A diamond valuation is only done once the diamond has been set in the ring. Inclusions are hidden, colour is obscured, carat weight and measurements have to be estimated. This makes it impossible to determine the exact characteristics (4 C’s) of the diamond and consequently the “valuation” can be significantly different to the actual value. In fact most valuations have the following disclaimer: “Gemstones have not been removed from settings for accurate assessment, all grades and weights are approximate.” Often these insurance valuations are used as selling tools by jewellers; for example, when selling a diamond ring for $10 000 a jeweller may present a valuation for $15 000. The customer will think he is getting a very good deal, however the diamond ring had never ever been sold at that value.
You can have your certified diamond sealed in a DCLA Certicard ® Seal which will provide a further safeguard against your stone being substituted. The seal has a number of security features including electrostatic security bars, pressure-sensitive transparent adhesive and Cryptoprint® text which becomes visible after opening the seal. It is therefore very difficult to tamper with the seal. This sealing will also protect your diamond against damage and dirt.
Ask the jeweller if the diamond certificate comes from an independent diamond laboratory or if it produced by a diamond merchant or retailer, then do your research. Make sure the certificate is issued by the DCLA or another highly respected diamond grading laboratory; DCLA is the only diamond grading laboratory worldwide to offer a full-replacement Diamond Grading Guarantee.
All of the 4 C’s are equally important; however, many people consider diamond cut to be the most important diamond characteristic, because even if a diamond has perfect colour and clarity, a diamond with poor cut quality will have dulled brilliance and life.
Another D colour Type II diamond weighing 80 carats has been recovered.
Shares in Gem Diamonds spiked on Thursday after the miner announced it had recovered one of the highest quality stones to come out of its Letseng mine in Lesotho.
The discovery of this 80 carat diamond comes less than a month after the miner announced the recovery of a 114 carat rough diamond. And two years after Gem Diamonds found a 357 carat rough diamond, which sold for $19.3 million.
Gem Diamonds has recovered four of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recovered, which makes of the Lesotho mine the world’s highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond operation.
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.
The Blue Moon Diamond has been sold for a record US$48.26m at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
The sale price is a record per carat and for total value for any gemstone.
Blue Moon Diamond has no inclusions and has been officially declared flawless.
The 29.62-carat diamond was found at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in January last year, blue diamonds make up only 0.1% of diamonds unearthed at the mine.
It was then cut and polished in New York, a process which took six months and eventually produced the 12.03 carat vivid blue gem.
De Beers which produces thirty percent of world rough diamonds has cut prices by 10 percent for the sight.
This comes after two reductions in its annual production output by 15 percent failed to slow slump in prices of rough.
Rough diamond prices have dropped 14 percent in some categories and are in their fifth consecutive quarterly loss, which is the longest in a decade.
De Beers cut the size of the sight to $250 million and reduced the prices by 9 percent, according to sight holders.
De Beers has also contributed tens of millions to a jewellery advertising campaign. Its advertising campaign will promote diamond jewellery in the U.S. and to Chinese consumers.
De Beers’s the world’s largest rough producer felt the pain, when only $300 million of the $450 million estimated sight was taken up by their sightholders. This leaves 30 percent of the rough on offer on the table.
Anglo has previously counted on diamond revenues to offset a collapse in the price of other metals and minerals it mines. Anglo may cut the company’s dividend for the first time since 2009 according to analysts.
This is an indication of turmoil in the $80 billion diamond industry as traders, cutters and polishers suffer from a poor liquidity and weaker demand for jewellery.
Producers in India, where 90 percent of rough diamonds are cut and polished, may halt imports over the supply glut.
Update: Report sightholders may have refused 35%-50% at July sight which may be as low as $200M.
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.
