Monday, 7 February 2022

Rough Shortages Could Last 10 Years, Bain Says


The current shortfall in rough production will likely continue for up to a decade, while both demand and prices will remain strong, according to Bain & Company.

Output fell 20% to 111 million carats in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic forced companies to shut deposits, Bain said Monday in “The Global Diamond Industry 2021-22,” the latest edition of its annual report on the sector. Production increased 4.5% to 116 million carats in 2021, when mines reopened. However, solid demand for diamond jewelry depleted resources, as did the closure of Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia, which accounted for 11 million carats a year.

“Demand was so strong, production levels had to be supplemented by inventory,” Bain partner Olya Linde told Rapaport News. “We have not seen such strong demand for a long time. Actually, I have not seen such a big boom in all my time in the industry. Going forward, it’s not that easy to just add production. So, while demand will continue to remain strong, the ability for players to increase production in the short term is very limited.”

Miners’ “technical” inventories — goods that have been extracted but are not yet ready for sale — fell to an all-time low of 29 million carats in 2021, Linde claimed.

Over the next five years, rough output is expected to grow between 1% and 2% annually, reaching just over 122 million carats by the end of 2022 — still 10% to 15% below pre-pandemic levels.

Rising jewelry demand

In 2021, demand for diamond jewelry rose 29% globally and 38% in the US, well above pre-pandemic figures. China, the second-largest market, showed similar growth, Linde noted.

“At the end of the consumer holiday season and coming into the new year, there is still a lot of interest and demand,” she explained. “Even in 2022, we can expect that demand will continue, probably not at the same level of recovery, but it will definitely be robust enough. Although we don’t have a crystal ball, and don’t know how prices will behave for sure, given that supply is limited, it sets a foundation to support very healthy price growth across categories.”

Lack of new supply

The dearth of new mines coming online as others go offline or approach their end of life is also contributing to the gloomy production forecast. While exploration is underway in Botswana, Angola, Australia and Canada, the only project that will significantly add to output in the near term is the Luaxe mine in Angola, Linde said.

“We do not expect production to recover to 139 million carats [seen in 2019] in the next five years, for sure, and even not in the next 10 years, honestly, unless there will be a major unexpected discovery that could be brought up to production fairly quickly,” she noted. “We have to remember not only do we have a very limited number of new projects, but existing mines also have declining production levels.”

Filling the hole

While availability will decrease across most categories, it is unlikely lab-grown diamonds will cover the natural-diamond shortfall, as they are doing well in their own, separate category, Linde said.

Growth in synthetics over the past year was likely supported by both a decrease in prices, as well as higher transaction volumes, she explained.

“I don’t believe that one category is taking market share away from the other,” she added. “If you look at last year, if the market is operating purely on substitution, you would be hard pressed to really say where all this demand is coming from. In the US, it far outgrew pre-pandemic levels. What that suggests to me is that there are additional consumers that are coming to make lab-grown diamond purchases that we have not seen before in the diamond sector.”

Source: DCLA

Sunday, 6 February 2022

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Wednesday, 2 February 2022

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

Monday, 31 January 2022

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

Thursday, 27 January 2022

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

Tiffany Buys Back Titanic Watch for Record $1.97m

Tiffany & Co paid a record $1.97m for a gold pocket watch it made in 1912, and which was gifted to the captain of a ship that rescued mo...