Watch and Jewellery Valuations

If Require a watch or jewellery valuation for insurance.

AcuVal is the jewellery valuation App for you.

Simply download the Free App off the App store, and you are almost there.

A HD picture with your phone, and model and serial number is all the valuer will need to complete your valuation, all while your watch remains on your wrist.

No longer the need to leave you watch or jewellery with anyone.

AcuVal App for insurance valuations

The superior technology making your experience hassle free.

Free Download here: https://acuval.com.au

Record Lab-Grown Stone Turns Up at GIA

                            

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently graded the largest known synthetic diamond to be created using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it claimed Wednesday.

The stone, produced by Shanghai Zhengshi Technology, is a princess-cut, 16.41 carat, G colour, VVS2 clarity lab grown diamond. Spectroscopic readings the GIA performed confirmed the stone had no post growth treatments to improve the color, it noted.

“The first CVD diamond I examined in 2003 was a 0.23 carat pear shape, with clear brown colour,” said Wuyi Wang, GIA vice president of research and development. “This 16.41 carat laboratory grown diamond demonstrates the advances in CVD growth technology. This achievement has important implications for the many scientific and industrial applications for high quality laboratory grown diamonds.”

The previous record for a synthetic diamond grown using CVD was held by an emerald cut, 14.60 carat, F colour, VS2 clarity diamond, which was produced in India and graded by the International Gemological Institute (IGI). Meanwhile, the record for the largest lab grown diamond the GIA has examined was in 2019 for a cushion cut, 20.23 carat, fancy vivid yellowish orange, VS2 clarity stone made using High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT).

Source: DCLA

Debswana annual diamond sales jump 64%

Jwaneng, the richest diamond mine in the world by value, is Debswana’s flagship mine, contributing 60% to 70% of the company’s total revenue. 

Sales of rough diamonds by Debswana Diamond Company jumped 64% in 2021, statistics released by the Bank of Botswana showed on Monday, driven by the reopening of key global consumer markets.

The total value of Debswana’s diamond exports stood at $3.466 billion in 2021 compared with $2.120 billion in 2020, the central bank data showed.

Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American unit De Beers and Botswana’s government, sells 75% of its output to De Beers with the balance taken up by the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.

Debswana sales fell by 30% in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand while global travel restrictions impacted trading. Since mid-2020 De Beers has shifted some of its rough diamond viewings to international diamond centres such as Antwerp to cater for customers unable to travel to Gaborone.

“Demand for rough diamonds remained robust, with positive midstream sentiment and strong demand for diamond jewellery continuing over the holiday period, particularly in the key U.S. consumer market,” Anglo American said in a production update last Thursday.

Debswana accounts for almost all Botswana’s diamond exports, with Lucara Diamond Corp’s Karowe mine being the only other operating diamond mine in the country.

Botswana gets about 30% of its revenues and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds. The southern African country expects its economy to have grown by 9.7% in 2021, after an 8.5% contraction in 2020.

Debswana’s production increased by 35% to 22.326 million carats in 2021 from 16.559 million carats in 2020, mostly due to higher-grade ore being treated at its flagship Jwaneng mine, Anglo American said.

Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds and a competitor of De Beers, reported revenue jumped by 49% to $4.2 billion last year as demand exceeded supply.

Source: DCLA

Diamond Buying And Selling Tips

 You may experience uncertainty when purchasing a diamond, particularly an engagement diamond. This is not unjustified with the increased incidence of treated diamonds, synthetic diamonds and diamond simulants, no to mention incorrectly certified or graded diamonds.

Some Quick Tips

Buy from a reputable jeweller. A reputable jeweller sells with genuine Diamond Grading Reports or Certificates.

Buy with a diamond grading report or certificate from an independent and recognised diamond grading laboratory. This ensures you have a natural, untreated diamond that has been graded accurately. DCLA is the only independent and internationally recognised laboratory in Australia.

Note that a “valuation” or “appraisal” is NOT a certificate.

Read the certificate carefully to ensure that you make an informed decision

Price comparison is only possible if you are comparing certified diamonds. Diamond Grading Reports and Certification allows you to compare prices without unknowingly sacrificing quality or natural origin.

Be cautious of “sales” which appear to be genuine but are nothing more than a large discount off an inflated price. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Be cautious of internet retailers offering a huge selection of diamonds. Often many are not available – this is a classic baiting scam.

Buy a diamond that is cold laser inscribed. This identifies the diamond and ensures you get the one described by the diamond’s report or certificate.

Do not buy your diamond overseas, buy locally. This ensures you have recourse if anything is wrong.

Diamonds are priced the same way worldwide -there are no cheap diamonds, only lower quality.

Read more: DCLA

Diamond Buying And Selling Tips

 You may experience uncertainty when purchasing a diamond, particularly an engagement diamond. This is not unjustified with the increased incidence of treated diamonds, synthetic diamonds and diamond simulants, no to mention incorrectly certified or graded diamonds.

Some Quick Tips

Buy from a reputable jeweller. A reputable jeweller sells with genuine Diamond Grading Reports or Certificates.

Buy with a diamond grading report or certificate from an independent and recognised diamond grading laboratory. This ensures you have a natural, untreated diamond that has been graded accurately. DCLA is the only independent and internationally recognised laboratory in Australia.

Note that a “valuation” or “appraisal” is NOT a certificate.

Read the certificate carefully to ensure that you make an informed decision

Price comparison is only possible if you are comparing certified diamonds. Diamond Grading Reports and Certification allows you to compare prices without unknowingly sacrificing quality or natural origin.

Be cautious of “sales” which appear to be genuine but are nothing more than a large discount off an inflated price. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Be cautious of internet retailers offering a huge selection of diamonds. Often many are not available – this is a classic baiting scam.

Buy a diamond that is cold laser inscribed. This identifies the diamond and ensures you get the one described by the diamond’s report or certificate.

Do not buy your diamond overseas, buy locally. This ensures you have recourse if anything is wrong.

Diamonds are priced the same way worldwide -there are no cheap diamonds, only lower quality.

Read more: DCLA

Yellow Gems Top a Year of Discoveries at the Crater of Diamonds

                           

By the end of summer 2021, park guests had found 255 diamonds, including four weighing over one carat. Autumn kicked off with a big surprise for one California couple, when Noreen Wredberg and her husband, of Granite Bay, visited the Crater of Diamonds for the first time.

Wredberg was walking on the north side of a central pathway through the search area on September 23 when she spotted something sparkling on top of the ground. Her find turned out to be the largest of the year, a 4.38-carat diamond about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color. Wredberg named her gem after her husband’s kitten, calling it Lucy’s Diamond.

The three most common colors of diamonds found at the Crater are white, brown, and yellow. 248 diamonds registered last year were white (weighing 28.6 carats), 54 were brown (16.67 carats), and 52 were yellow (17.02 carats). Interestingly, all nine of the largest diamonds found last year were yellow or brown in color.

Source: DCLA

Yellow Gems Top a Year of Discoveries at the Crater of Diamonds

                           

By the end of summer 2021, park guests had found 255 diamonds, including four weighing over one carat. Autumn kicked off with a big surprise for one California couple, when Noreen Wredberg and her husband, of Granite Bay, visited the Crater of Diamonds for the first time.

Wredberg was walking on the north side of a central pathway through the search area on September 23 when she spotted something sparkling on top of the ground. Her find turned out to be the largest of the year, a 4.38-carat diamond about the size of a jellybean, with a pear shape and a lemonade yellow color. Wredberg named her gem after her husband’s kitten, calling it Lucy’s Diamond.

The three most common colors of diamonds found at the Crater are white, brown, and yellow. 248 diamonds registered last year were white (weighing 28.6 carats), 54 were brown (16.67 carats), and 52 were yellow (17.02 carats). Interestingly, all nine of the largest diamonds found last year were yellow or brown in color.

Source: DCLA