Lucapa to Sell Large Stones

Lucapa Diamond Company will sell six large stones weighing a total of 449 carats from its Lulo mine in Angola after an overhaul of the nation’s mining laws prompted it to delay the sale, it said.

The Angolan government introduced reforms to its diamond sector in the first half of the year to help boost foreign investment. Those measures included a new marketing policy for Angolan diamonds, and the option of offering goods for sale in locations such as Antwerp.

Anticipating the changes, Lucapa has been holding back a selection of large stones from previous sales, and will now sell them under the new policy, it explained Friday. These include six type IIa white diamonds weighing 114 carats, 85 carats, 75 carats, 70 carats, 62 carats and 43 carats, as well as a 46-carat pink diamond.

“The discussions with our Angolan partners regarding the policy changes taking place in the Angolan diamond sector have reached a stage where we are now able to plan for the sale of these large, premium-value Lulo diamonds held over from previous sales,” Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said. “We look forward to marketing these exceptional diamonds as soon as the necessary arrangements are put in place to continue showcasing Angolan diamonds to the world.”

The decision to delay the tender for those stones had a negative impact on Lucapa’s first-half results, the company added. Its losses grew to $4.6 million for the period, versus a loss of $1.2 million a year earlier.
Even so, Lucapa’s sales rose 3% year on year to $15.9 million in the first half, while production for the same period climbed 15% to 9,566 carats. The average price of rough diamonds from Lulo rose 1% to $1,642 per carat. Rough-diamond inventory from the asset grew 61% year on year to 2,755 carats as of June 30, the miner reported.

Lucapa’s most recent sale of 2,531 carats of rough from Lulo fetched $2.5 million, achieving an average price of $985 per carat, the company noted.

Image: 46-carat pink Lulo diamond. Credit: Lucapa.

Source: DCLA

Lucapa to Sell Large Stones

Lucapa Diamond Company will sell six large stones weighing a total of 449 carats from its Lulo mine in Angola after an overhaul of the nation’s mining laws prompted it to delay the sale, it said.

The Angolan government introduced reforms to its diamond sector in the first half of the year to help boost foreign investment. Those measures included a new marketing policy for Angolan diamonds, and the option of offering goods for sale in locations such as Antwerp.

Anticipating the changes, Lucapa has been holding back a selection of large stones from previous sales, and will now sell them under the new policy, it explained Friday. These include six type IIa white diamonds weighing 114 carats, 85 carats, 75 carats, 70 carats, 62 carats and 43 carats, as well as a 46-carat pink diamond.

“The discussions with our Angolan partners regarding the policy changes taking place in the Angolan diamond sector have reached a stage where we are now able to plan for the sale of these large, premium-value Lulo diamonds held over from previous sales,” Lucapa managing director Stephen Wetherall said. “We look forward to marketing these exceptional diamonds as soon as the necessary arrangements are put in place to continue showcasing Angolan diamonds to the world.”

The decision to delay the tender for those stones had a negative impact on Lucapa’s first-half results, the company added. Its losses grew to $4.6 million for the period, versus a loss of $1.2 million a year earlier.
Even so, Lucapa’s sales rose 3% year on year to $15.9 million in the first half, while production for the same period climbed 15% to 9,566 carats. The average price of rough diamonds from Lulo rose 1% to $1,642 per carat. Rough-diamond inventory from the asset grew 61% year on year to 2,755 carats as of June 30, the miner reported.

Lucapa’s most recent sale of 2,531 carats of rough from Lulo fetched $2.5 million, achieving an average price of $985 per carat, the company noted.

Image: 46-carat pink Lulo diamond. Credit: Lucapa.

Source: DCLA

China’s Fosun Buys 80% of IGI

Chinese corporate giant Fosun has agreed to buy an 80% stake in the International Gemological Institute (IGI), the grading laboratory said Wednesday.

“The interest of this large conglomerate to invest in IGI shows the confidence it has in our industry,” said Roland Lorie, IGI’s CEO. “As demand for certification increases, the investment…will significantly accelerate our core business, offering and presenting many new opportunities all over the globe.”

Fosun will implement the acquisition through Yuyuan, its holding company for the consumer sector, IGI explained. The Lorie family will retain a 20% interest, with Roland Lorie still managing the company. Marc Brauner, who was previously Lorie’s co-CEO, has left IGI after 30 years with the group. The parties did not release any further financial details.

Antwerp-based IGI, founded in 1975, operates 23 laboratories and schools around the world. Fosun is one of China’s largest corporations, spanning the financial, health-care, pharmaceuticals, consumer, real-estate, mining and energy industries, with Club Med and Cirque du Soleil among the brands it owns. It bid to acquire Gemfields last year, but lost out to Pallinghurst Resources.

“IGI has built great fundamentals and human capital over the years, with highly respected expertise and input from both the Lorie and Brauner families,” said Xu Xiaoliang, executive director and copresident of Fosun and chairman of Yuyuan. “We believe IGI is well positioned to bring its gemological knowledge and expertise to emerging markets, including China.”


Image: An IGI laboratory. Credit: IGI

Source: DCLA

China’s Fosun Buys 80% of IGI

Chinese corporate giant Fosun has agreed to buy an 80% stake in the International Gemological Institute (IGI), the grading laboratory said Wednesday.

“The interest of this large conglomerate to invest in IGI shows the confidence it has in our industry,” said Roland Lorie, IGI’s CEO. “As demand for certification increases, the investment…will significantly accelerate our core business, offering and presenting many new opportunities all over the globe.”

Fosun will implement the acquisition through Yuyuan, its holding company for the consumer sector, IGI explained. The Lorie family will retain a 20% interest, with Roland Lorie still managing the company. Marc Brauner, who was previously Lorie’s co-CEO, has left IGI after 30 years with the group. The parties did not release any further financial details.

Antwerp-based IGI, founded in 1975, operates 23 laboratories and schools around the world. Fosun is one of China’s largest corporations, spanning the financial, health-care, pharmaceuticals, consumer, real-estate, mining and energy industries, with Club Med and Cirque du Soleil among the brands it owns. It bid to acquire Gemfields last year, but lost out to Pallinghurst Resources.

“IGI has built great fundamentals and human capital over the years, with highly respected expertise and input from both the Lorie and Brauner families,” said Xu Xiaoliang, executive director and copresident of Fosun and chairman of Yuyuan. “We believe IGI is well positioned to bring its gemological knowledge and expertise to emerging markets, including China.”


Image: An IGI laboratory. Credit: IGI

Source: DCLA

De Beers’ recent diamonds sale the worst in two years

Anglo American’s De Beers, the world’s No.1 diamond miner by value, has just had the lowest sales for its seventh cycle since it began releasing data in 2016, as it let customers delay acquiring smaller stones for the first time.

Sales for the cycle stood at a provisional $505 million, down 5.5% from the $533 million obtained in the previous cycle of the year and 0.4% from $507 million for same period in 2017.

“De Beers Group provided Sightholders with the opportunity to re-phase the allocation of some smaller, lower value rough diamonds.” chief executive officer, Bruce Cleaver, acknowledged in the statement.

The unusual move (De Beers is known for requiring buyers to take what’s offered) says lots about the state of the low-end diamond market. The last time the company did something similar, in fact, was two years ago, when India’s move to ban high-value currency notes pushed down demand.

Sales were down $134 million or 21% compared to the same cycle in 2016, when De Beers began releasing this kind of data.The diamond giant has about 80 handpicked clients called sightholders who are allocated parcels of diamonds sorted and aggregated in Gaborone. The 10 annual sales events are known as sights.

De Beers’ new strategy for small stones, paired with its looming entry into the lab-grown stones ma
rket, have many in the industry worrying about prices.

Cheaper diamonds, which are often small and low quality, are selling for a lot less now than five years ago. And when it comes to synthetic stones, De Beers’ entry in the market will create a big price gap between mined and lab diamonds, pressuring rivals that specialize in synthesized stones at the same time.

A 1-carat man-made diamond sells for about $4,000 and a similar natural diamond fetches roughly $8,000. De Beers new lab diamonds will sell for about $800 a carat. That’s a fifth of the price of existing man-made stones and one-tenth of the cost of buying a similar natural gem.

No wonder competitors are worried. The lab-grown industry has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, accusing De Beers of price dumping and predatory pricing.

Low sales, stable demand

In 2016, De Beers recorded sales of $639 million for the seventh of its tenth annual sales events. That is $134 million or 21% more than what it just made after letting buyers reject small, low-quality stones. That means that, to date, 2018 is shaping to be the worst in terms of sales for the Beers in the past two years, with combined sales of $3.93 billion against the previous year’s $4 billion and 2016’s sales of $4.12 billion.

The dip is sales comes despite demand has remained stable ahead of the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, at least according to what Cleaver said. The exhibit, which takes place from Friday this week to Tuesday next week, last year reportedly attracted 3,695 exhibitors and 59,122 buyers.

Source: mining.com

De Beers’ recent diamonds sale the worst in two years

Anglo American’s De Beers, the world’s No.1 diamond miner by value, has just had the lowest sales for its seventh cycle since it began releasing data in 2016, as it let customers delay acquiring smaller stones for the first time.

Sales for the cycle stood at a provisional $505 million, down 5.5% from the $533 million obtained in the previous cycle of the year and 0.4% from $507 million for same period in 2017.

“De Beers Group provided Sightholders with the opportunity to re-phase the allocation of some smaller, lower value rough diamonds.” chief executive officer, Bruce Cleaver, acknowledged in the statement.

The unusual move (De Beers is known for requiring buyers to take what’s offered) says lots about the state of the low-end diamond market. The last time the company did something similar, in fact, was two years ago, when India’s move to ban high-value currency notes pushed down demand.

Sales were down $134 million or 21% compared to the same cycle in 2016, when De Beers began releasing this kind of data.The diamond giant has about 80 handpicked clients called sightholders who are allocated parcels of diamonds sorted and aggregated in Gaborone. The 10 annual sales events are known as sights.

De Beers’ new strategy for small stones, paired with its looming entry into the lab-grown stones ma
rket, have many in the industry worrying about prices.

Cheaper diamonds, which are often small and low quality, are selling for a lot less now than five years ago. And when it comes to synthetic stones, De Beers’ entry in the market will create a big price gap between mined and lab diamonds, pressuring rivals that specialize in synthesized stones at the same time.

A 1-carat man-made diamond sells for about $4,000 and a similar natural diamond fetches roughly $8,000. De Beers new lab diamonds will sell for about $800 a carat. That’s a fifth of the price of existing man-made stones and one-tenth of the cost of buying a similar natural gem.

No wonder competitors are worried. The lab-grown industry has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, accusing De Beers of price dumping and predatory pricing.

Low sales, stable demand

In 2016, De Beers recorded sales of $639 million for the seventh of its tenth annual sales events. That is $134 million or 21% more than what it just made after letting buyers reject small, low-quality stones. That means that, to date, 2018 is shaping to be the worst in terms of sales for the Beers in the past two years, with combined sales of $3.93 billion against the previous year’s $4 billion and 2016’s sales of $4.12 billion.

The dip is sales comes despite demand has remained stable ahead of the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, at least according to what Cleaver said. The exhibit, which takes place from Friday this week to Tuesday next week, last year reportedly attracted 3,695 exhibitors and 59,122 buyers.

Source: mining.com

Signet Open to Lab-Grown Diamonds

Signet Jewelers will consider selling lab-grown diamonds at its stores if consumer demand justifies such a move, CEO Gina Drosos said in a conference call with analysts.

“We are very closely monitoring and assessing the demand for this emerging category,” Drosos said during the company’s earnings call last week. “We’ll make sure that Signet is well positioned to participate in that space if the growth and the economics of it are attractive and if customers point us in that direction.”

Lab-grown diamonds have garnered greater interest recently, after De Beers unveiled its Lightbox lab-grown-diamond jewelry brand in early June, and which is slated to start selling online this month. De Beers plans to forge partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers to carry the collection in their stores in the next year or two, with growing speculation that Signet might be lining up to carry the collection.

Signet is a sigththolder client for De Beers rough diamonds and is also participating in the miner’s Tracr blockchain initiative.

Drosos echoed De Beers’ messaging that customers prefer natural diamonds for “really important purchases,” such as for engagement rings, special birthdays or graduations, whereas there is growing interest in lab-grown for fashion jewelry. She stressed that the company currently didn’t carry lab-grown diamonds at any of its stores, which include Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared.

Image: JCK Events