news – Page 32 – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Rio opens new diamond pipe in subarctic Canada

Rio Tinto opened today a fourth diamond pipe at the subarctic Diavik Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle.

In a press release, the Anglo Australian miner said that the new open-pit pipe will provide an important source of “incremental supply over the next four years to sustain production levels at the Rio Tinto operated mine.”

In the same statement, the company explained that A21 is located adjacent to Diavik’s existing mining operations in the Lac de Gras area. It took four years to build the pipe and first ore was delivered in March. Rio expects it to be at full production during the fourth quarter of 2018.

“It is a remarkable achievement to deliver this project safely and ahead of time in such a challenging environment, positioning Diavik to continue meeting the demand for its outstanding diamonds,” Rio Tinto Copper & Diamonds chief executive, Arnaud Soirat, said in the brief.

Some $350 million were invested in the construction of A21, with the financial burden shared between Rio and joint venture partner Dominion Diamond Corporation, the latter in control of 40 per cent of the operation.

As a whole, Diavik started activities in 2003 and has an annual production of some 6-7 million carats of predominantly large, white gem-quality diamonds.

Source: mining.com

US change of ‘diamond’ definition has Indian exports worried

India’s diamond exports to the United States of America is under threat after that country’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last month that there would henceforth be no distinction between natural and man made sparklers.

The FTC had originally defined a diamond as “a natural mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system”. The definition has now been modified with the word “natural” removed from it. The FTC went on to say that the definition of a diamond was being changed because it was now possible to create diamonds in a laboratory. “These stones have essentially the same optical, physical and chemical properties as mined diamonds.

Thus, they are diamonds,” FTC’s statement said. Lab-grown diamonds or “American diamonds”, as they are called, are expected to receive a big boost since the US is one of the biggest markets in the world for smaller diamonds. According to diamond traders here lab-grown diamonds are almost 40 per cent cheaper than those mined from the bowels of the earth.

It is felt that continuing technological advances in the field will bring down the price of lab-grown diamonds even more in the coming years. India, which exported $8 billion worth of polished diamonds to the US in 2017, is worried. “We are already been reaching out to different industry bodies and stakeholders to help fashion a common global response,” Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council said in a statement here last week.

The country’s apex body of gem and jewellery exporters went on to say that it was not opposed to synthetic or lab-grown diamonds. “We have always maintained that it can be developed as a separate vertical that is not confused with the natural diamond pipeline,” Ray added.

Source: tribuneindia

How to Remove a Stuck Ring Safely

A stuck ring can simply be the result of wearing a ring that’s too small. It can also be caused from arthritis of joints, which can happen as your body changes over the years. This can cause the joints and/or tissue to swell, which prevents you from removing your ring.

When you can’t simply slide your ring off, try these steps for safely removing a ring:

Squirt some Windex – yes Windex – on the finger and ring. Or, use any lubricant such as soap or oil.
Elevate the hand overhead for 5-10 minutes with ice around the ring and finger.
Use dental floss or a thread to compress the swollen finger as shown:

a. Slip the thread or floss under the stuck ring with the bulk of it toward the fingertip.

b. Beginning at the top of the ring, snuggly wrap the finger with the thread/floss around and around, compressing the finger, all the way up and over the knuckle.

c. With the end that was under the ring, begin to unwrap the thread or floss with the ring sliding over the knuckle as you go.

*If all else fails, cut the ring off with a ring cutter found in jewelry stores, fire departments and emergency rooms.

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJHUAwEx1bY

Source: assh.org

ALROSA To Hold Auction Of Large Diamonds In Israel

Alrosa the world’s largest diamond miner, will hold an auction for the sale of special size rough diamonds weighing over 10.8 carats in Israel from August 19 to September 6.

The company will auction 202 gem quality rough diamonds with a total weight of 3,165 carats. About 100 companies from Israel, Belgium, India, Hong Kong and Russia were invited to participate in the auction.

“The end of summer is traditionally a good time for auctions the demand for rough diamonds is growing. It is also relevant for Israel where our goods are always in demand and most local companies specialize in large size rough diamonds. According to all these factors we made changes to our plans and increased the number of stones for the sale. Now we look forward to a high demand for our diamonds and good results of the auction,” said Evgeny Agureev, a Member of the Executive committee, Director of the USO ALROSA.

Under Russian law, diamonds of special sizes weighing over 10.8 carats can only be sold at auctions.

ALROSA will hold another auction in Israel in November.

Source: IDEX Online

Gem Diamonds big discoveries reach a dozen

Africa focused Gem Diamonds must be getting used to recovering huge precious rocks from its flagship Letšeng mine in Lesotho, as it has just dug up another massive one.

The 138 carat, top white colour Type IIa diamond is 12th diamond over 100 carats the company finds this year, beating the 11 it dug up in 2015.

The largest diamond found this year is a 910 carat D colour type IIa diamond, about the size of two golf balls, which was named the “Lesotho Legend.” It became the second largest recovered in the past century and sold for $40 million at an auction in March.

Since acquiring Letšeng in 2006, Gem Diamonds has found now five of the 20 largest white gem quality diamonds ever recovered, which makes the mine the world’s highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond operation.

At an average elevation of 3,100 metres above sea level, Letšeng is also one of the world’s highest diamond mines.

The biggest diamond ever found was the 3,106 carat Cullinan, dug near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. It was later cut into several stones, including the First Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa, which are part of Britain’s Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London.

Lucara’s 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona was the second biggest in record, while the 995 carat Excelsior and 969 carat Star of Sierra Leone were the third and fourth largest.

Source: mining.com

GIA Spots Broken Diamond Glued Back Together

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has identified a stone comprising two halves of a diamond that had been stuck together with an “unknown adhesive.”

Graders noticed a large fracture and cavity on the table of the marquise-cut, 1.38-carat polished diamond submitted to the GIA’s laboratory in Carlsbad, California, for colored-diamond testing. When the gemologists examined the crack under a microscope, they noticed a gap running down the stone from the crown to the pavilion, as well as a slight misalignment in the facets and air bubbles inside the fracture.

The polish lines on the stone’s facets would have linked if there hadn’t been a fracture, GIA gemologist Troy Ardon explained this month in a lab note in the latest edition of Gems & Gemology. For that reason, gemologists determined that the stone had been broken in half after it was at least partially polished, and then repaired with an unidentified adhesive.

“Diamonds have been adhered together with glue to form a diamond-doublet, but a broken diamond that has been repaired was not something previously reported by GIA,” Ardon added.

The GIA couldn’t grade the diamond because the 4Cs wouldn’t apply to it, the note continued. A carat weight would have been meaningless, as it would have comprised the weight of both halves plus the adhesive.

Image: Robison McMurtry/GIA

Source: diamonds.net

Manufactured diamonds will be to mined diamonds what Tudor is to Rolex

It’s no secret that Israel is one of the largest suppliers of cut diamonds the world over. And, if you have ever bought an engagement ring, chances are you have likely been presented with the option of buying an Israeli diamond.

According to USTradeNumbers, Israel ranked 22nd in total global trade this year with a total of $18.37 billion. Of that, more than $6.5 billion came from the importing and exporting of you guessed it diamonds.

I recently read a story published in Canada’s Financial Post titled, “A diamond may be forever for some but for millennial it’s looking like not so much”, lamenting the potential demise of the mined diamond industry.

In it, the author states:

the millennial generation poses an existential dilemma for the industry: they tend to spend on experiences rather than luxury items, achieve financial maturity later in life and are less likely to get married than previous generations.

It’s an interesting argument to be sure. And, if true, this trend could pose challenging for countries like Israel who rely so heavily on the art of refining mined diamonds.

The story goes on to argue that it’s not just the lifestyle choices of millennials that pose a threat to the old adage that diamonds are a girl’s best friend it’s the growing popularity of something called artisan or lab created diamonds.

Yeah, I’m not so sure I agree with that.

Many in the media have been making the same argument about the luxury watch industry for years now. While quartz and other digital offerings may well be more accurate than mechanical wristwatches, the appeal to aficionados and luxury buyers is simply not there. Same for smart watches, which, to be sure, have a place among the masses and those interested in fitness, but do not affect demand for brands like Rolex, Cartier or Patek Philippe. Someone who wants a Rolex simply will not buy an Apple Watch as an alternative and call it a day. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.

While these manufactured stones may well be incredibly difficult to distinguish from mined diamonds, even to the most well trained gemologist, I am not convinced they will take much if any market share from those who truly want to buy a traditional diamond.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the mined diamond industry isn’t susceptible to demand changes. Surely the past few years have illustrated it is indeed possible. I’m also not suggesting no one will buy this new type of jewelry stone. Some people will choose man made diamonds over the mined ones. And, they’ll pay less money and get a larger stone too.

But I predict manufactured diamonds will be to mined diamonds what Tudor is to Rolex or what Acura and Lexus are to BMW and Mercedes a quality alternative with a comparable look and feel, but cheaper, less valuable and ultimately less desirable.

Time will tell.

Source: timesofisrael.com

Pandora to Slash Nearly 400 Jobs

Pandora plans to lay off 397 employees after disappointing second quarter results and a weakened outlook for the rest of the year.

While sales grew 4% in local currencies to $748.2 million (DKK 4.82 billion) for the quarter, the retailer lowered its revenue guidance for the year to an increase of 4% to 7%, from its previous forecast of 7% to 10%. It also expects lower profit margins, after that measure declined in the second quarter, it said Monday. The company’s stock price was down 21% at press time Tuesday.

Streamlining the business will help Pandora’s financial performance by reducing complexity and shifting resources to strategic priorities such as digital and e-commerce sales, CEO Anders Colding Friis explained in a separate statement Tuesday. Pandora has nearly doubled in size in the past three years, with new organizational practices emerging in different parts of the company, the executive added. The changes will reduce costs by about $23.3 million (DKK 150 million) per year, the company said.

“The adjustments are…necessary to protect our profitability,” Colding Friis said. “Sadly, the changes mean that good employees will lose their jobs, and we are supporting them in the best possible way.”

Of the layoffs, 218 will be in Thailand, where Pandora employs 13,000 people, including 5,000 at a new manufacturing center it unveiled in June. The company’s global workforce numbers 27,000.

Pandora has suffered from weak demand for its products in the US, as well as competition from unauthorized traders in the Asia Pacific region. Last month, it said it had reduced retail prices in China to combat the grey market, in which other companies sell its products without a license.

Meanwhile, Pandora has appointed Sid Keswani as president for the Americas. Keswani is a former CEO of grocery store chain Fiesta Mart, and replaces Scott Burger, who left the company in January. He will begin on August 13, reporting directly to the CEO.

Pandora will release its full results for the second quarter on August 9.

Source: Diamonds.net

Lucapa Finds 3 More Special Diamonds at Mothae Mine

89 carat yellow stone from Mothae’s South East zone

Just a week after unearthing an 11.88 carat diamond, Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered more “special” diamonds from its Mothae mine, including a 28-carat stone and two light pink diamonds.

Special diamonds, a term the company uses to describe any diamond over 10.8 carats, have been abundant at Mothae in recent weeks.

The company is currently conducting ongoing bulk sampling, and recent results have included an 89 carat yellow stone from Mothae’s South East zone, a 25 carat yellow gem from the Neck zone and a 12-carat white diamond from the North zone.

The bulk sampling at the site is happening alongside construction of a new 150-tonne-per-hour commercial diamond plant, which is on schedule to be commissioned in H2 2018.

Lucapa Managing Director Stephen Wetherall has previously discussed the company’s bulk-sampling program, describing the prior lack of exploration at the site.

“Certain areas of the kimberlite pipe which hadn’t historically been sampled (Neck zone), or where there had been very limited historical testing (South-East and North zones), were thought to be underestimated as a result. At the time of acquisition, we believed there was much upside here and this program is designed to deliver that upside,” Wetherall said.

Wetherall also touched on the commercial diamond plant’s construction, and how the successful recovery results have given the company optimism for the road ahead.

“To have already recovered special sized diamonds from early sampling tonnages in all three of these areas gives us great confidence we can achieve this goal. It also adds to our excitement as we advance construction of our new 150 tph plant, which remains on track for commercial diamond production later this year,” he said.

The Mothae mine, located in Lesotho, South Africa, is a joint venture between Lucapa, which owns 70 percent, and the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, which owns 30 percent.

Mouawad Group Buys 51.38 Carat Dynasty Diamond From ALROSA

The Mouawad Group has acquired the 51.38 carat Dynasty diamond, the central diamond in a collection offered for sale by ALROSA.

The total revenue from the sale of the Dynasty collection amounted to about $10 million.

Fred and Pascal Mouawad, co-guardians of the jewelry firm, said: “We’re very proud of this important acquisition. We will add it to our repertoire of historic diamonds. What attracted us to the Dynasty is not only its exceptional quality but the transparency of its history and the fact it’s the largest and most valuable diamond ever sold by ALROSA. It’s a rare gem with a remarkable record.”

ALROSA sold the Dynasty diamond at a public auction on its electronic trading platform on August 2. The miner said that the Dynasty stone, a traditional round brilliant-cut diamond, D color, VVS1 clarity was the best quality large diamond ever manufactured in Russia, and also the most expensive stone ever sold by ALROSA.

The Dynasty collection consisted of five diamonds manufactured from a 179-carat rough diamond. It took a year and a half to create the collection which was manufactured by the firm’s cutting and polishing division.

ALROSA held the first auction for the sale of the collection last November where four of the five stones were sold with final prices coming in at about 30% over reserve prices on average, the miner said.

Source: IDEX