 Diamond Stones From Three Guineans In addition to the diamonds, the officers also discovered a diamond weighing scale, two calculating machines, magnifying glasses, a sieve, and $860 and 68,000 kwanzas in cash during the operation.
All the evidence has been submitted to the Office of the Public Prosecutor as part of the preparations for criminal proceedings against the three suspects.
Rio Tinto launched on Wednesday its 2024 Beyond Rare tender, the second in its Art Series, showcasing 48 lots of extraordinarily rare stones from its diamonds business.
Titled Colour Awakened, this collection is headlined by seven “Old Masters”, notable historic diamonds from the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia that operated from 1983 to 2020.
The Old Masters comprise seven round brilliant cut, pink and red diamonds, ranging in size from 0.60 carat to 2.63 carats. All unearthed from the mine over a decade ago in one case, as far back as 1987 each diamond has been carefully retrieved from private vaults and handpicked for inclusion in this year’s tender.
“No other mining company in the world has custody of such a kaleidoscope of coloured diamonds,” Sinead Kaufman, chief executive of Rio Tinto Minerals said in the statement.
In addition to the Old Masters, the Art Series 02 includes legacy inventory of pink, red and violet diamonds from the Argyle diamond mine, together with white and yellow diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
“Four years on from the closure of the Argyle mine, our Beyond Rare Tender platform is a testimony to the enduring prestige of the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand, the quality of production from our Diavik mine, and the ongoing demand for highly collectible natural diamonds,” Kaufman said.
In total there are 76 diamonds, weighing 39.44 carats, comprising seven Old Masters, including one Fancy Red diamond; 32 single lots of pink and violet diamonds, including one Fancy Purplish Red diamond; and a rarified offering of nine carefully curated diamond sets, two of which include a 2.47 carat Fancy Intense Yellow diamond and a 4.04 carat D colour diamond, respectively, each from Diavik.
The 48 lots will be showcased in London, Australia, Singapore and Belgium, with bids closing on November 18.
A fancy-pink diamond pendant is set to headline an upcoming jewelry auction at Sotheby’s in Paris, where it is expected to fetch up to EUR 550,000 ($612,797).
The cushion-cut, 4.03-carat diamond piece will feature at the October 10 Fine Jewels sale, according to the Sotheby’s website. The auction will also offer jewels from Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Giovanni Ferraris.
Additionally, the event will showcase more than 80 pieces from the collection of British singer Dame Shirley Bassey, including diamond jewelry Elton John gifted her.
Here are the rest of top 10 jewels that will be auctioned:
This Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet designed as a band of articulated branches —embellished with carved emeralds, rubies and emerald beads drill-set with single-cut diamonds — carries a top estimate of EUR 450,000 ($501,395). A necklace from the Shirley Bassey collection composed of a row of graduated brilliant-cut diamonds, with the main ones weighing 5.50, 5.36, and 4.61 carats, could sell for up to EUR 280,000 ($311,798). Sotheby’s will offer this gold and diamond Cartier set comprising a necklace, two bracelets, a pair of ear clips, and a ring, each paved with brilliant-cut diamonds, for a high price of EUR 260,000 ($289,687). A David Morris ring bearing a rectangular step-cut, 7.15-carat diamond of F color and internally flawless clarity, flanked by tapered baguette diamonds, is expected to bring in EUR 140,000 to EUR 250,000 ($155,990 to $278,554). This sapphire and diamond bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels forms a stylized buckle set with a row of oval sapphires framed by brilliant-cut diamonds. It has a presale range of EUR 140,000 to EUR 240,000 ($155,990 to $267,410). This ring with a pear-shaped, fancy-brownish-yellow diamond weighing 20.03 carats could achieve as much as EUR 220,000 ($245,116). A necklace composed of openwork and oval motifs, each set with an oval sapphire within a double surrounding of brilliant-cut diamonds, has an upper price of EUR 180,000 ($200,540).A 21.17-carat, fancy-light-brown-yellow, SI2-clarity diamond ring with marquise-shaped diamond shoulders is anticipated to realize up to EUR 170,000 ($189,415). This claw-set ring with a rectangular step-cut, 5.06-carat diamond flanked by triangular diamonds carries a high estimate of EUR 150,000 ($155,990).
The pulse of the jewelry industry and its relationship with the constantly changing world is reflected each year at Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGWHK).
This year the annual jewelry trade show attracted more than 3,300 exhibitors, a 5% decline from 2023, according to Informa Markets, which owns and operates the fair. Although final buyer numbers aren’t available, walking the floors on the first four days, it’s easy to see that foot traffic was down as well. Still the show is expected to attract about 50,000 visitors.
Buyers in the Fine Design Pavilion of Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong
More important than the numbers themselves is what they represent. A major typhoon in the Shanghai area a few days before the show began meant many exhibitors and buyers from the area could not immediately make the trip to Hong Kong. Obviously, war in Ukraine and in Gaza has kept people in these regions from attending. After years of exponential growth, the U.S. jewelry market has softened, partly due to the upcoming presidential election. The China market has softened as well, reflecting the country’s overall economic challenges. These are the two largest markets in the world for jewelry. Then for the first time in memory, the fair coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 18, which further reduced overall attendance, at least temporarily.
For a fair that has been held during trade wars, citywide political protests and a once-in-a-century typhoon, these distractions were mild by comparison. Through it all JGWHK remains, by far, the largest jewelry trade fair in the world, and for good reason.
India’s exports of polished diamonds fell by 23.8 per cent year-on-year in August, according to the latest figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council).
Total foreign sales were $1.04bn, compared to $1.36bn last August. Exports in July were $908m, down 22.7 per cent.
Polished diamond exports have fallen every month this year, down 20 per cent in January, 28 per cent in February, 27 per cent in March, 17 per cent in April, 15 per cent in May and 26 per cent in June. All figures are for US dollars.
Gross exports of all gems and jewelry fell by 18.8 per cent during August – a slower rate of decline than diamonds – to $2.01bn.
Rough imports for the April to August period were down 22.6 per cent to $4.98bn.
Africa focused miner Gem Diamonds has found yet another big precious stone at its prolific Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third greater than 100 carat diamond mined in September.
The 212.91 carat Type II white diamond was recovered on September 19th, the company said on Monday. It is the thirteenth diamond over 100-carat unearthed this year at the operation, it noted.
Type IIa diamonds are the most valued and collectable precious gemstones, as they contain either very little or no nitrogen atoms in their crystal structure.
The Letšeng mine, owned 70% by Gem Diamonds, is one of the world’s ten largest diamond operations by revenue. At 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, it is also one of the world’s most elevated diamond mines.
The operation has a track record of producing large, exceptional white diamonds, which makes it the highest-dollar-per-carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
