News
Indian jewellers promote natural diamonds amid competition from lab-grown stones
Falling prices for lab-grown diamonds and their resulting rise in market share are transforming India’s diamond jewellery market and prompting jewellers to take proactive measures.
Yesterday
Ethiopia opens first gold refinery to serve region
Ethiopia has inaugurated its first gold refinery, a $50 million joint venture that the government hopes will establish the country as a regional hub for precious metals processing, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced over the weekend, according to Reuters...
Yesterday
Anglo American bets R11.2B on South African mining's future
Anglo American has reaffirmed South Africa's potential as a premier mining investment destination, even as the company commits R11.2 billion ($677 million) to an ultra-high dense media separation iron-ore project at Sishen in the Northern...
Yesterday
Nornickel forecasts $4 billion in precious metals revenue for 2026 - report
A senior Nornickel representative noted that the company expects to generate $4 billion in revenue from precious metals sales this year.
Yesterday
Russia to build first permanent REM magnet plant
In 2028, Russia is set to start the construction of its first plant for manufacturing permanent magnets from rare-earth metals (REM) in the city of Glazov, to be commissioned in 2029 with an initial capacity of 500 tonnes per year, said Andrey...
Yesterday
“In the jewellery art, we express our feelings, emotions and share them with others”
20 march 2023
Over 30 years, the MOISEIKIN company based in the Ural area has become a famous jewellery brand. The jewellery and souvenirs of this jewellery house made of precious and semi- precious stones and metals are displayed at museums and in private collections of world celebrities, representatives of the political and cultural elite - from the Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and German Ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel to designer Paco Rabanne and movie star Catherine Deneuve. Salons and representative offices of the company are located in Russia, Japan, the UAE, the PRC and Hong Kong, and the central representative office is based in Yekaterinburg. Viktor Moiseikin, the founder of the “Moiseikin” Jewellery House, the author of the proprietary technology of the unique “Waltzing Brilliance” setting for stones who has many awards for his designs, told Rough&Polished about his attitude to the Fabergé heritage, jewellery and about the philosophy of his jewellery.
Automatic double upgrade of diamonds is not only a questionable practice but could be systemic fraud – Meeus
13 march 2023
HRD Antwerp is under investigation by Belgian authorities following allegations that for every Gemological Institute of America (GIA) stone, which entered their lab for certification an automatic upgrade would be given two colours up and one purity up, according to a local newspaper De Tijd citing HRD’s erstwhile Turkish partner, Enstitü İstanbul Bilim Akademisi Yönetim Danişmanliği that made these allegations in court. Although HRD won the court case it is not yet off the hook. HRD former managing director Peter Meeus told Rough&Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that the allegations were shocking. He said an automatic double upgrade is a questionable practice and could be even considered systemic fraud.
"At House of Ashish Vijay, diamonds and coloured gemstones will only ever mean stones that carry a storied legacy"
06 march 2023
Ashish Vijay, a Dubai-based investor, philanthropist, entrepreneur and businessman with decades of experience in the precious gemstone and luxury jewellery industry, finance and investments sectors, set up his business in Dubai in the year 2013. As the Chairman and Founder of the House of Ashish Vijay, under which falls a group of companies including Meraki Gems and Jewellery, Tiara Gems, AV Globale, he built on the legacy of his family’s generation of expertise in precious stones. Ashish Vijay, with his acumen, turned his passion into a globally respected company, sourcing quality stones, inspiring design creativity and holding auctions. In 2016, he created the Dubai-based investment fund Seiko Financial Services with the aim of investing in an array of businesses from small, grassroots enterprises to globally orientated start-ups as a way to help and mentor the entrepreneurs of the future. Ashish Vijay, whose work is also his passion, curated a unique collection of precious stones including diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, alexandrite etc procured from all over the world during his travels. In 2022, Ashish Vijay made headlines when he purchased one of the world’s rarest fancy red diamonds, naming it the “Scarlet Chakra”, and showcasing it to a captivated diamond industry. He has recently been appointed Director for ICA -Dubai Chapter. Here, in an exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Ashish Vijay tells his story.
KP should remodel its enforcement, accountability mechanisms if it wants to remain relevant - Fula-Ngenge
27 february 2023
The African Diamond Council (ADC) is calling on the Kimberley Process (KP) to remodel its enforcement and accountability mechanisms if it wants to remain relevant and effective. ADC chairperson M’zée Fula-Ngenge told Rough&Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa that at the same time, KP must be under an obligation to rework its consensus model of decision-making, which would allow prompt and forceful retribution for noncompliance by members. He said the diamond trade watchdog’s operational framework is not being met and this was encouraging diamond smuggling, particularly in Africa. Fula-Ngenge also said that the remittance of smuggled diamonds from Africa has become one of ADC’s top priorities. He said that currently there is no law requiring the return of the smuggled diamonds back to the country of origin.
Why ODC is taking longer to sell the polished Okavango blue diamond?
20 february 2023
Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), a rough diamond marketing company that is wholly owned by the Botswana government, took an extraordinary decision to polish the 20.46-carat Okavango blue diamond recovered at Debswana’s Orapa Mine in 2018. It was cut into a 20-carat oval VV51 fancy deep blue polished diamond. Company managing director Mmetla Masire recently told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, that they delayed selling the biggest blue diamond ever discovered in the southern African country due to the current subdued market. Although he acknowledged that specials are usually not determined by obtaining market conditions, the ODC MD said the timing of the auction was crucial.
Meanwhile, they registered a decline in rough demand from the second half of 2022 and their lowest performance was recorded in December. He said demand remains at the low end of the market and that manufacturers are sitting with a lot of expensive stock that they are now finding difficult to sell profitably.
Almazy Zapolyarya: “We managed to acquire diamond assets of absolutely unique quality”
13 february 2023
Pavel Shelkov, Chief Geologist of the Almazy Zapolyarya (Polar Diamonds) group of companies, is engaged in prospecting and evaluation work on developing new diamond deposits in Russia with a wide geographical coverage, from Karelia to Yakutia. In this interview with Rough&Polished, he speaks about the current projects the geologists are implementing and their prospects.
Lab-grown diamonds will eventually dominate the fashion markets across the world, predicts Rohan Siroya, CEO of Evermore
06 february 2023
Rohan Siroya, the scion of the Siroya jewellery empire, has a clear ambition to catapult the company into the next phase of development and continued success. Having honed his skills as a real estate developer in Mumbai, Rohan has demonstrated his versatility and subsequently launched a consumer healthcare startup across India. Schooled in Dubai and Canada, not to mention armed with an MBA from the prestigious Indian School of Business, Rohan joined his father Chandu Siroya in the business in 2020. Bringing the millennial mindset to Siroya, Rohan was instrumental in the creation of the JV between Siroya Jewellers and ALTR, a leader in lab-grown diamonds. Under Siroya ALTR, Rohan and his able team will soon be launching a homegrown lab-grown diamond brand - Evermore. Here, in an exclusive interview, Rohan Siroya reveals his aspiration and vision to take the Evermore brand to greater heights.
De Beers to start production at SA's Venetia underground project this year, establishes JV with Endiama in Angola
30 january 2023
De Beers is expected to begin production at its Venetia underground project in South Africa this year, almost two years behind the initial commence date. Construction of the underground project started in 2013 and first production was targeted or 2021. Group spokesperson David Johnson told Rough&Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that the targeted date for first production was revised mainly due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their workforce, heavy rain and supply chain delays. The project seeks to transition the mine from an open pit to an underground operation, thereby extending the mine life by 23 years to 2046. The underground project was projected to treat about 130 million tonnes of ore, containing close to 96 million carats.
At least 5.9 million tonnes of ore will be treated through the existing process plant to produce about 4.5 million carats of diamonds a year. Meanwhile, Johnson said De Beers completed foundational work in Angola last year and had since established a joint venture (JV) partnership with the state-owned diamond mining company Endiama.
“Although we’re the 7th world gold producers, we have to buy the metal in USA”
23 january 2023
With more than 45 years in the industry, Clemente Guevara runs New Fashion Peru, one of the three largest jewelry companies in the country. All together control the 90% of a 120-million-dollar jewelry export market. Mr. Guevara is also a member of the board in the Exporter’s Association of Peru (ADEX). With a constantly growing industry, jewelry in Peru faces a contradiction: Despite being the seventh largest gold producer in the world (with 127 tons per year) jewelry producers do not have access to this metal.
Consumers are testing a vastly less-expensive alternative to natural diamonds - Vin Lee, CEO of Grand Metropolitan
16 january 2023
Vin Lee, the self-made billionaire CEO of Grand Metropolitan of USA, is popular as the 'King of Luxury'. The Beverly Hills family office 'Grand Metropolitan' is a $7 billion AUM privately held luxury goods holding company with a 60-brand portfolio. The Group specializes in distressed debt assets of luxury brands. Finlay Fine Jewelers is one of the largest private jeweler groups in North America. Heilig-Meyers is also one of the largest private furniture retailers in the United States. Grand Metropolitan also owns Pushkin Caviar, Gallery Rodeo, The Beverly Hills Cigar Club, and Beverly Hills Sports Car; participates in charity auctions, celebrity events, and red-carpet functions including the Cannes Film Festival, Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Independent Spirit Awards, and many more. Vin Lee spends his time between the Gulf Coast, Florida & Southern California. In this exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Vin Lee, who is known to call a spade a spade, mirrors the US jewellery market as it is at present ...
