Pink Russian Diamond May Rank Among World’s Most Valuable Gems

A 14.83-carat pink gem found and cut by Alrosa PJSC is expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever for a diamond when the Russian company puts it up for sale later this year.

The oval stone, named The Spirit of the Rose, has been certified by the Gemological Institute of America as fancy vivid purple-pink with excellent clarity, excellent polish and very good symmetry, said Alrosa spokeswoman Evgeniya Kozenko. The sale is planned for November, she said.

The Spirit of the Rose diamond.

Colored diamonds, formed by impurities such as boron or nitrogen, are the most expensive and rarest, with pink and red stones fetching the highest prices. The Spirit of the Rose may be one of the most expensive pink stones ever, according to Eden Rachminov, the chairman of the board of the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

He estimates the potential price at between $60 million to $65 million.

Sotheby’s set the record for any gem ever sold at an auction in 2017, with its $71 million sale of the 59.6-carat Pink Star to Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group The stone was mined by De Beers, and dethroned the Oppenheimer Blue, which fetched $58 million in an earlier sale at Christie’s.

Kozenko declined to comment on how much Alrosa hopes to raise from the sale, but said that The Spirit of the Rose will be the most expensive stone ever polished in Russia. The company is still considering how to conduct the sale, with a decision expected next month, she said.

It’s a good time for a sale, as pink stones are about to get even rarer after Rio Tinto Group confirmed earlier this year that it was shutting its giant Argyle operation in Australia. The mine produces about 90% of the world’s pink gems.

Alrosa found the 27.85-carat rough stone at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East in 2017 and named it Nijinsky, after ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. The preparation and cutting process, which took a full year, was done at Alrosa’s cutting factory in Moscow.

The Spirit of the Rose was named for the ballet Le Spectre de la Rose, staged by the Ballets Russes company, which premiered in 1911 and in which Nijinsky was a star.

Source: DCLA

Pink Russian Diamond May Rank Among World’s Most Valuable Gems

A 14.83-carat pink gem found and cut by Alrosa PJSC is expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever for a diamond when the Russian company puts it up for sale later this year.

The oval stone, named The Spirit of the Rose, has been certified by the Gemological Institute of America as fancy vivid purple-pink with excellent clarity, excellent polish and very good symmetry, said Alrosa spokeswoman Evgeniya Kozenko. The sale is planned for November, she said.

The Spirit of the Rose diamond.

Colored diamonds, formed by impurities such as boron or nitrogen, are the most expensive and rarest, with pink and red stones fetching the highest prices. The Spirit of the Rose may be one of the most expensive pink stones ever, according to Eden Rachminov, the chairman of the board of the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

He estimates the potential price at between $60 million to $65 million.

Sotheby’s set the record for any gem ever sold at an auction in 2017, with its $71 million sale of the 59.6-carat Pink Star to Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group The stone was mined by De Beers, and dethroned the Oppenheimer Blue, which fetched $58 million in an earlier sale at Christie’s.

Kozenko declined to comment on how much Alrosa hopes to raise from the sale, but said that The Spirit of the Rose will be the most expensive stone ever polished in Russia. The company is still considering how to conduct the sale, with a decision expected next month, she said.

It’s a good time for a sale, as pink stones are about to get even rarer after Rio Tinto Group confirmed earlier this year that it was shutting its giant Argyle operation in Australia. The mine produces about 90% of the world’s pink gems.

Alrosa found the 27.85-carat rough stone at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East in 2017 and named it Nijinsky, after ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. The preparation and cutting process, which took a full year, was done at Alrosa’s cutting factory in Moscow.

The Spirit of the Rose was named for the ballet Le Spectre de la Rose, staged by the Ballets Russes company, which premiered in 1911 and in which Nijinsky was a star.

Source: DCLA

Pandora to Buy Back $75M of Jewelry

Pandora is set to repurchase DKK 500 million ($74.7 million) of unsold inventory from retailers that stock its products, the company said.

The Danish jeweler believes this will reduce the quantity of goods its clients keep in stock for long periods. The company plans to smelt and recycle the old jewelry to make new collections, a company spokesperson told Rapaport News Tuesday. The venture, which it will implement in select global markets, is part of a wider restructuring plan that will cost Pandora up to DKK 1.5 billion ($224.3 million).

Other features of the plan include supplying retailers with fewer goods in a bid to prevent buildup of excess inventory. Pandora will instead replenish clients’ stock with in-demand items when necessary, rather than providing them with too much product up front.

Pandora has struggled with disappointing sales, leading to the departure of the company’s CEO last August, as well as 1,900 job cuts this year.

Last week, the company announced a new partnership with television and film star Millie Bobby Brown as part of its efforts to connect with a younger audience.

Source: DCLA

Pandora to Buy Back $75M of Jewelry

Pandora is set to repurchase DKK 500 million ($74.7 million) of unsold inventory from retailers that stock its products, the company said.

The Danish jeweler believes this will reduce the quantity of goods its clients keep in stock for long periods. The company plans to smelt and recycle the old jewelry to make new collections, a company spokesperson told Rapaport News Tuesday. The venture, which it will implement in select global markets, is part of a wider restructuring plan that will cost Pandora up to DKK 1.5 billion ($224.3 million).

Other features of the plan include supplying retailers with fewer goods in a bid to prevent buildup of excess inventory. Pandora will instead replenish clients’ stock with in-demand items when necessary, rather than providing them with too much product up front.

Pandora has struggled with disappointing sales, leading to the departure of the company’s CEO last August, as well as 1,900 job cuts this year.

Last week, the company announced a new partnership with television and film star Millie Bobby Brown as part of its efforts to connect with a younger audience.

Source: DCLA

LUCAPA RAKES IN $1,234 PER CARAT IN LATEST LULO DIAMONDS SALE

In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds

Lucapa, which owns and operates the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, sold a parcel of 3,558 carats of Lulo diamonds for $4.4 million in its latest sale – a whooping $1,234 per carat, according to IDEX Online. In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds ($2,764 per carat).

Lucapa also reported selling a parcel of 4,376 carats of Mothae diamonds for $1.8 million. These figures bring sales of diamonds from Lulo mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho to $35.5 million in 2019 to date.

Earlier this week, Lucapa announced the recovery of a top-color, exceptional 64-carat diamond from its Mothae mine in Lesotho. According to Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall, the Type IIa D-colour stone “is considered to be the best individual diamond recovered to date from the Mothae mine”.

Source: DCLA

LUCAPA RAKES IN $1,234 PER CARAT IN LATEST LULO DIAMONDS SALE

In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds

Lucapa, which owns and operates the Lulo alluvial mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho, sold a parcel of 3,558 carats of Lulo diamonds for $4.4 million in its latest sale – a whooping $1,234 per carat, according to IDEX Online. In 2019 to date, Lucapa has sold a total of $26.5 million worth of Lulo diamonds ($2,764 per carat).

Lucapa also reported selling a parcel of 4,376 carats of Mothae diamonds for $1.8 million. These figures bring sales of diamonds from Lulo mine in Angola and the Mothae kimberlite mine in Lesotho to $35.5 million in 2019 to date.

Earlier this week, Lucapa announced the recovery of a top-color, exceptional 64-carat diamond from its Mothae mine in Lesotho. According to Lucapa MD Stephen Wetherall, the Type IIa D-colour stone “is considered to be the best individual diamond recovered to date from the Mothae mine”.

Source: DCLA

Hong Kong Riots Cast Cloud over Show

Diamond traders have raised concerns ahead of next month’s Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, as mass protests have caused chaos and dented local demand.

The show will still take place as planned, organizers Informa Markets confirmed to Rapaport News Friday. However, access to the venues is currently difficult, according to dealers, who are pinning their hopes on unrest in the city receding by the time the event begins on September 16.

“You don’t know where to go in Hong Kong right now,” said Vincent Yiu, director of Hong Kong-based Brilliant Trading Company, which plans to exhibit at the fair. “There are protesters literally in all areas. If it happened today, I don’t think the show would be good.” The riots are likely to calm down when protesters return to school and university in September, he added.

Anti-government demonstrations began in June, and have developed into large-scale civil disobedience across the city center, including near the show venues.

Hong Kong International Airport suspended departures for periods of Monday and Tuesday, after campaigners held a sit-in lasting several days. The site, as well as being the main entry point for visitors, is located next to AsiaWorld-Expo, where the loose-diamond exhibition will run from September 16 to 20.

Activists and police officers have also clashed near the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in the Wan Chai area, which will host the jewelry section of the show from September 18 to 22.

“The impact [of the protests] is very, very negative,” said Ephraim Zion, founder of Hong Kong-based high-end jeweler Dehres. “Sentiment is very, very bad. We don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve already been informed by a few clients that they’re not coming [to the exhibition]. The show will happen no matter what, [but] I expect very few people to come.”

Zion said he wouldn’t attend the show if it were today, but expects the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to take action if the protests continue for much longer. Meanwhile, sales at his domestic retail clients have “plummeted,” as the unrest has forced stores to shut, Zion added. “There is some demand from overseas, but locally, it’s dead,” he explained.

The riots have disrupted the municipality’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR), with videos appearing on the internet showing violence inside underground stations. The US State Department raised its travel warning for Hong Kong to level two last week, urging visitors to “exercise increased caution” due to civil unrest.

“We recognize the challenges we face given the recent public incidents in Hong Kong, but rest assured we have prepared — and are constantly updating and adjusting — a comprehensive contingency plan in partnership and in close coordination with all industry stakeholders,” a spokesperson for Informa said.

The procedures cover “virtually every scenario during the different phases of our show,” explained Informa, which has operated the event since acquiring UBM, the former owner, last year. The plans were already in place for the June edition of the fair, a smaller event, which “went off without a hitch,” the company added.

The September exhibition, a key event for trading goods ahead of the holiday season, comes amid generally weak consumer demand in greater China. Local jewelry sales have declined due to Beijing’s tariff dispute with the US, with the protests further fueling the downturn. The Chinese yuan has depreciated 2.6% against the Hong Kong dollar since January 1, reducing the spending power of tourists visiting from the mainland.

“The last three quarters [have] been quite challenging for the industry, and this is the very reason why exhibitors, buyers and stakeholders across the entire business spectrum are fully engaged to get the most out of the September fair,” Informa added.

Source: DCLA