Gem Diamonds Unearths 370ct. Rough

                           

Gem Diamonds has recovered a 370-carat rough stone in Lesotho, the second over 100 carats in one week.

The “high-quality,” white, type II diamond came from the company’s Letšeng mine, known for producing large diamonds, it said Monday. The new find follows the discovery of a high-quality, 254-carat, white, type II diamond the miner reported on May 4.

The miner has unearthed three 100-carat-plus diamonds so far this year, including a 146.9-carat rough in January. Although output of large stones was sluggish in the first quarter as the company mined lower-value areas, it is still ahead of last year’s discovery of two stones greater than 100 carats by the middle of May.

In 2020, Gem Diamonds produced a total of 16 diamonds larger than 100 carats.

Source: DCLA

Gem Diamonds Unearths 370ct. Rough

                           

Gem Diamonds has recovered a 370-carat rough stone in Lesotho, the second over 100 carats in one week.

The “high-quality,” white, type II diamond came from the company’s Letšeng mine, known for producing large diamonds, it said Monday. The new find follows the discovery of a high-quality, 254-carat, white, type II diamond the miner reported on May 4.

The miner has unearthed three 100-carat-plus diamonds so far this year, including a 146.9-carat rough in January. Although output of large stones was sluggish in the first quarter as the company mined lower-value areas, it is still ahead of last year’s discovery of two stones greater than 100 carats by the middle of May.

In 2020, Gem Diamonds produced a total of 16 diamonds larger than 100 carats.

Source: DCLA

Natural-Diamond Trade Hits Back at Pandora

Leading trade organizations have lashed out at Pandora’s recent statements about lab-grown stones, claiming the retailer misrepresented natural diamonds and caused harm to the industry.

Pandora announced it would no longer sell mined diamonds and would instead stock synthetics, linking the decision to its environmental goals. The launch of a lab-grown line will help “transform the market for diamond jewelry with affordable, sustainably created products,” the Danish jeweler asserted last week.

Pandora’s proclamation wrongly positioned lab-grown as an “ethical choice versus natural diamonds,” five jewelry groups said in a joint statement Friday. The signatories were the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

The diamond industry employs tens of millions of people around the world, the organizations pointed out. The communities that benefit from the sector need its support “more than ever” given the hardship resulting from Covid-19, they added.

“The misleading narrative created by the Pandora announcement implying the natural-diamond industry is…less ethical and the impetus behind Pandora’s move to lab-grown diamonds, particularly given the inconsequential [quantity] of diamonds Pandora features in its collections, can have unintended but substantial consequences on communities in developing nations,” the groups said. “The industry organizations have called upon Pandora to support communities by correcting the record.”

Pandora used mined diamonds in about 50,000 of the 85 million pieces it created in 2020, it said.

Pandora was not immediately available for comment.

Source: DCLA

Natural-Diamond Trade Hits Back at Pandora

Leading trade organizations have lashed out at Pandora’s recent statements about lab-grown stones, claiming the retailer misrepresented natural diamonds and caused harm to the industry.

Pandora announced it would no longer sell mined diamonds and would instead stock synthetics, linking the decision to its environmental goals. The launch of a lab-grown line will help “transform the market for diamond jewelry with affordable, sustainably created products,” the Danish jeweler asserted last week.

Pandora’s proclamation wrongly positioned lab-grown as an “ethical choice versus natural diamonds,” five jewelry groups said in a joint statement Friday. The signatories were the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

The diamond industry employs tens of millions of people around the world, the organizations pointed out. The communities that benefit from the sector need its support “more than ever” given the hardship resulting from Covid-19, they added.

“The misleading narrative created by the Pandora announcement implying the natural-diamond industry is…less ethical and the impetus behind Pandora’s move to lab-grown diamonds, particularly given the inconsequential [quantity] of diamonds Pandora features in its collections, can have unintended but substantial consequences on communities in developing nations,” the groups said. “The industry organizations have called upon Pandora to support communities by correcting the record.”

Pandora used mined diamonds in about 50,000 of the 85 million pieces it created in 2020, it said.

Pandora was not immediately available for comment.

Source: DCLA

Largest ever Russian diamond to be auctioned at Christie's

 Largest ever Russian diamond to be auctioned at Christie’s

100.94 carat D colour, internally flawless rectangular step-cut diamond

Alrosa Spectacle, a 100.94 carat diamond that is thought to be the largest ever cut in Russia, will be auctioned in Geneva later this month.

The diamond could fetch between 12 million and 18 million Swiss francs ($13.32 million – $19.96 million) when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s May 12.

“This fantastic 100 carat D color diamond was cut from a rough stone that originally weighed more than 200 carats. It was called the Sergei Diaghilev rough diamond and it was mined in 2016,” Marie-Cecile Cisamolo, a specialist in the auction house’s jewelry department, said.

“Between the rough and diamond that we’re offering today, it took one year and eight months to cut into this perfect stone.”

The diamond is one of 144 lots on offer in the sale, which also includes rings, earrings, brooches and other pieces made with diamonds, sapphires and rubies.

Source: DCLA

Largest ever Russian diamond to be auctioned at Christie's

 Largest ever Russian diamond to be auctioned at Christie’s

100.94 carat D colour, internally flawless rectangular step-cut diamond

Alrosa Spectacle, a 100.94 carat diamond that is thought to be the largest ever cut in Russia, will be auctioned in Geneva later this month.

The diamond could fetch between 12 million and 18 million Swiss francs ($13.32 million – $19.96 million) when it goes under the hammer at Christie’s May 12.

“This fantastic 100 carat D color diamond was cut from a rough stone that originally weighed more than 200 carats. It was called the Sergei Diaghilev rough diamond and it was mined in 2016,” Marie-Cecile Cisamolo, a specialist in the auction house’s jewelry department, said.

“Between the rough and diamond that we’re offering today, it took one year and eight months to cut into this perfect stone.”

The diamond is one of 144 lots on offer in the sale, which also includes rings, earrings, brooches and other pieces made with diamonds, sapphires and rubies.

Source: DCLA

Fancy-Color Price Index Rebounds

                         Natural Pink and Blue diamonds

Prices of fancy-color diamonds increased in the first quarter as the American market showed renewed demand for high-end products, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).

The group’s Fancy Color Diamond Index gained 0.3% compared with the previous three months, the organization reported Thursday. Prices of blue fancy-color diamonds jumped 0.5%, while pinks increased 0.4%, outweighing a 0.2% decline in the yellow category.

“As the USA rebounds from Covid-19, we are witnessing an uplift in spirits, which in turn affects the demand for luxury goods,” said David Shara, founder and CEO of Optimum Diamonds, one of the companies that supplies pricing data to the FCRF. “We see now, and will see, a continuous rise in prices of fancy-color diamonds.”

The strongest items during the quarter were 2-carat, fancy-intense colored diamonds, for which prices advanced 2.6%, following by 3-carat, fancy-intense stones, which saw a 1.9% increase. The weakest was the 2-carat fancy category, which witnessed a drop of 1.1%.

The fancy-color market ground to a halt during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, forcing the FCRF to hold off publishing its index for the first and second quarters. Prices in the fourth quarter were 0.8% lower than during the same period of 2019.

Source: DCLA