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...

Yesterday

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

Russia developed a marine drone to explore the Arctic

06 november 2023

The Arkhangelsk scientific and educational center "Russian Arctic" has developed a marine drone. It is planned to be used for various studies in the Arctic, said the scientific director of the center, Deputy first vice-rector for Promising Projects of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University Marat Yeseev.

The drone is a small vessel of up to six meters in length. It is capable of transporting cargo and performing monitoring functions in the river, coastal and marine zone without the help of a crew. The development may have a dual purpose, but first of all it is planned to be used for peaceful purposes, Yeseev said.

The hull of the vessel is made of plastic that is not subject to corrosion, and it can use either a propeller or a water jet. The main feature of the drone is its remote control system that uses various types of communications.

"The system makes sure that this vessel can move hundreds of miles away from the base point, up to 500 miles, but in this case, of course, it is necessary to provide communication. The communication is satellite, but it is also possible to provide this with the help of radio communication," the scientist said.

Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished