Lucapa’s sale fresh sign of diamond market recovery

 

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond and its partners in Angola have sold $5.6 million worth of diamonds from the Lulo mine at their latest event, a fresh sign that the market is slowly improving.

The miner, Angola’s national diamond company (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas sold 3,862 carats at an average price of $1,450 per carat. The figure took total sales of diamonds recovered so far this year at Lulo mine to 16,128 carats and $21.3 million.

“As foreshadowed, the strong operational performance and record diamond recoveries at Lulo in July and August, together with a recovering diamond demand positively impacting prices, should bode well for Lulo in H2 2020,” Lucapa’s managing director Stephen Wetherall said.

Global demand for all types of diamonds fell between 2018 and 2019, affecting small stones producers the most, due to an oversupply in that segment that dragged prices down.

Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds also weighed on prices. Man-made stones require less investment than mined ones and can offer more attractive margins.

Just when the market seemed to have bottomed out, it was hit in March by the coronavirus pandemic. Its rapid spread forced some mine shutdowns and limited mobility of potential buyers, painting a bleak picture for even the largest diamond miners.

Conditions since have improved and De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, was the first major producer to come out with good news. It said earlier this month it had made about three times as much in sales of roughs in the seventh sales cycle of the year as it did in the previous event.

The Anglo American unit, which sells diamonds to a handpicked group of about 80 buyers 10 times a year at events called sights, sold $320 million worth of rough diamonds in the seventh cycle. That compares to the $116 million fetched in the previous sight and is not far behind the $400 million De Beers sold on average each month last year.

Angola’s diamond push
Lucapa’s improved sale also come in the midst of Angola’s fresh attempts to boost its local industry. The West African nation is the world’s fifth diamond producer by value and no.6 by volume.

According to official figures, however, only 40% of Angola’s kimberlite has been discovered.

The country’s industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully being liberalized.

Last year, Angola held its first public diamond auction and since then, producers no longer have to sell at below-market prices to a handful of buyers favoured by the state.

Endiama revealed in February it was seeking international partners in an attempt to place Angola among the world’s top-three diamond producers.

The country currently has 14 diamond mining projects, with the largest being the Catoca mine, which produces 61% of the country’s output.

Catoca is also the world’s fourth-largest diamond mine in the world. It is owned by a consortium of international mining interests, including Endiama, and Russia’s Alrosa.

Source: DCLA

Lucapa’s sale fresh sign of diamond market recovery

 

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond and its partners in Angola have sold $5.6 million worth of diamonds from the Lulo mine at their latest event, a fresh sign that the market is slowly improving.

The miner, Angola’s national diamond company (Endiama) and Rosas & Petalas sold 3,862 carats at an average price of $1,450 per carat. The figure took total sales of diamonds recovered so far this year at Lulo mine to 16,128 carats and $21.3 million.

“As foreshadowed, the strong operational performance and record diamond recoveries at Lulo in July and August, together with a recovering diamond demand positively impacting prices, should bode well for Lulo in H2 2020,” Lucapa’s managing director Stephen Wetherall said.

Global demand for all types of diamonds fell between 2018 and 2019, affecting small stones producers the most, due to an oversupply in that segment that dragged prices down.

Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds also weighed on prices. Man-made stones require less investment than mined ones and can offer more attractive margins.

Just when the market seemed to have bottomed out, it was hit in March by the coronavirus pandemic. Its rapid spread forced some mine shutdowns and limited mobility of potential buyers, painting a bleak picture for even the largest diamond miners.

Conditions since have improved and De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer by value, was the first major producer to come out with good news. It said earlier this month it had made about three times as much in sales of roughs in the seventh sales cycle of the year as it did in the previous event.

The Anglo American unit, which sells diamonds to a handpicked group of about 80 buyers 10 times a year at events called sights, sold $320 million worth of rough diamonds in the seventh cycle. That compares to the $116 million fetched in the previous sight and is not far behind the $400 million De Beers sold on average each month last year.

Angola’s diamond push
Lucapa’s improved sale also come in the midst of Angola’s fresh attempts to boost its local industry. The West African nation is the world’s fifth diamond producer by value and no.6 by volume.

According to official figures, however, only 40% of Angola’s kimberlite has been discovered.

The country’s industry, which began a century ago under Portuguese colonial rule, is successfully being liberalized.

Last year, Angola held its first public diamond auction and since then, producers no longer have to sell at below-market prices to a handful of buyers favoured by the state.

Endiama revealed in February it was seeking international partners in an attempt to place Angola among the world’s top-three diamond producers.

The country currently has 14 diamond mining projects, with the largest being the Catoca mine, which produces 61% of the country’s output.

Catoca is also the world’s fourth-largest diamond mine in the world. It is owned by a consortium of international mining interests, including Endiama, and Russia’s Alrosa.

Source: DCLA

Vacheron Constantin Heure Romantique Jewelry Watch With Diamonds

 

With more than 200 years of watchmaking expertise, Vacheron Constantin – the oldest, continually operating Swiss watch brand has a lot of archives to turn to for inspiration.

That is exactly what it did when the brand opted to release a new timepiece to its Heures Creatives collection.

Today, Vacheron Constantin unveils the highly sophisticated and somewhat dramatic new Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch.

With this new diamond-set 18 karat gold ultra feminine timepiece, Vacheron Constantin not only showcases its ability to embrace the past and translate it to today with ease, but also deftly demonstrates its watchmaking and gem-setting expertise. 

The Vacheron Constantin Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch was inspired by an archival … [+] © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The new flower-shaped watch with great curves recalls the Art Nouveau era in its shape and its setting.

The watch boasts a striking black mother of pearl dial with beautiful striations and highly stylized Roman numerals within the arabesques.

It is meticulously set with diamond brilliants on the case, case sides, and leaf like lugs using a prong setting that was prevalent in the early 1920’s and ‘30’s and that is still relevant today.

In fact, the 18 karat white gold watch boasts a total of 104 diamonds set on two levels of the case for stunning appeal.

Even the white gold folding clasp and the crown are set with diamonds – for a total of 123 stones weighing 2.6 carats. 

As if the diamonds and the meticulous setting which takes an artisan hundreds of hours to complete Vacheron Constantin also adds finely engraved small gold beads to the entire circumference of the case, with another row of beads outlining the diamonds on the case.

This incredible detailing takes dozens of hours of work and is barely noticeable from a distance. However, Vacheron Constantin would have it no other way. The brand is a stickler for details. 

The Heure Romantique ladies’ watch features diamonds set on two levels, as well as the leaf-shaped VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The Heures Creatives Heure Romantique watch, which was inspired by a 1916 archival piece that was created with an all diamond bracelet, joins Vacheron Constantin’s Heures Creatives collection.

The series was started five years ago in 2015, with the first watches released being a trilogy of watches inspired by the Belle Epoque era and forward through the 1970’s. 

Looking at this elegant watch, one would guess it to be fitted with a quartz movement. However, Vacheron Constantin prides itself on its watchmaking as well as its artistic craftsmanship.

This watch is more than just a beautiful statement piece, it also boasts a top notch in-house-made mechanical movement.

Powered by the extremely thin manual winding Caliber 1055,  with 115 individual components and 21 jewels, the petite watch boasts 40 hours of power reserve.

It is finished with a black satin strap perfect for any black-tie soiree.  The watch retails for $54,500.

Vacheron Constantin has been creating romantic watches for women for centuries. © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

Source: DCLA

Vacheron Constantin Heure Romantique Jewelry Watch With Diamonds

 

With more than 200 years of watchmaking expertise, Vacheron Constantin – the oldest, continually operating Swiss watch brand has a lot of archives to turn to for inspiration.

That is exactly what it did when the brand opted to release a new timepiece to its Heures Creatives collection.

Today, Vacheron Constantin unveils the highly sophisticated and somewhat dramatic new Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch.

With this new diamond-set 18 karat gold ultra feminine timepiece, Vacheron Constantin not only showcases its ability to embrace the past and translate it to today with ease, but also deftly demonstrates its watchmaking and gem-setting expertise. 

The Vacheron Constantin Heures Creatives Heure Romantique ladies’ watch was inspired by an archival … [+] © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The new flower-shaped watch with great curves recalls the Art Nouveau era in its shape and its setting.

The watch boasts a striking black mother of pearl dial with beautiful striations and highly stylized Roman numerals within the arabesques.

It is meticulously set with diamond brilliants on the case, case sides, and leaf like lugs using a prong setting that was prevalent in the early 1920’s and ‘30’s and that is still relevant today.

In fact, the 18 karat white gold watch boasts a total of 104 diamonds set on two levels of the case for stunning appeal.

Even the white gold folding clasp and the crown are set with diamonds – for a total of 123 stones weighing 2.6 carats. 

As if the diamonds and the meticulous setting which takes an artisan hundreds of hours to complete Vacheron Constantin also adds finely engraved small gold beads to the entire circumference of the case, with another row of beads outlining the diamonds on the case.

This incredible detailing takes dozens of hours of work and is barely noticeable from a distance. However, Vacheron Constantin would have it no other way. The brand is a stickler for details. 

The Heure Romantique ladies’ watch features diamonds set on two levels, as well as the leaf-shaped VACHERON CONSTANTIN

The Heures Creatives Heure Romantique watch, which was inspired by a 1916 archival piece that was created with an all diamond bracelet, joins Vacheron Constantin’s Heures Creatives collection.

The series was started five years ago in 2015, with the first watches released being a trilogy of watches inspired by the Belle Epoque era and forward through the 1970’s. 

Looking at this elegant watch, one would guess it to be fitted with a quartz movement. However, Vacheron Constantin prides itself on its watchmaking as well as its artistic craftsmanship.

This watch is more than just a beautiful statement piece, it also boasts a top notch in-house-made mechanical movement.

Powered by the extremely thin manual winding Caliber 1055,  with 115 individual components and 21 jewels, the petite watch boasts 40 hours of power reserve.

It is finished with a black satin strap perfect for any black-tie soiree.  The watch retails for $54,500.

Vacheron Constantin has been creating romantic watches for women for centuries. © VACHERON CONSTANTIN

Source: DCLA

De Beers Reduces Prices of Smaller Rough

 

De Beers lowered prices of rough diamonds below 1 carat as the positive sales momentum that began last month continued during this week’s sight, sightholders told Rapaport News.

The reductions for the September sight are between 5% and 10%, and follow the miner’s August price cut for rough above 1 carat.

De Beers and rival Alrosa had maintained prices throughout most of the pandemic to avoid flooding the market and devaluing inventories. This deterred many customers from buying, as they perceived the prices to be too high relative to polished prices, which had slumped during the crisis. Both companies finally reduced prices last month as polished demand had picked up ahead of the holidays and shortages emerged after months of low manufacturing activity.

“The prices had to be readjusted, because polished prices have fallen and rough prices did not fall,” a sightholder said Wednesday on condition of anonymity. “Now they’ve recalibrated the price according to today’s market environment. It shouldn’t affect polished prices much, but it [puts] profitability back in the rough.”

De Beers’ sales value at this week’s sight will be similar to last month’s, when the company brought in $320 million, rough-market sources predicted. Sentiment has risen and Indian manufacturers are seeking goods to polish ahead of the November Diwali festival, which is usually a period of shutdown for the sector.

“[Manufacturers] have reduced their polished inventory and want to increase the prices of their polished inventory,” another sightholder said. “They have liquidity because of the lower inventory and production in the last few months. So people are quite [keen] to manufacture. Hopefully the momentum will go on for a few months.”

Source: DCLA

De Beers Reduces Prices of Smaller Rough

 

De Beers lowered prices of rough diamonds below 1 carat as the positive sales momentum that began last month continued during this week’s sight, sightholders told Rapaport News.

The reductions for the September sight are between 5% and 10%, and follow the miner’s August price cut for rough above 1 carat.

De Beers and rival Alrosa had maintained prices throughout most of the pandemic to avoid flooding the market and devaluing inventories. This deterred many customers from buying, as they perceived the prices to be too high relative to polished prices, which had slumped during the crisis. Both companies finally reduced prices last month as polished demand had picked up ahead of the holidays and shortages emerged after months of low manufacturing activity.

“The prices had to be readjusted, because polished prices have fallen and rough prices did not fall,” a sightholder said Wednesday on condition of anonymity. “Now they’ve recalibrated the price according to today’s market environment. It shouldn’t affect polished prices much, but it [puts] profitability back in the rough.”

De Beers’ sales value at this week’s sight will be similar to last month’s, when the company brought in $320 million, rough-market sources predicted. Sentiment has risen and Indian manufacturers are seeking goods to polish ahead of the November Diwali festival, which is usually a period of shutdown for the sector.

“[Manufacturers] have reduced their polished inventory and want to increase the prices of their polished inventory,” another sightholder said. “They have liquidity because of the lower inventory and production in the last few months. So people are quite [keen] to manufacture. Hopefully the momentum will go on for a few months.”

Source: DCLA

LVMH-Tiffany Trial Set for January

A US court has approved Tiffany & Co.’s request to fast-track its lawsuit against LVMH, scheduling a four-day trial starting January 5, 2021.

The timeline means a ruling would come after the final deadline for LVMH’s takeover of Tiffany, but before antitrust approvals for the deal begin to expire. The US jeweler had asked for the trial to take place even sooner, before the deal’s November 24 termination date, while the French luxury group had sought to delay the proceedings for several months.

“We appreciate the court’s ruling today to expedite the process,” Tiffany chairman Roger Farah said Monday. “Despite LVMH’s ongoing efforts to avoid paying the agreed-upon price for Tiffany, a trial on January 5, 2021, will hopefully lead to a ruling prior to the expiration of US antitrust clearance on February 3, 2021, and enable us to protect our company and our shareholders.”

LVMH pulled out of the $16 billion transaction earlier this month, citing a letter from the French government urging it to delay closing until after the deadline due to a trade dispute with the US. However, Tiffany claimed LVMH was intentionally stalling the deal so the deadline would pass and it could renegotiate a new takeover at a lower price, adding that the government instructions were not binding.

LVMH later accused Tiffany of mismanagement during the Covid-19 pandemic, and plans to argue to the court that this constituted a “material adverse effect” enabling the buyer to renege on the deal. Tiffany rejected this and accused its sparring partner of breaching the agreement by failing to obtain antitrust approvals promptly.

However, LVMH said it would close the deal if the court found that it could not abandon it, despite the trial occurring after the transaction deadline, Reuters reported, citing court papers.

“LVMH is fully confident that it will be able to defeat Tiffany’s accusations and convince the court that the conditions necessary for the acquisition of Tiffany are no longer met,” the French company said in a statement Monday. “In this regard, in the coming months, LVMH will demonstrate to the American justice system that the mismanagement of Tiffany during the Covid-19 crisis constitutes a material adverse effect.”

Source: DCLA