313 Carat Diamond Emerges as World’s Largest D Colour

Nemesis International on Thursday unveiled a 313 carat diamond that has been certified as the largest D colour polished stone in history.

The emerald shape, VVS1 clarity diamond, known as Constellation 1, is one of eight stones that make up a collection manufactured from the 813 carat Constellation rough, which Nemesis bought in partnership with Swiss jeweler de Grisogono for $63.1 million in 2016. At $77,613 per carat, the stone still ranks as the most expensive rough diamond ever sold.

Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer at the Gemological Institute of America, confirmed with Rapaport News that the stone was the largest graded D colour diamond on record.

However, Nemesis has no immediate plans to sell the diamonds, CEO Konema Mwenenge told Rapaport News on the sidelines of the Dubai Diamond Conference. “We want to showcase this as the work of art that it is,” he stressed. “Diamonds are not just a commodity and this stone is impossible to value. We’re focused on building its legacy.”

The company is considering a roadshow to display the collection around the world at museums and other platforms. “We want to keep them as a family from the same rough,” Mwenenge added. The eight stones vary in size and shape, and range in clarity from flawless to internally flawless and VVS. The second largest stone in the family is a 102 carat diamond.

The diamonds will also be presented in their full polished form for now, but will eventually be mounted into jewelry. That contrasts with the company’s last major project, the Art of de Grisogono, an emerald cut, 163 carat, D flawless diamond, cut and polished in New York from a 404 carat rough diamond. That piece was sold as a necklace that could also transform into a bracelet, fetching $33.7 million at a Christie’s auction.

Source: DCLA

313 Carat Diamond Emerges as World’s Largest D Colour

Nemesis International on Thursday unveiled a 313 carat diamond that has been certified as the largest D colour polished stone in history.

The emerald shape, VVS1 clarity diamond, known as Constellation 1, is one of eight stones that make up a collection manufactured from the 813 carat Constellation rough, which Nemesis bought in partnership with Swiss jeweler de Grisogono for $63.1 million in 2016. At $77,613 per carat, the stone still ranks as the most expensive rough diamond ever sold.

Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer at the Gemological Institute of America, confirmed with Rapaport News that the stone was the largest graded D colour diamond on record.

However, Nemesis has no immediate plans to sell the diamonds, CEO Konema Mwenenge told Rapaport News on the sidelines of the Dubai Diamond Conference. “We want to showcase this as the work of art that it is,” he stressed. “Diamonds are not just a commodity and this stone is impossible to value. We’re focused on building its legacy.”

The company is considering a roadshow to display the collection around the world at museums and other platforms. “We want to keep them as a family from the same rough,” Mwenenge added. The eight stones vary in size and shape, and range in clarity from flawless to internally flawless and VVS. The second largest stone in the family is a 102 carat diamond.

The diamonds will also be presented in their full polished form for now, but will eventually be mounted into jewelry. That contrasts with the company’s last major project, the Art of de Grisogono, an emerald cut, 163 carat, D flawless diamond, cut and polished in New York from a 404 carat rough diamond. That piece was sold as a necklace that could also transform into a bracelet, fetching $33.7 million at a Christie’s auction.

Source: DCLA

Alrosa Board Approves Kristall Takeover

Alrosa is set to finalize its acquisition of diamond manufacturer Kristall in a $29 million deal in October, following approval from its supervisory board.

Alrosa expects the RUB 1.89 billion sale-and-purchase agreement to be signed by the end of the month, with a concrete plan for the manufacturer’s integration into the company to be in place by the end of the year, it noted.

Kristall is the leading polished-diamond manufacturer in Russia and Europe, processing more than 200,000 carats of rough annually. While Alrosa already runs a manufacturing unit, the acquisition of Kristall is set to expand its share of the polished-production market from 20% to 70%.

“Despite the fact that Alrosa is currently a key supplier of rough diamonds to Kristall, it accounts for as little as 0.5% of Alrosa’s sales of rough diamonds,” Alexey Philippovskiy, Alrosa’s deputy CEO, said Wednesday. “The deal value is less than 1% of Alrosa’s net assets and, according to our estimates, the purchase price will not exceed Kristall’s net assets at the date of the transaction.”

Last year Kristall produced 105,700 carats of polished diamonds, with sales of 111,700 carats. It reported revenue of RUB 12.8 billion ($199.1 million) and profit of RUB 40.7 million ($633,040). The company also operates a jewelry entity and a business that produces tooling and equipment for the diamond industry.

Source: DCLA

Alrosa Board Approves Kristall Takeover

Alrosa is set to finalize its acquisition of diamond manufacturer Kristall in a $29 million deal in October, following approval from its supervisory board.

Alrosa expects the RUB 1.89 billion sale-and-purchase agreement to be signed by the end of the month, with a concrete plan for the manufacturer’s integration into the company to be in place by the end of the year, it noted.

Kristall is the leading polished-diamond manufacturer in Russia and Europe, processing more than 200,000 carats of rough annually. While Alrosa already runs a manufacturing unit, the acquisition of Kristall is set to expand its share of the polished-production market from 20% to 70%.

“Despite the fact that Alrosa is currently a key supplier of rough diamonds to Kristall, it accounts for as little as 0.5% of Alrosa’s sales of rough diamonds,” Alexey Philippovskiy, Alrosa’s deputy CEO, said Wednesday. “The deal value is less than 1% of Alrosa’s net assets and, according to our estimates, the purchase price will not exceed Kristall’s net assets at the date of the transaction.”

Last year Kristall produced 105,700 carats of polished diamonds, with sales of 111,700 carats. It reported revenue of RUB 12.8 billion ($199.1 million) and profit of RUB 40.7 million ($633,040). The company also operates a jewelry entity and a business that produces tooling and equipment for the diamond industry.

Source: DCLA

Zimbabwe intends to sell another 500,000 carats of diamonds before end of 2019

Zimbabwe says it intends to auction between 400,000 and 500,000 carats of diamonds before the end of 2019.

This follows another auction two weeks ago, the third in 2019, in which the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) sold 316,000 carats, whose value is yet to be established as figures are still being reconciled.

Prior to the last sale, Zimbabwe had in June invited seven international buyers to participate in a private sale of nearly two million carats.

The Herald newspaper reported Wednesday that MMCZ general manager Tongai Muzenda had said that the corporation expected better returns in the short-term on account of the level of pricing systems that would prevail in the market.

“We are looking forward to conducting another diamond auction where we are targeting to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 carats by the end of November,” he said.

Zimbabwe expects to produce 4.1 million carats of diamonds this year, up from 2.8 million carats last year. At the peak of production in 2012, output was 12 million carats.

Source: DCLA

Zimbabwe intends to sell another 500,000 carats of diamonds before end of 2019

Zimbabwe says it intends to auction between 400,000 and 500,000 carats of diamonds before the end of 2019.

This follows another auction two weeks ago, the third in 2019, in which the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) sold 316,000 carats, whose value is yet to be established as figures are still being reconciled.

Prior to the last sale, Zimbabwe had in June invited seven international buyers to participate in a private sale of nearly two million carats.

The Herald newspaper reported Wednesday that MMCZ general manager Tongai Muzenda had said that the corporation expected better returns in the short-term on account of the level of pricing systems that would prevail in the market.

“We are looking forward to conducting another diamond auction where we are targeting to sell between 400,000 and 500,000 carats by the end of November,” he said.

Zimbabwe expects to produce 4.1 million carats of diamonds this year, up from 2.8 million carats last year. At the peak of production in 2012, output was 12 million carats.

Source: DCLA

Strange New Mineral Discovered Trapped Inside A Diamond

You’ve heard the slogan, “Diamonds are forever” and while that’s meant to be marketed toward the jewelry customers, it also excites scientists studying diamonds.

This is because unlike when you’re shopping for an engagement ring, imperfections in the diamond are of great interest to scientists.

Through analysis of a single tiny grain imperfection within a diamond, researchers discovered a brand new mineral never before seen. The findings, published in American Mineralogist, officially introduced the new mineral goldschmidtite ((K,REE,Sr)(Nb,Cr)O3).

The diamond is from South Africa, more specifically the Koffiefontein pipe that is known for producing world-class diamonds and operated by the international diamond behemoth De Beers.

Trapped within the diamond itself is a tiny spec, an inclusion that the diamond grew over and around, trapping it within the diamond’s strong crystal lattice about 105 miles below the surface of the Earth. Inclusions in diamonds are not entirely unusual but they are exciting because it gives a glimpse into the geochemistry of the surrounding molten rock as the diamond formed.

The new mineral goldschmidtite, a dark green spec the width of a human hair, has unusual chemical properties. Thankfully, it was trapped within the diamond itself which is strong and stable enough to last millions to billions of years. Hence, it is a perfect “vessel” for preserving rare and unique minerals.

The dominant elements that make up the mantle where this diamond formed are magnesium, iron, etc. However, this spec contains niobium, potassium and the very rare elements lanthanum and cerium. The fact that this mineral contains such a unique concoction of rare elements is intriguing. How was there enough concentration of these rare elements to form this unusual mineral?

The processes by which this mineral formed must have been unique and the available elements must have been unique.

The new mineral is named after Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, who lived in the late 19th century and early 20th century and was an early and famous mineralogist. He was a pioneer in researching the perovskite crystal chemistry, a similar crystal chemistry as found in this newly discovered mineral.

The first step of identification of the mineral is now complete and the next step will be to develop a model for how this unusual mineral formed in the depths below South Africa. Certainly, the team will be looking for more examples of goldschmidtite in the Koffiefontein pipe to see if there are chemical variations and more clues as to how this unique mineral formed.

This isn’t the first time researchers have found precious information locked in diamonds. Back in 2014, a research team published a Nature paper on their discovery of hydrous minerals locked within a diamond. This provided direct evidence that water is locked away in the deep mantle.

Source: DCLA