When De Beers first introduced its Lightbox lab-grown jewelry brand in 2018, the diamond world sat up and took notice. The mining giant had long been outspoken about its belief that synthetic stones were neither special nor unique. And despite having entered the field itself, the company still holds by that sentiment. Since first making … Read more
The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) is facing a massive budget cut in 2023 unless the industry steps in to compensate for the loss of Alrosa’s financial contribution, CEO David Kellie told Rapaport News. “We’ve probably been impacted more than anybody [by sanctions against Russian diamonds] in as much as Alrosa was almost half of our … Read more
China has joined Russia in opposing an effort to redefine conflict diamonds to include those sold by individual nations, as a rift between Western and pro-Russia nations jeopardizes the process for certifying rough diamonds as conflict-free. Ukraine, Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union, the United States and civil society groups were pushing to place Russia … Read more
What is a ‘lab grown diamond’ ? Laboratory grown diamond term is still a source of confusion for many diamond buyers and jewellers. Natural Diamonds have been high coveted and sort after for thousands of years. Diamonds have always been a status symbol for the elite and super wealthy, only becoming available to the general … Read more
In 2018, the FTC permitted “a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system” to be described as a “diamond,” whether naturally occurring or man-made. Ever since then, the jewelry establishment has been erecting barriers of entry for lab-grown diamonds into their lucrative $84 billion global market. The Natural Diamond Council established … Read more
De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer by value, has once again increased the price of its smaller stones as sanctions on Alrosa, its Russian rival, have worsened a global shortage caused by two years of covid-related shutdowns. The Anglo American unit had hiked prices by about 8% at its first sale this year, with … Read more
The new digital reports
Diamond trading was stable in May despite concerns about inflation, rising interest rates and slumping stock markets. Polished prices initially declined but later steadied as dealers anticipated supply shortages resulting from Russian sanctions. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) for 1-carat diamonds slid 0.5% in May but was 9.3% higher on June 1 than at the … Read more
Africa-focused Gem Diamonds has found a 125 carat rough stone at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the miner’s second rock over 100 carats mined this year. The company, known for the recovery of large, high quality stones in 2020, has seen output of high quality diamonds surpassing the 100 carat mark become less frequent over … Read more
The first steps towards setting up a traceability program have been taken in Democratic Republic Congo (DRC), which dominates the world’s supply of diamonds from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). A pilot project involving Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the DRC mining ministry and tech company Everledger aims to establish a fully transparent value chain … Read more