Sarine Technologies has entered into a collaboration with diamond-industry consultancy Constell Group that will focus on improving efficiency for the lab-grown supply chain.
“The application of Sarine’s advanced technological solutions to many of the currently manual processes will increase the realized value significantly, and we are fully committed to bringing this evolution to the burgeoning lab-grown diamond market,” Meir Boukris, Constell’s executive chairman, said Tuesday.
Constell offers services such as sorting of rough stones and polishing, concentrating on aiding the transformation of raw materials into finished stones in the most cost-effective way, it said. The group, founded in India, employs more than 4,000 people worldwide.
Sarine, an Israel-based supplier of diamond-manufacturing and grading equipment, will receive remuneration based on each stone processed, regardless of the specific technologies the company uses.
Sarine Technologies has entered into a collaboration with diamond-industry consultancy Constell Group that will focus on improving efficiency for the lab-grown supply chain.
“The application of Sarine’s advanced technological solutions to many of the currently manual processes will increase the realized value significantly, and we are fully committed to bringing this evolution to the burgeoning lab-grown diamond market,” Meir Boukris, Constell’s executive chairman, said Tuesday.
Constell offers services such as sorting of rough stones and polishing, concentrating on aiding the transformation of raw materials into finished stones in the most cost-effective way, it said. The group, founded in India, employs more than 4,000 people worldwide.
Sarine, an Israel-based supplier of diamond-manufacturing and grading equipment, will receive remuneration based on each stone processed, regardless of the specific technologies the company uses.
Merlin diamond mine in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Lucapa Diamond announced that it has entered into a binding asset sale agreement for the acquisition of a 24km2 mining lease and a 283km2 exploration tenement encompassing the mining lease and associated equipment and assets the Merlin Assets from Merlin Operations Pty.
Merlin Operations is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merlin Diamonds Limited, which is in liquidation. The Merlin Tenements are located in the Northern Territory of Australia, approximately 720km southeast of Darwin.
Merlin is home to Australia’s largest mined rough diamond on record and has the potential to be the only producing diamond mine in Australia, following the closure of Rio Tinto’s iconic Argyle mine in 2020, after 37 years in production.
The strategic acquisition is supported by a A$20 million ($15.5m) private placement plus a share purchase plan to raise up to A$3 million ($2.3m).
The acquisition price of A$8.5m cash represents a ~A$2/ carat multiple on Merlin’s existing 4.4m carat JORC compliant resource and complements Lucapa’s existing portfolio, the company said, adding a near-term development opportunity with an existing 4.4m carat mineral resource estimate in Australia to Lucapa’s two existing producing assets in Angola and Lesotho.
The ~300km2 tenement package also comes with significant exploration upside, Lucapa said, through over 70 unresolved anomalies in areas where all kimberlite discoveries have been diamondiferous.
Merlin diamond mine in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Lucapa Diamond announced that it has entered into a binding asset sale agreement for the acquisition of a 24km2 mining lease and a 283km2 exploration tenement encompassing the mining lease and associated equipment and assets the Merlin Assets from Merlin Operations Pty.
Merlin Operations is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merlin Diamonds Limited, which is in liquidation. The Merlin Tenements are located in the Northern Territory of Australia, approximately 720km southeast of Darwin.
Merlin is home to Australia’s largest mined rough diamond on record and has the potential to be the only producing diamond mine in Australia, following the closure of Rio Tinto’s iconic Argyle mine in 2020, after 37 years in production.
The strategic acquisition is supported by a A$20 million ($15.5m) private placement plus a share purchase plan to raise up to A$3 million ($2.3m).
The acquisition price of A$8.5m cash represents a ~A$2/ carat multiple on Merlin’s existing 4.4m carat JORC compliant resource and complements Lucapa’s existing portfolio, the company said, adding a near-term development opportunity with an existing 4.4m carat mineral resource estimate in Australia to Lucapa’s two existing producing assets in Angola and Lesotho.
The ~300km2 tenement package also comes with significant exploration upside, Lucapa said, through over 70 unresolved anomalies in areas where all kimberlite discoveries have been diamondiferous.
The Sakura ring was the star at Christie’s Hong Kong, setting a world-record auction price for a purple-pink diamond.
The cushion-cut, 15.81-carat, fancy-vivid, internally flawless stone sold within its estimate for $29.3 million, or $1.9 million per carat, at the May 23 Magnificent Jewels auction, Christie’s said Sunday. The piece, purchased by a private Asian buyer, was also the most valuable jewel sold at auction so far this year. Overall, the Hong Kong sale raked in $76.8 million, the auction house’s highest total for a jewelry auction in four years.
“We are very excited to have marked another important chapter in jewelry-auction history today, with The Sakura realizing a record-breaking price,” said Vickie Sek, chairman of Christie’s Asia Pacific jewelry department. “The strong sell-through rates and exceptional prices achieved for top-quality colored diamonds and gemstones reflect a robust market demand.”
However, even with the record pricing, the pink diamond still fell short of its $38 million high estimate.
“I would not consider this to be at the lower end of the market price, but there was room for it to go [further] if the current economic stability and situation was better,” Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of colored-diamond dealer Kunming Diamonds, told Rapaport News. “Post-Covid-19, if a similar item were to be auctioned, it would possibly touch, or break, the higher end of the estimated price.”
Meanwhile, The Sweet Heart, a heart-shaped, 4.19-carat, fancy-vivid-pink diamond ring, brought in $6.6 million, or $1.6 million per carat, within its presale valuation.
Other notable items include a necklace with a 50.05-carat, D-flawless, type IIa briolette diamond pendant, which garnered $2.7 million. That price, which comes to $53,399 per carat, was just above its low estimate. A square emerald-cut, 31.17-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow, VS2-clarity diamond ring went for $2.2 million, smashing its high estimate, as did a Cartier necklace with diamonds and five Colombian emeralds weighing a total of 16.43 carats, which achieved $2.1 million.
Overall, Christie’s sold 82% of items on offer at the auction.
The Sakura ring was the star at Christie’s Hong Kong, setting a world-record auction price for a purple-pink diamond.
The cushion-cut, 15.81-carat, fancy-vivid, internally flawless stone sold within its estimate for $29.3 million, or $1.9 million per carat, at the May 23 Magnificent Jewels auction, Christie’s said Sunday. The piece, purchased by a private Asian buyer, was also the most valuable jewel sold at auction so far this year. Overall, the Hong Kong sale raked in $76.8 million, the auction house’s highest total for a jewelry auction in four years.
“We are very excited to have marked another important chapter in jewelry-auction history today, with The Sakura realizing a record-breaking price,” said Vickie Sek, chairman of Christie’s Asia Pacific jewelry department. “The strong sell-through rates and exceptional prices achieved for top-quality colored diamonds and gemstones reflect a robust market demand.”
However, even with the record pricing, the pink diamond still fell short of its $38 million high estimate.
“I would not consider this to be at the lower end of the market price, but there was room for it to go [further] if the current economic stability and situation was better,” Harsh Maheshwari, executive director of colored-diamond dealer Kunming Diamonds, told Rapaport News. “Post-Covid-19, if a similar item were to be auctioned, it would possibly touch, or break, the higher end of the estimated price.”
Meanwhile, The Sweet Heart, a heart-shaped, 4.19-carat, fancy-vivid-pink diamond ring, brought in $6.6 million, or $1.6 million per carat, within its presale valuation.
Other notable items include a necklace with a 50.05-carat, D-flawless, type IIa briolette diamond pendant, which garnered $2.7 million. That price, which comes to $53,399 per carat, was just above its low estimate. A square emerald-cut, 31.17-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow, VS2-clarity diamond ring went for $2.2 million, smashing its high estimate, as did a Cartier necklace with diamonds and five Colombian emeralds weighing a total of 16.43 carats, which achieved $2.1 million.
Overall, Christie’s sold 82% of items on offer at the auction.
The Natural Diamond Council (NDC), which groups the world’s seven leading diamond producers, has inked a deal with China’s top jewellery retailer Chow Tai Fook to boost demand for mined rocks in the Asian market.
The partnership, the trade organization’s first collaboration with a retailer, seeks to attract young Chinese customers to naturally produced diamonds.
It also comes as Chow Tai Fook, which has more than 4,500 stores in East Asia and the United States, plans to expand its global footprint.
“One of our key priorities this year is to work closely with natural diamond retailers to protect and convey the authentic and unique beauty of natural diamonds together,” David Kellie, CEO of the Natural Diamond Council, said in the statement.
“I am confident that this partnership will solidify the values of and forge consumers’ desire for natural diamonds,” Chan Sai-Cheong, managing director (Mainland China) of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group added.
Earlier this month, the world’s biggest jeweller Pandora dealt a blow to diamond miners by announcing it would no longer sell mined gems, but exclusively man-made ones.
Since 2011, when prices peaked thanks to China’s younger shoppers, diamonds have faltered. Lab-grown stones, initially priced confusingly close to the real thing, posed a challenge.
The NDC, until 2020 known as the Diamond Producers Association, focuses on marketing mined rocks and its funded by its members: ALROSA, De Beers, Dominion Diamonds, Lucara Diamond, Petra Diamonds, Rio Tinto and RZM Murowa.
