De Beers is to start diamond exploration in Angola later this year after signing two mineral investment contracts with the Angolan government but the secretive group is giving little away on the details of the agreements. De Beers announced today that the two licences covering prospects in the north-east of the country are for the … Read more
Exports of rough diamonds from Russia’s state-owned Alrosa mines have resumed to India, although tensions remain high over such consignments. Many Western nations are seeking to shut down Russia’s diamond trade with India by calling Russian diamonds conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds. Critics such as Cristina Villegas, director of the Mines to Markets program at … Read more
Analysts expect that the June meeting of the global diamond industry scheduled for Gaborone will not result in a broad sanctioning of the precious stones produced in Russia. Still, that has not stopped the United States from pushing harder, writes Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNIWhen the world’s diamond producers, their biggest customers, civil society groups monitoring … Read more
One of the world’s largest yellow diamonds weighing 205.7 ct and known as the Red Cross Diamond is to be auctioned by Christie’s London. The fancy intense yellow, cushion-shaped stone has a pavilion distinctively faceted in the shape of a Maltese cross. The original rough gem was recovered by De Beers, in South Africa, in … Read more
A 50.08 carat D Flawless oval diamond is the centerpiece of an exhibition of gems and high jewelry by Graff, which opens today at Graff’s Palm Beach boutique. Graff, in a statement, says it is the largest D Flawless diamond in 20 years to be unveiled by the high jewelry brand. It is available for … Read more
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have got engaged for the second time After rekindling their highly publicised relationship last year, the Hollywood power couple are taking another shot at tying the knot. Lopez sparked rumours of an engagement when she was spotted wearing a massive diamond ring last week, and has since confirmed the news … Read more
Alrosa, the world’s top diamond producer by output, has been hit by fresh sanctions imposed by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The OFAC announced late on Thursday it had placed Alrosa on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, which effectively kicks a sanctioned company out of the US … Read more
De Beers is bringing its sales activities back to Botswana’s capital Gaborone, it said on Thursday, almost two years after the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to be held in cities including Antwerp and Dubai. The Anglo American subsidiary had moved its pre-sale viewings – a marketing exercise to showcase its new batch of diamonds – … Read more
Botswana’s state-run diamond trader reported record revenue last year with sales surging almost five fold after U.S. imports recovered from a Covid-19 induced slowdown. Okavango Diamond Company sold $963 million of rough diamonds last year, said Dennis Tlaang, a company spokesman. The revenue was the most since the company began operations in 2012, he said. … Read more
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 … Read more