Lest We Forget

On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare.

With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War.

From the summer of 1918, the five divisions of the Australian Corps had been at the forefront of the allied advance to victory.

Beginning with their stunning success at the battle of Hamel in July, they helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens in August, followed by the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, and the breaching of German defences at the Hindenburg Line in September.

By early October the exhausted Australians were withdrawn from battle. They had achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come at a heavy cost. They suffered almost 48,000 casualties during 1918, including more than 12,000 dead.

In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died.

The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.

Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. Lest We Forget

Source: DCLA

Lest We Forget

On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare.

With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War.

From the summer of 1918, the five divisions of the Australian Corps had been at the forefront of the allied advance to victory.

Beginning with their stunning success at the battle of Hamel in July, they helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens in August, followed by the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, and the breaching of German defences at the Hindenburg Line in September.

By early October the exhausted Australians were withdrawn from battle. They had achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come at a heavy cost. They suffered almost 48,000 casualties during 1918, including more than 12,000 dead.

In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died.

The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.

Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. Lest We Forget

Source: DCLA

It’s been a terrible week for diamond miners

While the world’s biggest diamond miner surprised the market by cutting prices this week, a slew of filings from its smaller rivals show the move was inevitable.

While De Beers is a price maker in the supply of rough diamonds, dictating what its customers pay, most other miners are price takers. Gem Diamonds and Lucara Diamond — both known for digging up the most-expensive stones — and Mountain Province Diamonds all reported lower prices this week.

Much of the industry’s current problems have focused on tumbling prices for cheaper, smaller goods, the sort of diamonds that end up in a Walmart ring, but the recent results show even the crown jewels are also feeling the pinch.

Diamond buyers, the industry’s invisible link between African mines and jewelry stores in New York, London and Hong Kong, are being squeezed like rarely before. With too much supply and banks tightening their financing, many traders have been unable to make a profit. That’s now blowing back on the miners.

The De Beers price cut was catching up with the “reality of market conditions,” said Edward Sterck, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in London. “We think we must be approaching the nadir of the diamond market, which may just mean that a recovery is in the cards,” he added.

Gem Diamonds, which mines the world’s most expensive stones, sold its diamonds for $1,417 a carat in the third quarter. While still an eye-watering figure in an industry that averages less than $200 a carat, it’s down from about $2,100 in 2018.

Lucara reported an average selling price of $390 a carat in the third quarter. That’s a 13% drop from last year and a steep fall from 2015, when gems sold for $593 a carat.

At the bottom end of the market, things have been difficult for a long time. Mountain Province has been struggling with low prices since the beginning. In a 2014 feasibility study, it expected prices of $120 a carat, but sold stones for $53 per carat in the third quarter. The company runs the Gahcho Kue diamond mine in Canada in a joint venture with De Beers.

Source: DCLA

It’s been a terrible week for diamond miners

While the world’s biggest diamond miner surprised the market by cutting prices this week, a slew of filings from its smaller rivals show the move was inevitable.

While De Beers is a price maker in the supply of rough diamonds, dictating what its customers pay, most other miners are price takers. Gem Diamonds and Lucara Diamond — both known for digging up the most-expensive stones — and Mountain Province Diamonds all reported lower prices this week.

Much of the industry’s current problems have focused on tumbling prices for cheaper, smaller goods, the sort of diamonds that end up in a Walmart ring, but the recent results show even the crown jewels are also feeling the pinch.

Diamond buyers, the industry’s invisible link between African mines and jewelry stores in New York, London and Hong Kong, are being squeezed like rarely before. With too much supply and banks tightening their financing, many traders have been unable to make a profit. That’s now blowing back on the miners.

The De Beers price cut was catching up with the “reality of market conditions,” said Edward Sterck, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in London. “We think we must be approaching the nadir of the diamond market, which may just mean that a recovery is in the cards,” he added.

Gem Diamonds, which mines the world’s most expensive stones, sold its diamonds for $1,417 a carat in the third quarter. While still an eye-watering figure in an industry that averages less than $200 a carat, it’s down from about $2,100 in 2018.

Lucara reported an average selling price of $390 a carat in the third quarter. That’s a 13% drop from last year and a steep fall from 2015, when gems sold for $593 a carat.

At the bottom end of the market, things have been difficult for a long time. Mountain Province has been struggling with low prices since the beginning. In a 2014 feasibility study, it expected prices of $120 a carat, but sold stones for $53 per carat in the third quarter. The company runs the Gahcho Kue diamond mine in Canada in a joint venture with De Beers.

Source: DCLA

Blue and Pink Diamonds Show Price Stability in Q3 2019

Prices of fancy color diamonds remained stable in the third quarter of 2019, according to the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) published by the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

The prices of pinks remained stable this quarter. The slight decrease of 0.1 percent overall was due to a 3 percent decrease in the 5 carat fancy pink category. However, all fancy vivid pinks rose by 0.4 percent, with 1 and 3 carat fancy vivid pinks increasing by 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent.

Blue diamond prices increased just 0.1 percent. The sharpest increase came the 1.5 carat fancy vivid blue category (2.1 percent). Over the past 12 months, the price of this category has appreciated by 10.6 percent. The sharpest drop during this quarter (-2.2 percent) was in the 1.5 carat fancy intense blue category.

The prices of yellow diamonds decreased 1.5 percent during Q3. The largest price decrease of 3.5 percent was in the 3 carat fancy vivid yellow category. Only 2 carat fancy intense yellow diamonds did not experience a fall in prices.

Fancy Colour Diamonds

Continuing a trend seen during the past year, the fancy vivid category outperformed (0.1 percent) the fancy intense (-0.5 percent) and fancy (-1.0 percent) categories.

Source: DCLA

Blue and Pink Diamonds Show Price Stability in Q3 2019

Prices of fancy color diamonds remained stable in the third quarter of 2019, according to the Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) published by the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

The prices of pinks remained stable this quarter. The slight decrease of 0.1 percent overall was due to a 3 percent decrease in the 5 carat fancy pink category. However, all fancy vivid pinks rose by 0.4 percent, with 1 and 3 carat fancy vivid pinks increasing by 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent.

Blue diamond prices increased just 0.1 percent. The sharpest increase came the 1.5 carat fancy vivid blue category (2.1 percent). Over the past 12 months, the price of this category has appreciated by 10.6 percent. The sharpest drop during this quarter (-2.2 percent) was in the 1.5 carat fancy intense blue category.

The prices of yellow diamonds decreased 1.5 percent during Q3. The largest price decrease of 3.5 percent was in the 3 carat fancy vivid yellow category. Only 2 carat fancy intense yellow diamonds did not experience a fall in prices.

Fancy Colour Diamonds

Continuing a trend seen during the past year, the fancy vivid category outperformed (0.1 percent) the fancy intense (-0.5 percent) and fancy (-1.0 percent) categories.

Source: DCLA

HRD Antwerp Receives Two Takeover Bids

The International Gemological Institute (IGI) and industry veteran Peter Meeus have put in rival bids to acquire HRD Antwerp.

Meeus, HRD’s former managing director, last week submitted a proposal to buy at least 51% of the lab in partnership with two unnamed individuals, he told Rapaport News Wednesday. IGI also placed a bid for the lab in the past two or three months, sources said.

“Although HRD has phenomenally lost its market share, the brand awareness is still there, especially in the Middle East, and also in India and Asia,” said Meeus, who headed HRD from 1999 to 2005. “With the whole issue of synthetics, it is my strong belief that once the consumer starts to know about it, all natural diamonds will be sold with a certificate, so this business will grow. The ambition is to bring it back to where we were, and we think we have a formula for that, which will multiply or amplify the number of HRD certificates globally, with a focus on the East.”

Chinese conglomerate Fosun International acquired an 80% stake in IGI last year. IGI CEO Roland Lorie declined to comment, but confirmed that the company had signed a nondisclosure agreement.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre, which owns HRD, elected not to comment.

Source: DCLA