SEC Cracks Down on ICO That Offered Investors Colored Diamonds

The ICO that was promoted as a game-changer on the diamond market faces a dramatic fall from grace.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pulled the plug on a $30 mln cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Argyle Coin. The company, which promised to turn fancy colored diamonds into globally accessible assets, defrauded more than 300 investors.

No diamonds for you

Who told you that colored diamonds are only for ultra-rich individuals? Argyle Coin allowed the average Joe to invest in one of the rarest diamonds in the world. The project was presented as a Blockchain-powered marketplace for trading these precious rocks.

According to the SEC’s press release, Argyle Coin was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that defrauded new investors in order to pay returns to the old ones. On top of that, Jose Angel Aman, the man behind this scam, used investors’ funds in order to enrich himself (he bought real estate and horses). Overall, those who wanted a piece of luxury ended up losing $10 mln.

As alleged, Aman operated a complicated web of fraudulent companies in an effort to continually loot retail investors and perpetuate the Ponzi schemes as well as divert money to himself,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.

Old story, new names

Argyle Coin was supposed to offer its clients a ‘risk-free’ investment opportunity given the ICO is backed by over $25 mln of fancy colored diamonds that are securely stored in the London-based Malca-Amit vault.

Notably, prior to Argyle Coin, Aman had managed to pull off two similar scams – Natural Diamonds and Eagle. Aman was charged with violating securities law antifraud provisions.

Source: u.today

SEC Cracks Down on ICO That Offered Investors Colored Diamonds

The ICO that was promoted as a game-changer on the diamond market faces a dramatic fall from grace.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pulled the plug on a $30 mln cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Argyle Coin. The company, which promised to turn fancy colored diamonds into globally accessible assets, defrauded more than 300 investors.

No diamonds for you

Who told you that colored diamonds are only for ultra-rich individuals? Argyle Coin allowed the average Joe to invest in one of the rarest diamonds in the world. The project was presented as a Blockchain-powered marketplace for trading these precious rocks.

According to the SEC’s press release, Argyle Coin was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that defrauded new investors in order to pay returns to the old ones. On top of that, Jose Angel Aman, the man behind this scam, used investors’ funds in order to enrich himself (he bought real estate and horses). Overall, those who wanted a piece of luxury ended up losing $10 mln.

As alleged, Aman operated a complicated web of fraudulent companies in an effort to continually loot retail investors and perpetuate the Ponzi schemes as well as divert money to himself,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.

Old story, new names

Argyle Coin was supposed to offer its clients a ‘risk-free’ investment opportunity given the ICO is backed by over $25 mln of fancy colored diamonds that are securely stored in the London-based Malca-Amit vault.

Notably, prior to Argyle Coin, Aman had managed to pull off two similar scams – Natural Diamonds and Eagle. Aman was charged with violating securities law antifraud provisions.

Source: u.today

GIA Spots Natural-Synthetic Hybrid Diamond

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has discovered a synthetic layer that improved the weight and color of a natural diamond, and has warned that the phenomenon may be happening more often.

The cushion modified brilliant, 0.64-carat stone contained about 0.10 carats of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, the GIA estimated in a lab note last week. The lab-grown layer was greyish-blue, in contrast to the natural section’s yellowish color, giving the combined stone a fancy-greyish-greenish-blue appearance.

This was not the first time a stone of this type has turned up at the GIA: In 2017, it reported on a 0.33-carat, fancy-blue diamond that featured a CVD overgrowth similar to this one.

“With the second of these composites seen at GIA, this could be a new type of product entering the market,” research associate Troy Ardon and analytics technician Garrett McElhenny wrote in the note, which the GIA published in the Spring 2019 issue of its quarterly scientific journal, Gems & Gemology. “The resulting color was likely the main motivation for growing the CVD layer on top of the natural diamond, though the extra weight gained could also be a factor.”

The stone’s unusual nature came to light after testing indicated it had features of both type Ia and type IIb diamonds — a rare combination. It appeared to have absorbed both nitrogen — a feature of type Ia diamonds that gives yellow color — and boron, which is present in type IIb stones and can turn them blue. “Mixed-type diamonds always call for additional scrutiny,” Ardon and McElhenny explained.

The pavilion — the section from the girdle to the bottom — showed natural growth features during fluorescence testing with DiamondView, a De Beers machine for identifying synthetics. However, the crown displayed characteristics of CVD, proving that manufacturers had grown CVD diamond over a natural base. Using computer modeling, the research team was able to calculate the weight of the synthetic part as approximately one-tenth of a carat.

The stone was well disguised: Numerous readings of its photoluminescence showed no indication of any synthetic origin, despite the fact that such tests are usually effective at revealing CVD. This may be because the lab-grown layer was so thin, the note pointed out.

“Natural diamonds with synthetic diamond grown on the surface require extra scrutiny due to the presence of natural-looking features, both spectroscopic and gemological,” the authors continued. “Careful inspection still reveals the presence of synthetic indicators, which expose the true nature of the diamond.”

Source: diamonds.net

GIA Spots Natural-Synthetic Hybrid Diamond

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has discovered a synthetic layer that improved the weight and color of a natural diamond, and has warned that the phenomenon may be happening more often.

The cushion modified brilliant, 0.64-carat stone contained about 0.10 carats of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, the GIA estimated in a lab note last week. The lab-grown layer was greyish-blue, in contrast to the natural section’s yellowish color, giving the combined stone a fancy-greyish-greenish-blue appearance.

This was not the first time a stone of this type has turned up at the GIA: In 2017, it reported on a 0.33-carat, fancy-blue diamond that featured a CVD overgrowth similar to this one.

“With the second of these composites seen at GIA, this could be a new type of product entering the market,” research associate Troy Ardon and analytics technician Garrett McElhenny wrote in the note, which the GIA published in the Spring 2019 issue of its quarterly scientific journal, Gems & Gemology. “The resulting color was likely the main motivation for growing the CVD layer on top of the natural diamond, though the extra weight gained could also be a factor.”

The stone’s unusual nature came to light after testing indicated it had features of both type Ia and type IIb diamonds — a rare combination. It appeared to have absorbed both nitrogen — a feature of type Ia diamonds that gives yellow color — and boron, which is present in type IIb stones and can turn them blue. “Mixed-type diamonds always call for additional scrutiny,” Ardon and McElhenny explained.

The pavilion — the section from the girdle to the bottom — showed natural growth features during fluorescence testing with DiamondView, a De Beers machine for identifying synthetics. However, the crown displayed characteristics of CVD, proving that manufacturers had grown CVD diamond over a natural base. Using computer modeling, the research team was able to calculate the weight of the synthetic part as approximately one-tenth of a carat.

The stone was well disguised: Numerous readings of its photoluminescence showed no indication of any synthetic origin, despite the fact that such tests are usually effective at revealing CVD. This may be because the lab-grown layer was so thin, the note pointed out.

“Natural diamonds with synthetic diamond grown on the surface require extra scrutiny due to the presence of natural-looking features, both spectroscopic and gemological,” the authors continued. “Careful inspection still reveals the presence of synthetic indicators, which expose the true nature of the diamond.”

Source: diamonds.net

Monica Bellucci Wore the Historic Cartier María Félix Tribute Necklace at Cannes

There are a select few necklaces that might be deemed jewelry royalty Marie Louise’s diamonds from Napoleon, the Maharajah of Patiala’s bib, Daisy Fellowes’s Tutti Frutti, the Duchess of Windsor’s Zip, and of course, the one made by Cartier in 1975 to resemble two fully articulated crocodiles and using 1,023 yellow diamonds, 1,060 emeralds, and two cabochon rubies for Mexican actress María Félix.

Félix’s necklace was based on her own pet croc she even brought it into the store to make sure Cartier got it just right. She even suggested they live there for a while, just in case. Only one person other than María Félix has ever worn that necklace, now owned by the Cartier Collection.

In 2006, actress Monica Bellucci paired the necklace with a crisp white shirt for the red carpet at Cannes.

Over the weekend, on that same red carpet, Bellucci wore Cartier’s one of a kind diamond and emerald necklace made in tribute to the iconic piece and created by the same artisanal sculptor who brought María Félix’s little pets to life.

The María Félix Tribute necklace is in all diamonds and emeralds totaling 46.45 carats, and is by all reports “strikingly realistic with a body and legs ready to move!”

The crocodile necklace is of course but one proud member of the Cartier menagerie. The Panther, brought to three dimensional life in 1948 for the Duchess of Windsor, being the most iconic.

To make sure those diamond and onyx figures looked ready to pounce, legendary Cartier jewelry Director Jeanne Toussaint made all her designers spend quality time at the Paris zoo.

Source: DCLA

Monica Bellucci Wore the Historic Cartier María Félix Tribute Necklace at Cannes

There are a select few necklaces that might be deemed jewelry royalty Marie Louise’s diamonds from Napoleon, the Maharajah of Patiala’s bib, Daisy Fellowes’s Tutti Frutti, the Duchess of Windsor’s Zip, and of course, the one made by Cartier in 1975 to resemble two fully articulated crocodiles and using 1,023 yellow diamonds, 1,060 emeralds, and two cabochon rubies for Mexican actress María Félix.

Félix’s necklace was based on her own pet croc she even brought it into the store to make sure Cartier got it just right. She even suggested they live there for a while, just in case. Only one person other than María Félix has ever worn that necklace, now owned by the Cartier Collection.

In 2006, actress Monica Bellucci paired the necklace with a crisp white shirt for the red carpet at Cannes.

Over the weekend, on that same red carpet, Bellucci wore Cartier’s one of a kind diamond and emerald necklace made in tribute to the iconic piece and created by the same artisanal sculptor who brought María Félix’s little pets to life.

The María Félix Tribute necklace is in all diamonds and emeralds totaling 46.45 carats, and is by all reports “strikingly realistic with a body and legs ready to move!”

The crocodile necklace is of course but one proud member of the Cartier menagerie. The Panther, brought to three dimensional life in 1948 for the Duchess of Windsor, being the most iconic.

To make sure those diamond and onyx figures looked ready to pounce, legendary Cartier jewelry Director Jeanne Toussaint made all her designers spend quality time at the Paris zoo.

Source: DCLA

Amend laws on synthetic diamonds, Russia tells India

Russia's major diamond mining firms including Alrosa have urged India to amend consumer laws on synthetic diamonds so that there is clarity on the quantity of synthetic diamonds entering the country and how they are being used.

Industry executives said that around 5 million carats of synthetic diamonds are produced globally, and the volume is increasing, causing concern to rough diamond producers. A senior executive, who did not wish to be identified, told the Economic Times that a meeting was recently held between India and Russia on synthetic diamonds.

"India is the chair of the Kimberley Process Certification System (KPCS) for 2019 and the Russian Federation is the vice chair. The KPCS is a joint initiative of 54 members, including India and the European Union, to stem the flow of 'conflict diamonds' that are used by rebel groups to overthrow legitimate governments. 

It came into effect on January 1, 2003 through a United Nations General Assembly Resolution and includes governments, civil society and industry."

"During the meeting between Aleksey Vladimirovich Moiseev, the KPCS vice chair 2019 and deputy minister of finance of the Russian Federation Peter Karakchiev, Alrosa's head of international relations department and other senior representatives of the Russian foreign office it was decided that the KPCS should work towards having separate HS (harmonized system) code implemented for synthetic rough diamonds at the national level and encourage participant countries to expedite the process of implementation.

Source: DCLA