Hong Kong Rebound Boosts Luk Fook Revenue

Hong Kong-based jeweler Luk Fook saw sales rise in the second fiscal quarter as tourists returned to the municipality in search of luxury items.

Same-store sales — at self-operated shops open for at least a year — jumped 31% for the three months ending September 30 compared with the same period a year ago, the company reported Wednesday.

Hong Kong’s border with the mainland reopened to tourists in January, while the territory’s government removed local restrictions. The municipality derives much of its luxury revenue from visitors — primarily from China — who travel there to purchase goods.

The retailer also attributed the growth to strong sales over the National Day Golden Week holiday as well as its decision to carry a greater proportion of gold products, which are more popular than diamond jewelry.

“Given the decreased demand for diamond products [on the] mainland, the group will continue to actively promote non-diamond fixed-price jewelry products, especially fixed-price gold products, in order to improve…performance,” it said.

The 41% increase in Hong Kong and Macau outweighed an 8% dip on the mainland resulting from a challenging economic situation and subdued consumer sentiment, the company explained.

Luk Fook’s same-store sales of gold — priced by weight at international market rates — grew 30% year on year during the quarter, while “fixed-price jewelry,” which refers to products sold at prices determined by the retailer, was up 36%. Overall, sales of fixed-price gold products increased 76%, while fixed-price diamond goods rose 19%.

“Since the full reopening of borders amongst Hong Kong, Macau and mainland…the Hong Kong and Macau market has shown consistent improvement,” Luk Fook noted. “The macroeconomic in the mainland market showed no signs of improvement and its consumption sentiment exhibited a slower recovery compared to the Hong Kong and Macau market…. This year marked the first National Day Golden Week after the return to normalcy following the pandemic. During this Golden Week period…the Hong Kong and Macau market sustained growth momentum.”

Source: DCLA

94ct. Paraiba Tourmaline to Star in Sotheby’s Sale

Sotheby’s will offer a 93.94-carat Paraiba tourmaline at its upcoming Geneva sale, the largest “top-quality” stone of its kind ever to come to auction, the company said.

The stone, which is set into a bespoke necklace created by Adler Joailliers, will be one of the star lots in the November 8 Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale, Sotheby’s said Monday. The auction house expects it to fetch between $1.3 million and $2.5 million.

The necklace, called the Blue Lagoon, features a “waterfall” of round and marquise- and pear-shaped diamonds with a total weight of more than 76 carats, the company noted. It will be offered with the original sketch.

Hailing from Mozambique, the stone is distinguished by “an extraordinary electric blue hue,” which recalls the “crystalline waters of a tropical paradise,” Sotheby’s said. Finding Paraiba tourmalines of this size, with such strong saturation and color, is extremely difficult, the auction house added.

Adler is a family business, created in 1886 by Jacques Adler in Istanbul. His grandsons, Franklin and Carlo, opened a boutique in Geneva in 1972. Since 2015, it has been run by the next generation of Adlers — Allen, who is CEO, and his wife, Daisy, who is chief operating officer.

Source: DCLA

US Lab Grown Giant Files for Bankruptcy

WD Lab Grown Diamonds, the second largest lab grown producer in the USA, has filed for bankruptcy.

The Washington DC-based company is the first major casualty of the plunge in lab grown prices.

It filed for Chapter 7 protection last Wednesday (11 October) in a Delaware bankruptcy court, with disclosed liabilities of $44m with assets of $3m.

WD pioneered chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds since 2008 and had its own patented process.

In 2016 it produced its first 5 carat round brilliant diamond and in 2018, it set a record for the largest gem quality lab grown, at 9.04 carat.

In 2021 it acquired J2 Materials, and advanced materials and diamond crystal growth laboratory based in Chicago.

WD generated $33m of revenue last year, according to a Financial Times report. But the company has fallen victim to low prices and intense competition from China and India.

Source: DCLA

Gem Diamonds Recovers 102ct. Rough from Letšeng

 

Gem Diamonds has unearthed a 101.96-carat rough from its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, its second stone over 100 carats so far this year.

The miner discovered the gem-quality, type IIa diamond on September 28, it said Wednesday. The find follows that of a 122-carat stone on March 5.

While Letšeng had previously been known for producing high-quality rough diamonds topping the 100-carat mark, that supply has been declining. Last year, the miner retrieved only four diamonds of that magnitude, versus six in 2021 and 16 in 2020.

The lack of special-size stones has hurt the company’s revenue, with sales falling 28% year on year to $71.8 million in the first six months of 2023. The miner incurred a loss of $1 million, compared to a profit of $3.8 million during the same period in 2022.

Source: DCLA

Lucapa Diamonds names Selby CEO and MD

Australia’s Lucapa Diamonds has appointed interim chief executive Nick Selby as its permanent CEO and Managing Director.

Selby, an extraction metallurgist who joined Lucapa in 2014, took the helm in August this year following former boss Stephen Wetherall’s decision to step down earlier this year.

The new CEO began his career with De Beers, where he spent 19 years in a range of technical roles. He joined Gem Diamonds in 2005, where he was responsible for various diamond projects in countries including Angola, Australia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Indonesia, Lesotho and Botswana.

Lucapa has a 40% interest in the Lulo mine, in Angola, and a 70% interest in the Mothae mine in Lesotho. The company, debt-free since July, is exploring for more diamonds at Lulo as it works toward bringing its Merlin project in Australia into production.

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.

Source: DCLA

Six Die in Diamond Mine Plane Crash

Indian mining billionaire Harpal Randhawa, his son, and four others died when their plane crashed en route to the Murowa diamond mine, in Zimbabwe.

The Cessna 206 aircraft belonged to Randhawa’s RZM Murowa, a company that part-owns and operates the mine. It also produces gold and coal and refines nickel and copper.

Randhawa and his 22-year-old son Amer set off from Harare on Friday morning (29 September). Their plane came down in the southwestern part of the country, reportedly due a technical fault.

Zimbabwe police said the crash happened between 7.30 am and 8am, and confirmed the deaths of all six people on board.

“The Murowa Diamond Company (RioZim)-owned white and red Zcam aircraft had left Harare for the mine at 6 am and crashed about 6 km from Mashava,” it said.

Planes are often used as a secure method of transporting diamonds. In February a light aircraft transporting diamonds from Murowa came down in a field, also after experiencing technical problems.

The pilot suffered head injuries and was said to be in a critical condition. Four passengers were in a stable condition.

Source: DCLA

De Beers signs 10-year sales deal for Botswana diamonds

Anglo American Plc unit De Beers and Botswana’s government signed a deal covering the main aspects of a new sales and mining agreement for their Debswana diamond venture in the African nation.

The pact covers a new 10-year sales deal for Debswana’s rough diamond production through to 2033, along with a 25-year extension to the Debswana mining licenses through to 2054, De Beers and the Botswana government said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The terms “provide further detail and clarity to the commercial and operational aspects of the agreement in principle between the two partners” announced on June 30, they said. Among them are stipulations for the apportionment of Debswana supply and other economic arrangements, they said, without giving further details.

Source: DCLA