Lucapa Diamond Company has sold six diamonds recovered from the Lulo mine, in Angola, in a special tender for $12.4-million.
The diamonds totalled 447 ct and consisted of five white Type IIa diamonds, as well as a pink diamond.
The average price per carat was about $27 700.
MD and CEO Nick Selby deems the tender result pleasing. “Our alluvial project, in Angola, continues to deliver fantastic diamonds that are always in demand through all market cycles and achieve very competitive values.”
India’s exports of polished diamonds suffered another hefty drop in June, down 26 per cent year-on-year to $1.02bn.
Foreign sales in May were down by almost 15 per cent to $1.47bn, according to new figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council).
Polished diamond exports have fallen every month this year, down 20 per cent in January, 28 per cent in February, 27 per cent in March and 17 per cent in April.
Gross imports of rough diamonds for April to June dropped by 15 per cent by value to $3.39bn and 6 per cent by volume.
Overall exports of all gems and jewelry declined by 15 per cent in June to $1.9bn.
US pop icon Ariana Grande is the new brand ambassador for Swarovski , the Austria-based crystal and jewelry company.
Grande, aged 31, a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and actress, will star in the company’s upcoming holiday campaign.
Swarovski, which reported increased sales of $1.99bn in 2023, says it chose Grande as a “powerful advocate for inclusion and empowerment”. It describes her a “true style icon”.
Grande said: “It’s an honor to represent a house that shares my passion for creativity, pushes the boundaries beyond the world of jewelry, and promotes values of unapologetic self-expression.”
Giovanna Engelbert, Swarovski’s global creative director, said: “Ariana is a brilliant artist whose creativity shines through her songwriting and vocal performances as well as her personal style. I look forward to engaging in inspiring creative dialogues together.”
Grande started her career in the Broadway musical 13 when she was just 15. She had just finished on stage in Manchester, England, in May 2017, when an Islamic extremist suicide bomber killed 22 fans as they were leaving the arena.
A wealthy US doctor splashed out $275,000 on 5 ct emerald cut diamond for his fiancace.
He plans to have the D colour, flawless gem set in an engagement ring, according to California based Varsha Diamonds, which made the sale through retail partner Phillips Jewelry, in Tennessee.
“We’ll be setting it in the mounting of their choice,” said business owner Robbi Philips. “They are thrilled, and so are we. I feel honored to have found them a remarkable diamond that they will be proud of and will cherish forever.”
Varsha says its Fireworks brand diamonds are cut for beauty rather than size and the symmetrical step cuts achieve maximum white light brilliance.
“Fireworks Diamonds are scientifically proven by AGS’s Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool (ASET) and Sarine light performance technologies to be the largest and brightest diamonds in the world, and all because of the way they are cut,” said Jay Mehta, director of business operations at Varsha.
Nita Ambani was a vision of opulence, literally studded in diamonds! Yes, you read that right. The grooms mother is renowned for her extravagant taste in jewels, showcasing an array of rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. But her love for these gems doesn’t stop at just necklaces; she seamlessly integrates them into her hair and clothing as well. On Sunday, the Ambani family hosted a grand reception to continue the celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding, which kicked off with a spectacular ceremony on Friday, July 12. The Mumbai event was a glittering affair, with family members like Mukesh, Nita, Akash, and Isha Ambani in attendance, alongside a host of Bollywood and international celebrities.
Nita Ambani never fails to make a fashion statement, and her latest appearance at the reception was nothing short of spectacular. With her saree adorned in exquisite jewels and draped with unparalleled elegance, she once again proved her status as a fashion icon.
A “Toi et Moi” ring featuring blue and pink diamonds – both over 5.0-cts – sold for $3.7m (£3m) almost double its high estimate, at Bonhams London.
The ring was crafted and signed by Mouawad, the Geneva-based jeweler to royalty and high society, which was founded in 1890. It carried a pre-sale estimate of $1.3m to $1.9m (£1m to £1.5m).
The radiant-cut fancy intense blue diamond, weighing 5.03 carats, is obliquely-set with a radiant-cut fancy purple-pink diamond, weighing 5.13 carats. The gallery and shoulders are pave-set with brilliant-cut diamonds of pink and blue tint.
The 113-lot sale, on 13 June, made a total of £6,590,562, with 78 per cent sold by lot and 99 per cent sold by value.
Christie’s will offer “The Eden Rose,” a 10.20-carat round brilliant fancy intense pink diamond, as the top lot of its New York Magnificent Jewels auction on June 11. Its estimate is $9 million to $12 million. It is the first time this diamond has appeared at auction.
The Gemological Institute of America report supplied by Christie’s states that the diamond is also internally flawless.
Describing it as an “exceptionally rare gemstone,” Christie’s says the gem, named after the symbol for unconditional love, it is the most significant round brilliant internally flawless fancy intense pink diamond to be offered at auction since the “Martian Pink,” which sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2012 for $17.4 million, equating to $1.45 million per carat.
The diamond exhibits a pure pink hue, unlike many natural pink diamonds that typically display secondary hues such as purple, orange or gray. “The Eden Rose stands out for its complete absence of any secondary color, rendering it exceptionally rare,” Christie’s said in a statement.
Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International head of Jewelry, said in a statement that he is “anticipating significant interest from around the world.”
Christie’s says the round brilliant cut is known for its ability to maximize light reflection and is considered the ideal cut for diamonds.
The Eden Rose is mounted on a ring further adorned with eight brilliant-cut diamonds, ranging in weight from 3.11 to 0.73 carats, and two marquise brilliant-cut diamonds of 2.24 and 1.02 carats.
A diamond held by dop is polished on rotating automatic cast iron lap
Prices showed signs of stabilizing during April, with an even mix of increases and decreases in many sizes, especially fancy cuts. Overall there were more clusters of price rises than we have seen of late.
It’s too early to positively identify a clear upward trend, but the “end of the lab grown boom” is arguably having an impact. Lab grown prices are now so low – in some case just 10 percent of natural – that many jewelers are opting not to stock them in inventory and are only buying them on consignment.
In addition the G7 sanctions, in place since 1 March, are now starting to bite, and to slowly push up prices.
They have effectively restored the De Beers monopoly, although its rough production is down by almost a quarter so far this year (as is Rio Tinto’s) and rough sales remain sluggish (down 18 per cent on last year). Meanwhile polished exports from India fell by 27 per cent during March to $1.2bn
A 6.21-carat pink diamond will be the star of the second jewelry auction Phillips will hold in Geneva, where it is expected to fetch up to CHF 13.6 million ($15 million).
The fancy-vivid-pink, VS1-clarity, type IIa diamond ring is among several important and rare pieces on offer at the sale, called Geneva Jewels Auction: Two, which will take place on May 13, Phillips said Tuesday. The auction will be at the Hotel President Geneva for the first time, and it will include over 100 specially curated items from well-knowns design houses such as Cartier, JAR, Suzanne Belperron, and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Prior to the sale, Phillips will exhibit the jewels in New York; London; Taipei, Taiwan; and Singapore. The auction house will also hold a simultaneous selling exhibition called “Symbols, Colour and Form,” which will feature jewels from contemporary designers Alix Dumas and DYNE.
Here are the rest of the of the top five items Phillips will feature at the main sale:
This 280.84-carat Colombian emerald is from a private collection. Known as The Amazon Queen, it carries an estimate of CHF 1.4 million to CHF 2.4 million ($1.5 million to $2.6 million).A 27.27-carat, fancy-vivid-yellow diamond ring will also go under the hammer. It is expected to bring in between CHF 1 million and CHF 1.8 million ($1.1 million to $2 million).A pair of earrings set with pear-shaped, D-flawless, type IIa diamonds weighing 10.07 and 10.12 carats has a presale price range of CHF 1.2 million to CHF 1.6 million ($1.3 million to $1.8 million).Phillips will offer this brilliant-cut, 1.56-carat, fancy-red Argyle diamond at the Geneva auction. Named The Argyle Phoenix, it is estimated at CHF 910,000 to CHF 1.4 million ($1 million to $1.5 million).
Sarine recorded a $2.8m loss for 2023 as it battled macro-economic challenges in China and beyond, as well as increasing disruption from lab growns.
The Israel-based diamond tech business made an $8.8m profit the previous year. Revenue for 2023 was down 27 per cent to $42.9m.
Sarine said sales of equipment and the recurring scanning revenues that came from them had been hit by lower consumer demand and manufacturers’ reduced polishing activities.
Sales to India, its biggest single market by far, fell 27 per cent to $22m.
However it did sound a note of optimism after a “challenging year”, suggesting that a sharp fall in lab grown retail prices could lower retailers’ margins and make them less attractive.
“While it may be too early to call this a new trend, the slowdown could indicate that the natural diamond and LGD segments of the diamond jewellery market are reaching a new equilibrium,” the company said.
Sarine said it had launched its Most Valuable Plan (MVP) for the optimal planning of small rough diamonds and had adapted rough planning technologies to lab growns to attract new customers and generate additional recurring revenues.
