Africa focused miner Gem Diamonds has found yet another big precious stone at its prolific Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the third greater than 100 carat diamond mined in September.
The 212.91 carat Type II white diamond was recovered on September 19th, the company said on Monday. It is the thirteenth diamond over 100-carat unearthed this year at the operation, it noted.
Type IIa diamonds are the most valued and collectable precious gemstones, as they contain either very little or no nitrogen atoms in their crystal structure.
The Letšeng mine, owned 70% by Gem Diamonds, is one of the world’s ten largest diamond operations by revenue. At 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, it is also one of the world’s most elevated diamond mines.
The operation has a track record of producing large, exceptional white diamonds, which makes it the highest-dollar-per-carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
Since ancient times, jewelled collars, saddles and bridles have ensured that animal companions were as finely jewelled as their owners. Animal bling seems to have been particularly popular from the mid-19th century. Vogue’s 1896 article “Swagger Dogs” told its readers that “Dog jewelry forms an interesting exhibit, is marvelously fine and valuable, if absurdly extravagant”. These dogs sported jewelled collars, leg bracelets and bangles galore.
Lord Berners, the model for Nancy Mitford’s Lord Merlin in The Pursuit of Love, was well known for decorating his pet dalmatians with diamond necklaces, while the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning made a collar for her dog Flush from a mosaic bead necklace. When Frances Work (Mrs Aurel Batonyi), the great-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, visited the casino with her dog, she matched her jewels with its own diamond collar. The Daily Express of 1903 even recommended “diamond studded dog-collars with receptacles for scent” for smartly dressed dogs. According to early 20th-century newspapers, some dogs even wore bracelets around their paws and gem-set earrings. One of the gifts given to Jenny and Rosie Dolly, the fabulously glamorous cabaret dancers of the 1930s, was a pair of tortoises. These came from the besotted retail magnate Harry Selfridge, their shells set by Cartier with 4-carat blue diamonds.
The Dolly Sisters in the 1920s
The modern dog with a generous budget could choose from the famously expensive Amour Amour collars, the top-of-the-range set with 52 carats of diamonds, to elegant options from Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Christian Louboutin (with signature red lining). Sadly cats haven’t attracted the same attention from jewellers, although they might not have the same patience for dressing up as their dog counterparts.
The size M Loubicollar dog collar from Christian Louboutin
Animal lives are shorter than human ones and bereaved owners often wanted a record of their animal companions, often through paintings and photographs but also via memorial jewellery set with their images and sometimes even hair.
The brooch with a portrait of Nero made for Jane Carlyle
Jane Carlyle’s little dog Nero was a great comfort to her through the ups and downs of her marriage to the author Thomas Carlyle. Nero, painted as “large as a sheep” to Jane’s dismay, can be seen lying comfortably on the sofa in Robert Tait’s painting of the Carlyles at home. When Nero died in February 1860, Jane turned to the painter to help her create a memorial. Writing to Tait, she asked him to send her a photograph of the detail of Nero from the painting to make into a brooch.
Queen Victoria’s collie Gipsy, painted by Friedrich Wilhelm Keyl
Jane Carlyle wasn’t the only bereaved owner to want a lasting memory of her pet. Queen Victoria extended her appetite for sentimental jewellery to her animals. As well as a photograph album recording all the dogs in the Windsor kennels, one of her favourite dogs was immortalised in a jewel. In 1863 the Prince of Wales ordered a crystal brooch with the image of the Queen’s recently deceased collie Gipsy from the royal jewellers, Garrards. Some years later, as Edward VII, he kept strands of his favourite terrier Jack’s hair in a locket on his desk.
Amour Amour is the world’s most expensive dog collar with the price tag of $3.2 million
And although in general cats have not been lucky enough to be gifted jewels during their seven lifetimes, they have also been turned into a glittery accessory.
Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, was well known for her passion for Siamese cats. According to Boudoir Magazine in 1904, she wore a locket holding the portrait of Goblin, her favourite cat. Goblin’s thoughts on the matter are not recorded.
Gemfields suffered a slump in sales and prices at its latest auction of rough emeralds from its Kagem mine, in Zambia.
The UK-based company blamed conflicts, elections, and economic uncertainty in China, compounded by a diary clash with an emerald competitor, reportedly selling at low prices.
Gemfields sold only 61 per cent of the almost 4m carats on offer in a series of auctions ending 13 September in Jaipur, India, and online. At the last four sales it sold well over 90 per cent.
Total sales were $10.8m, down 67 per cent on its September 2023 sales. The average price per carat was $4.47, down by a half on the same event last year.
Gemfields says the mix and quality of lots varies, so the results of each auction are not always directly comparable.
Today’s overall result is weaker than expected,” said Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales, “exacerbated in part by a competing emerald producer scheduling their own auction to finish in early September 2024, in the middle of ours, and selling through their emeralds at what customers reported as low prices.”
He said the company was committed to acting responsibly – as it did at this auction – by withholding auction lots when fair market prices were not achieved.
Canada’s Lucara Diamond has dug up a 1,094 carat diamond from its Karowe mine in Botswana.
This is the sixth diamond weighing more than 1,000 carats to be recovered at the mine, and it comes only weeks after the recovery of a 2,492 carat diamond the second-largest diamond ever recovered.
“This remarkable stone bears striking similarities to the 692 carat diamond announced in August 2023, which was polished by HB Antwerp and yielded polished diamonds that sold for in excess of $13 million,” the company said in a press release.
“This newly recovered 1,094 carat stone will also be polished by HB Antwerp, as part of the ongoing partnership between the two companies,” Lucara said.
The Karowe mine has produced several large diamonds in recent years, including the 1,758-carat Sewelô in 2019, the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona in 2015, and the 813 carat Constellation, also in 2015. The mine is also credited for having yielded Botswana’s largest fancy pink diamond to date, the Boitumelo.
Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds, and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.
Karowe remains one of the highest margin diamond mines in the world, producing an average of 300,000 high value carats each year.
Shares of Lucara rose 8% by 11:40 a.m EDT in Toronto. The miner has a market capitalization of C$221 million ($162 million).
The American Gem Society (AGS) will present panel discussions on lab grown diamond pricing and supply, advances in lab grown identification and the art of natural diamond storytelling.
The three-hour Confluence is an online-only event, featuring three pre-recorded sessions, designed to allow the speakers to take part in a live chat Q&A.
The event is scheduled for 25 September and will be accessible to non-AGS members for a $150 fee. The sessions will remain available, on demand, until 31 December.
The Importance of Diamond Screening: Challenges, Techniques, and Resources covers the latest screening technologies and their limitations, providing guidance on using gemological instruments for verification.
Laboratory-Grown Diamonds: Pricing, Supply, and Disclosure explores the complexities of the lab grown diamond market, including pricing dynamics and the importance of transparency.
And The Incredible Story of Natural Diamonds delves into the geological history and mining processes of natural diamonds, featuring insights from experts at GIA , which is sponsoring the event.
AGS is a nonprofit trade association representing a select group of jewelers, independent appraisers, and suppliers in the jewelry industry.
Africa focused miner Gem Diamonds has unearthed yet another large white diamond at its prolific Letšeng mine in Lesotho.
The 126.21 carat Type II white diamond is the twelfth greater than 100 carat precious stone mined this year at the operation, the company said.
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Type IIa diamonds are the most valued and collectable precious gemstones, as they contain either very little or no nitrogen atoms in their crystal structure.
The Letšeng mine, owned 70% by Gem Diamonds, is one of the world’s ten largest diamond operations by revenue. At 3,100 metres (10,000 feet) above sea level, it is also one of the world’s most elevated diamond mines.
The operation has a track record of producing large, exceptional white diamonds, which makes it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.
More than 110,000 Western Australian couples have celebrated a special occasion featuring a piece of Rosendorff’s fine jewellery.
An announcement to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said a meeting of creditors was set to get under way at 11am Thursday.
Richard Tucker of KordaMentha Restructuring, appointed receivers and managers of Rosendorff Diamond Jewellers, said the business was holding too much stock.
“We are running a short highly discounted sale through the store to materially reduce the current stock levels whilst a sale or recapitalisation of the business is pursued,” Mr Tucker said.
I have always loved the mystique of diamonds. I’m attracted to the joy and romance they bring to their beholders
Craig Rosendorff “It is a tremendous opportunity to acquire a very special jewellery item at very competitive prices and may also help save an iconic Perth jeweller.”
He said a secured creditor would support the receivers to ensure current special orders, repairs and lay-bys were completed in time for the special occasions they might be destined for.
“From proposals, to weddings and anniversaries, we understand the importance and significance these items have on people’s special memories,” Mr Tucker said.
Daniel Hillston Woodhouse of FTI Consulting has been appointed as administrator.
Rosendorff is an iconic West Australian luxury business specialising in diamonds and bespoke jewellery design headed by Craig Rosendorff.
In 1975 Mr Rosendorff renamed and launched what became one of the longest-standing diamond companies in Australia.
His rags to riches story has been dubbed The Diamond Dream.
“I have always loved the mystique of diamonds,” he says on the company’s website.
“I’m attracted to the joy and romance they bring to their beholders, the heritage and their connection to families across generations.”
The large, glamorous showroom in the centre of Perth on Hay Street has been the setting of many magnificent parties and events showcasing the designs of the Rosendorff team.
Mr Tucker said gift cards and store credits would be honoured while trade continues.
White knight rescues collapased Rosendorff Diamond Jewellers
The Rosendorff fine jewellery business will carry on but under new ownership following a deal struck by receivers appointed last month.
Insolvency firm KordaMentha confirmed today it had struck an agreement to sell the business set up by Craig Rosendorff in the 1980s to an unidentified WA buyer also involved in the jewellery trade.
The deal, expected to be finalised in two to three weeks, guarantees more than 20 jobs and covers the Rosendorff trading name, stock and intellectual property.
Receivers from KordaMentha were put into Rosendorff Diamond Jewellers at the end of April.
The business, which owes at least $4 million to creditors, has shrunk on falling sales in the past three years to just its flagship store in Hay Street Mall.
The deal covers the Rosendorff trading name, stock and intellectual property.
Today’s sale announcement coincided with news the receivers are stepping up a discount sale which has already brought in between $2 million and $3 million.
The West Australian revealed yesterday that administrators from FTI Consulting had identified “irregularities” in the company’s accounts while sheeting home blame for the collapse to the mining downturn.
They questioned a $1.8 million shortfall in stock and four transactions totalling $170,000 where jewellery “left the store without payment”.
FTI said “there were limited controls around the accounting and inventory functions, which have led to some anomalies in the financial accounts”.
However, it noted that such irregularities were not uncommon, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Rosendorff.
The firm’s statutory report on Rosendorffs also noted that Mr Rosendorff, who has invested millions of dollars in the business over the past 30 years, had drawn increasing amounts out of the company as its financial situation deteriorated.
Between July 2017 and FTI’s appointment, those withdrawals totalled $1.8 million, including $582,000 in the past 10 months.
The administrators says Rosendorffs had been under financial pressure for two years, citing “cash leakage” and a steady decline in sales after 2011, triggered by the end of the mining boom.
Gordon Brothers is owed about $2.2 million, Rosendorffs’ staff $400,000 and trade creditors $270,000.
Controversial Australia-based miner Kimberley Diamonds has put its last remaining diamond mine into administration after it failed to secure fresh funding.
Kimberley, which avoided an estimated $40 million clean-up bill after it walked away from its Ellendale mine in Western Australia’s north, shut its Lerala operation in Botswana last week and placed the subsidiary responsible for the project into administration.
Kimberley said in a statement on its website that its subsidiary Lerala Diamond Mines had “no choice” but to place itself into administration after the parent company was unable to strike a new financing deal.
It had earlier stopped day to day operations at Lerala pending an overhaul of the mine’s diamond processing plant. “The successful completion of this performance improvement plant required further funds to be provided by investors and despite considerable progress being made on implementing these improvements, all of the required funds have not been forthcoming,” Kimberley said. “Kimberley has been in discussions with investors regarding further funds for some time, however to date no agreement for further and sufficient funding has been reached and KDL has been forced to cease providing financial support to Lerala.” But the collapse of Lerala won’t kill off the parent. Kimberley said it remained in discussions with investors for further funding and was “exploring corporate restructuring options”.
Kimberley delisted from the ASX earlier this year after a chequered history. The stock enjoyed a charmed run early on, surging from 11c in 2012 to $1.30 in 2013, but fell spectacularly in 2014 when it revealed it had failed to secure a price increase from global jeweller Tiffany & Co that it had already factored into its profit forecasts. Its shares never recovered, and last traded at just 0.7c prior to its delisting.
The company, chaired by former stockbroker Alexandre Alexander, also came under fire for its handling of the closure of Ellendale. The liquidators appointed to the Kimberley subsidiary that held Ellendale used a legal loophole to shift responsibility for the clean-up to the state government’s industry-funded mining rehabilitation fund.
The rehabilitation costs at Ellendale have been estimated at between $28m and $40m. WA’s new Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston has flagged an overhaul to prevent “rogue elements” taking advantage of the MRF.
