Russian Police Uncover Diamond Theft Gang Inside State Mining Firm Alrosa

Russian police uncovered around $3 million worth of stolen diamonds, and over $2.5 million in cash, at the homes of a criminal ring operating inside state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa, authorities said on Monday.

Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, confirmed that security services had uncovered an ongoing diamond theft ring in its sorting and grading department.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that three suspects, one of whom is an Alrosa employee, have been placed in custody by a Russian court.

“Alrosa completely confirms information from Russia’s FSB (security service) about the interception of an extensive scheme to steal rough diamonds in the company’s United Selling Organisation,” Alrosa said in a statement, referring to its valuation and sales department.

Alrosa competes with Anglo American’s De Beers, the biggest seller of rough diamonds by value.

The suspects were caught red-handed last Thursday attempting to steal another batch of diamonds worth over 22 million roubles ($340,000), investigators said.

During the course of their subsequent investigation, a bigger cache of diamonds and cash was found, as well as jewellery and dozens of diamond-encrusted watches.

A video shared by the Investigative Committee showed several opened safes filled with wads of $100 bills, Tiffany and Dior jewellery boxes, and multiple plastic bags of unpolished diamonds of different shapes and colours.

The court ordered that the three suspects be held in custody while the investigation continues.

“A few years ago the company announced its focus on rooting out corruption cases. This focus will be continued,” Alrosa said in its statement, adding its own security team had been involved in the investigation.

Alrosa produced 36.7 million carats of diamonds last year.

Source: themoscowtimes

Russian Police Uncover Diamond Theft Gang Inside State Mining Firm Alrosa

Russian police uncovered around $3 million worth of stolen diamonds, and over $2.5 million in cash, at the homes of a criminal ring operating inside state-controlled diamond producer Alrosa, authorities said on Monday.

Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds in carat terms, confirmed that security services had uncovered an ongoing diamond theft ring in its sorting and grading department.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that three suspects, one of whom is an Alrosa employee, have been placed in custody by a Russian court.

“Alrosa completely confirms information from Russia’s FSB (security service) about the interception of an extensive scheme to steal rough diamonds in the company’s United Selling Organisation,” Alrosa said in a statement, referring to its valuation and sales department.

Alrosa competes with Anglo American’s De Beers, the biggest seller of rough diamonds by value.

The suspects were caught red-handed last Thursday attempting to steal another batch of diamonds worth over 22 million roubles ($340,000), investigators said.

During the course of their subsequent investigation, a bigger cache of diamonds and cash was found, as well as jewellery and dozens of diamond-encrusted watches.

A video shared by the Investigative Committee showed several opened safes filled with wads of $100 bills, Tiffany and Dior jewellery boxes, and multiple plastic bags of unpolished diamonds of different shapes and colours.

The court ordered that the three suspects be held in custody while the investigation continues.

“A few years ago the company announced its focus on rooting out corruption cases. This focus will be continued,” Alrosa said in its statement, adding its own security team had been involved in the investigation.

Alrosa produced 36.7 million carats of diamonds last year.

Source: themoscowtimes

Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco

princess grace monaco

Royal bride Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco channeled her grandmother Grace Kelly as she celebrated her marriage with glittering evening reception.

Charlotte, 32, donned a stunning diamond necklace once owned by the actress as she joined new husband Dimitri Rassam, 37, for the gala dinner at a private mansion on Saturday night.

The couple, who tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Monaco that afternoon, delighted royal fans by releasing a photo from the event yesterday.

Source: DCLA

Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco

princess grace monaco

Royal bride Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco channeled her grandmother Grace Kelly as she celebrated her marriage with glittering evening reception.

Charlotte, 32, donned a stunning diamond necklace once owned by the actress as she joined new husband Dimitri Rassam, 37, for the gala dinner at a private mansion on Saturday night.

The couple, who tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Monaco that afternoon, delighted royal fans by releasing a photo from the event yesterday.

Source: DCLA

Sales slide at Tiffany & Co as tourists tighten their purses

Sales performed below expectations for Tiffany & Co during the first quarter of 2019.

For the three months ended April 30, worldwide net sales fell by 3% to $1bn compared to the previous year, and comparable sales declined by 5%. On a constant exchange rate basis, net sales were equal to the prior year and comparable sales declined 2%.

Net earnings came in at $125 million, 12% lower than the prior year’s $142 million.

These results reflect mixed performance across regions and product categories.

During the quarter engagement rings sales decline by 6%, while jewellery collections saw a 1% increase.

Totally net sales declined in the major markets, with Europe and the Americas both reported a 4% decline, with the latter being impacted by lower spending from foreign tourists. In Asia Pacific total net sales fell by 1%, something the brand attributes to the effect of foreign currency translation.

As a result of Q1, Tiffany has trimmed its earnings outlook, now expecting earnings in the 2019 financial year to increase by a low to mid single digit percentage, compared with its previous forecast for a mid single digit percentage increase.

Tiffany’s chief executive officer, Alessandro Bogliolo, reports: “Our first quarter results reflect significant foreign exchange headwinds and dramatically lower worldwide spending attributed to foreign tourists. That said, we were pleased that, at the core of our business, global sales attributed to local customers, led by sales in China, grew over last year’s very strong sales results.

“We believe this growth in sales to local customers reflects progress in executing our strategic priorities, including innovations across products, communications and the customer experience, and that Tiffany is positioned for improving trends in the second half of 2019.”

Tiffany opened two company operated stores in the first quarter, closed two stores and relocated two.

At April 30, 2019, the Company operated 321 stores (124 in the Americas, 89 in Asia-Pacific, 56 in Japan, 47 in Europe and five in the UAE), versus 314 stores a year ago (123 in the Americas, 87 in Asia Pacific, 54 in Japan, 46 in Europe and four in the UAE).

Source: DCLA

Sales slide at Tiffany & Co as tourists tighten their purses

Sales performed below expectations for Tiffany & Co during the first quarter of 2019.

For the three months ended April 30, worldwide net sales fell by 3% to $1bn compared to the previous year, and comparable sales declined by 5%. On a constant exchange rate basis, net sales were equal to the prior year and comparable sales declined 2%.

Net earnings came in at $125 million, 12% lower than the prior year’s $142 million.

These results reflect mixed performance across regions and product categories.

During the quarter engagement rings sales decline by 6%, while jewellery collections saw a 1% increase.

Totally net sales declined in the major markets, with Europe and the Americas both reported a 4% decline, with the latter being impacted by lower spending from foreign tourists. In Asia Pacific total net sales fell by 1%, something the brand attributes to the effect of foreign currency translation.

As a result of Q1, Tiffany has trimmed its earnings outlook, now expecting earnings in the 2019 financial year to increase by a low to mid single digit percentage, compared with its previous forecast for a mid single digit percentage increase.

Tiffany’s chief executive officer, Alessandro Bogliolo, reports: “Our first quarter results reflect significant foreign exchange headwinds and dramatically lower worldwide spending attributed to foreign tourists. That said, we were pleased that, at the core of our business, global sales attributed to local customers, led by sales in China, grew over last year’s very strong sales results.

“We believe this growth in sales to local customers reflects progress in executing our strategic priorities, including innovations across products, communications and the customer experience, and that Tiffany is positioned for improving trends in the second half of 2019.”

Tiffany opened two company operated stores in the first quarter, closed two stores and relocated two.

At April 30, 2019, the Company operated 321 stores (124 in the Americas, 89 in Asia-Pacific, 56 in Japan, 47 in Europe and five in the UAE), versus 314 stores a year ago (123 in the Americas, 87 in Asia Pacific, 54 in Japan, 46 in Europe and four in the UAE).

Source: DCLA

Alrosa to Sell Directly to Consumers

Alrosa is launching a source-of-origin program that will enable dealers and consumers to buy polished diamonds with detailed provenance information.

The Russian miner will create an “electronic passport” for each diamond on a new website, diamonds.alrosa.ru, presenting the stone’s physical characteristics, age, and place and date of extraction, as well as where and when it was cut. It will also name — and provide some information on — the artisan who polished the stone. The story will be viewable as an automated video.

The platform is initially aimed at the trade, but the company will open it up to the public in the fall of this year, it revealed last week during the JCK Las Vegas show.

“As part of the platform, there will be an option for end consumers to buy diamonds directly from Alrosa — for those individuals who want to buy a diamond with a provenance,” a spokesperson for the miner confirmed to Rapaport News Tuesday.

Proof of origin has gained importance for diamond miners, with De Beers launching a provenance program in April that enables consumers to view sustainability credentials for its mines at dtc.com. Alrosa explained its strategy during the JCK show, arguing that it was taking the issue much more seriously than many other market players.

“The traceability of a diamond is a pledge of confidence to anyone making such a purchase,” Alrosa added. Information on provenance, social responsibility and a stone’s non-conflict status “are all required by purchasers, especially younger generations,” the company noted. It’s currently trialing the system with 2,000 diamonds, and plans to increase that number soon.

Alrosa’s program will encompass diamonds from its own polished division, which had sales of approximately $95 million in 2018. The company is in negotiations to acquire Russian manufacturer Kristall, which would triple its polished output. The deal is expected to close this year, company representatives said.

Source: Diamonds.net