De Beers Reveals 2023 Sight Dates

De Beers has released its sales schedule for next year, with the miner holding its usual 10 sights across the 12-month period.

The miner sells most of its rough to sightholders through a contract system under which clients make certain purchasing commitments in return for consistent supply. In April 2021, the miner introduced a new sales agreement offering more bespoke supply for manufacturers, dealers and retailers. Alrosa, which operates a similar system, has not yet published a 2023 schedule on its website.

The dates for De Beers’ sights in 2023 are as follows:

• Sight 1: January 16 to 20
• Sight 2: February 20 to 24
• Sight 3: March 27 to 31
• Sight 4: May 2 to 5
• Sight 5: June 5 to 9
• Sight 6: July 10 to 14
• Sight 7: August 14 to 18
• Sight 8: September 18 to 22
• Sight 9: October 23 to 27
• Sight 10: December 4 to 8

Source: DCLA

AGS Laboratories to Integrate with GIA

The American Gem Society (AGS) will close its laboratory operations at the end of this year, with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) taking on elements of the organization.

AGS Laboratories’ intellectual property (IP), technology, research staff and Las Vegas facility will become part of the GIA, the two organizations announced Wednesday. AGS Laboratories will continue to provide services until the end of 2022 and will contact clients with details of the transition, it said.

The nonprofits, both founded by Robert M. and Beatrice Shipley in the 1930s, will combine their gemological research efforts. The amalgamated team will “develop innovative products” to help consumers and the trade, encompassing light-performance research and a “science-based” fancy-cut grade standard, they said.

“This consequential agreement brings AGS and GIA even closer, driving our future with 90 years of shared history and elevating our founders’ vision,” commented AGS CEO Katherine Bodoh in a joint statement.

The GIA will create an endowment to support AGS and its membership. They did not provide further financial details. The collaboration will also help advance AGS’s retailer programs and support more member education, for example at the annual AGS Conclave, the statement continued.

The AGS Ideal grading report will be available from GIA as a digital-only supplement to GIA reports for eligible D to Z natural and laboratory-grown round and fancy-shape diamonds, incurring an additional cost of $25. GIA clients will be able to request these extra reports from January 2023.

In an information sheet for customers, AGS noted that GIA was responsible for inventing the 4Cs of diamond grading while AGS “created light performance and ignited a discussion on sparkle.” For instance, the AGS is one of the few major labs to offer a cut grade for fancy-shape diamonds.

“By harnessing each other’s strengths to move forward boldly, consumers will be better protected, and we will ensure the longevity of the Shipleys’ vision,” said GIA president and CEO Susan Jacques.

Correction, October 20, 2022: An earlier headline incorrectly stated that the GIA was taking over AGS’s grading division. In fact, the AGS Laboratories grading operations will close, with the GIA taking over certain other elements of the organization, including research.

Source: DCLA

303ct. Polished Yellow to Hit Auction Block at Sotheby’s

 

Sotheby’s will offer a yellow diamond weighing more than 300 carats at its upcoming New York auction, where it is expected to bring in more than $15 million.

The pear-shaped, 303.10-carat, fancy-deep-brownish-yellow stone is one of the largest polished diamonds in the world. It is also the largest flawless or internally flawless diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Sotheby’s said Monday.

Initially called the Incomparable Diamond, the stone was recut from its original 407-carat shield shape to deepen the color and brighten the hue, and renamed the Golden Canary. As the highlight of the December 7 Magnificent Jewels sale, it will be offered without reserve, with bidding starting at $1, Sotheby’s noted.

The Golden Canary was first discovered in the early 1980s in a pile of rubble by a young girl playing in the backyard of her uncle’s house, Sotheby’s noted. Miners from the nearby Miba diamond deposit had considered the stone to be too bulky to be diamond bearing and had discarded it. The girl gave the 890-carat rough to her uncle, who sold it to local diamond dealers. The diamond has since been displayed in multiple museums.

“The demand and appetite for [extraordinary colored diamonds] continues to grow,” said Quig Bruning, head of jewelry for Sotheby’s Americas. “Steeped in history, the Golden Canary is one of the most exquisite diamonds to ever be discovered, not only for its sheer size and intensity in color, but for its stunning beauty that is sure to captivate collectors around the world.”

Sotheby’s will showcase the diamond on a world tour prior to the auction, with stops in cities including Dubai; Taipei, Taiwan; Geneva; and Hong Kong.

Source: DCLA

Collection of Blue Diamonds to Fetch Over $70M

 

The eight De Beers blue diamonds.

Sotheby’s will sell a group of eight fancy-blue diamonds from De Beers across its global Magnificent Jewels auctions, expecting the set to bring in more than $70 million.

The stones are cut in various shapes and range from 1.22 to 11.29 carats, with a total weight of 32.09 carats, Sotheby’s said last week. The polished originates from five rough blues that De Beers and Switzerland-based manufacturer Diacore purchased jointly from Petra Diamonds in November 2020. Diacore cut and polished those stones into eight diamonds over the past two years.

Sotheby’s will offer three stones from the eight-piece group, called The De Beers Exceptional Blue Collection, this year. The first, a cushion brilliant-cut, 5.53-carat, fancy-vivid blue diamond will go under the hammer at the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva on November 9, with a high estimate of $15 million. Meanwhile, the December 7 Magnificent Jewels sale in New York will feature a cushion brilliant-cut, 3.24-carat, fancy-vivid blue, internally flawless diamond estimated at up to $8 million. That jewel will be joined by a cushion-cut, 2.08-carat, fancy-intense-blue diamond with an upper price tag of $1.5 million.

“I have remained in awe of the De Beers Exceptional Blue Collection since the first moments I set eyes on it,” said Olivier Wagner, head of Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auctions in Geneva. “The market for colored diamonds and precious gemstones has never been stronger. [The diamonds] will, I am sure, captivate all collectors of exceptional gemstones.”

Sotheby’s will sell the remaining five diamonds at its spring 2023 Magnificent Jewels auctions. Those include a step-cut, 11.29-carat, fancy-vivid-blue estimated at up to $50 million; a step-cut, 4.13-carat, fancy-intense-blue expected to go for up to $3.5 million; and a cushion brilliant-cut, 3.10-carat, fancy-vivid-blue diamond with a high price of $5 million.

In April, Sotheby’s sold another De Beers blue diamond: a step-cut, 15.10-carat, fancy-vivid-blue, internally flawless stone that went for $57.5 million in Hong Kong.

Source: DCLA

Botswana Diamonds licensed for South African kimberlite cluster

              Diamond mining Botswana

The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine.

Diamond mining company Botswana Diamonds has secured a five-year prospecting licence on ground containing the Reivilo cluster of kimberlites in Barkley West, South Africa.

The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds.

According to an exploration by the previous licence holder, the area holds a delineated a cluster of three kimberlite pipes, all within a 250m radius.

The prospecting licence is effective until June 2027.

Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “When the ground became recently available, we immediately applied for the area.

“Botswana Diamonds management have long been aware of the diamond potential of this ground, and so we are delighted to have finally been awarded this high-profile exploration ground and look forward to updating shareholders in the near future on developments.”

Botswana Diamonds plans to finalise its exploration programme after carrying out a review of all the available data on the Reivilo cluster.

The firm said in a statement: “Samples of the drilling core produced G10 and eclogitic garnets, which are the optimal indicators for diamondiferous kimberlites.”

In July this year, Botswana Diamonds purchased an additional stake in the prospective Maibwe joint venture (JV) in Botswana.

The company holds a 51.7% stake in Siseko Minerals, which increased its stake in the JV from 29% to 50%.

At the time, Botswana Diamonds said it was involved in three companies focused on diamond exploration in Botswana, as well as owned assets in South Africa.

Maibwe currently holds 11 prospecting licences in Botswana’s area of the Kalahari Desert, which include several kimberlite pipes.

In October 2019, Botswana Diamonds received a mining permit for gravels and unprocessed stockpiles around the Marsfontein mine in South Africa via its associate, Vutomi Mining.

Source: DCLA

Lucapa’s Lulo Mine Turns Out 160ct. Rough

 

        160-carat rough. (Lucapa Diamond Company)

 Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 160-carat, high-quality rough from its Lulo mine in Angola, the sixth-largest stone the deposit has yielded.

The company found the type IIa diamond at the same alluvial mining block from which it unearthed a 170-carat pink — the Lulo Rose — in July, Lucapa said last week. The new addition marks the 28th diamond over 100 carats from Lulo.

Recently, Lucapa transitioned to mining rough from the lezirias, or flood plain area, of the site, which has led to the recovery of larger diamonds, it said. In the past two months, the miner has found more than 100 special stones — those weighing over 10.8 carats — at the deposit, including four type IIa rough diamonds weighing 99, 81, 74 and 66 carats.

Source: DCLA

151 ct Yellow diamond recovered at Canada’s Arctic Circle

oronto-listed Mountain Province Diamonds will next week put on sale an “exceptional” coloured rough diamond, which it recovered from the Gahcho Kué mine, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

The diamond, a 151.60 t octahedron of exceptional clarity, will be offered for sale alongside a selection of more than 90 individual special rough diamonds recovered from the company’s Canadian diamond mine.

The upcoming sale represents the biggest offering of +10.8 ct gem quality diamonds offered by the company to date.

“This important diamond represents a clear example of the Gahcho Kué mine’s ability to consistently recover high-quality gems of exceptionally large size. These gems are highly coveted by collectors around the globe not only for their beauty but increasingly, for their Canadian origin,” commented VP for diamond marketing Reid Mackie.

Source: DCLA