Diamond market crash is Africa’s opportunity, not its crisis – M'zée Fula Ngenge

Global natural diamond supply is forecast to fall below 95 million carats this year, the lowest since 1987. For Dr. M'zée Fula Ngenge, chairperson of the African Diamond Council (ADC), this is not a death knell but a clarion call. In an exclusive...

12 october 2026

Tracr passes 5 million rough diamonds milestone as De Beers expands provenance push

De Beers Group's blockchain-enabled traceability platform Tracr reached a significant milestone in 2025, with more than 5 million rough diamonds individually scanned and registered, up from 2.8 million cumulative registrations reported in 2024. The...

28 september 2026

South African diamonds head to Hong Kong: SDT partners with BRINKS for JGW 2026

South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) has confirmed the country's participation in Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGW) 2026 through a partnership with BRINKS. SDT marketing and communication manager Tsholofelo Gopolang Tselapedi...

14 september 2026

David Benderly: PermaScribe seeks to put trust mark on diamond table, not just girdle

In this interview with Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa, PhotoScribe Technologies president and chief executive David Benderly explains how PermaScribe differs technically from conventional laser inscription, its potential to strengthen security, and...

31 august 2026

The great reset: Paul Zimnisky on supply catharsis, De Beers' bargain and the case for natural diamonds

The natural diamond industry is in the throes of its most profound reset in a generation. Supply is plunging to its lowest level since 1987 and De Beers—once valued at over $9 billion—is reportedly being sold for as little as $1 billion.
Lab-grown...

10 august 2026

A new scientific supership for polar research to be built in Russia

14 june 2023
A new unique scientific expedition vessel to be built in Russia to conduct research in the Arctic region. Participants of dozens of scientific projects exploring the ocean floor, the atmosphere or even space will be able to work on board at the same time, goarctic.ru reports.
The first flight of the Ivan Frolov is scheduled for 2028. The new ship should be the largest in the world in its class. It will combine five functions at once – a tanker, an icebreaker, a scientific, passenger and cargo vessel. The estimated cost of the project is 39.7 billion rubles.
The length of the vessel will be about 165 meters, displacement – about 25.000. The area of the ship will allow to place on board up to 20 laboratories, a hangar for two helicopters and a helipad. The hull must comply with the Arc7 class, which allows you to pass complex polar ice without the help of icebreakers.
The creator of the vessel will be Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. During the construction of the ship, it is planned to use domestic components and equipment.
The ship will be serviced by 240 crew members and special personnel, and its service life will be at least 30 years.
"Ivan Frolov" will replace the exhausted vessel "Academician Fedorov" built in 1987.

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished