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
Typical Jeweller is the initiative to promote the Russian jewellery industry
27 december 2021
Typical Jeweller is one of the largest websites on the Russian Internet for the new generation jewellers. The total audience, including social media, is over 100,000 people per month. Every day, the latest news from the jewellery industry, educational articles, and translations are published - a flow of information is created for everyone associated with the world of jewellery art and creativity. Vacancies, announcements of various events are posted, experts’ opinions are collected on the questions of interest to readers. The Battle of the Jewellers annual competition is regularly held. Dmitry Tataurov, the founder of this project, told Rough&Polished about the competition, the special features of Yekaterinburg’s jewellery sector, and the Typical Jeweller website.
Johan Erikson: Demand for Natural Diamonds will always remain strong
20 december 2021
First Element is a fully independent Diamond Services Company registered in Belgium and South Africa which has become one of the premier diamond valuing, marketing and cleaning companies in the industry. First Element is committed to providing a world-class diamond service aimed at adding value to the entire supply chain from the daily recoveries recorded on the mine(s) to the presentation of the diamonds on tender, thus optimizing the value of the diamonds sold. In this interview with Rough & Polished First Element’s Managing Director Johan Erikson talks about the pandemic impact on the diamond trade and the tenders his company managed to hold and intends to continue, as well as about future polished prices and diamond marketing.
China’s opening of new jewellery stores to continue driving incremental demand - Paul Zimnisky
13 december 2021
China, the world’s second-largest consumer of diamond jewellery after the United States, has continued to open new jewellery stores at a relatively aggressive pace, according to independent diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky. He told Rough&Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa on the sidelines of Angola’s International Diamond Conference in Saurimo recently that the opening of the new stores in the Asian country is driving incremental demand for diamond jewellery. Zimnisky also said that the new stores were crucial for the diamond industry as this means a brand-new source of recurring demand. He also emphasized the need for the Angolan government to ensure transparency in the mining and trading of diamonds in the country to comfort consumers, particularly in the US, who are concerned about ethical sourcing. Zimnisky said diamond companies such as Endiama that are ploughing back into the communities that they operate in will also help convince diamond consumers that they are a responsible corporate entity.
How to Bid Wisely at Rough Diamond Tenders …
06 december 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the world economy so that many businesses have had a substantial downturn in profits, laid-off employees, and many were forced to close business operations. The rough diamond business industry was just one of the badly affected business industries to be affected. Many mines have paused their productions i.e., Stornoway, Renard in Canada, Petra Diamonds, Williamson mine in Tanzania, Firestone Diamonds, and many others are yet to open. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Mary Frances Geretly's immortal marketing slogan 'A Diamond is Forever' brought it to life, and the rough diamond sales business restarted with a big bang in 2021.
The indelicate balance of ethics against profit
29 november 2021
I am slightly pained to write this blog, as over the years I've made many close friends and contacts in Switzerland, not to mention worked very closely with several Swiss-based companies as part of our recently launched DMCC Crypto Centre, including Bitcoin Suisse AG, a cornerstone of the Crypto Valley of which I am an avid supporter. DMCC is even home to the Swiss Tower, a 40-storey building whose tenants include some of the best of what Switzerland has to offer, including the Swiss Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates, amongst other notable companies and organisations. However, following a recent article published on Bloomberg earlier this week, I have felt compelled to call out the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, who issued a letter to its "refiners to get strict on UAE gold."
Yakut diamonds, the symphony of permafrost
22 november 2021
The Yakutia-based Kierge company, one of the Top 100 of the leading jewellery brands in Russia, opened its showroom in Moscow this autumn, which is gaining popularity in the capital of Russia. “Kierge” is the Yakut for a “finery, decoration” in a broad sense, not just adornments but rather a jewellery set. Galina Pavlova, Director of Kierge, told R&P about setting up the Moscow showroom and how to take advantage of being under the lockdown restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vladislav Zhdanov - “The use of diamonds in high technologies is the main and key target of the diamond synthesis technologies”
15 november 2021
Vladislav Zhdanov, Professor at the Higher School of Economics, Advisor to Director General - Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian Railways company, and former Vice President of ALROSA (2015-2018). He is a physicist by background. He graduated from the Ural State University (General and Molecular Physics), Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, City University London, Oxford University, and the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). He is a prizewinner of the national competition Leaders of Russia 2020 and the author of a number of scholarly articles on the use of diamonds in high technologies. Vladislav Zhdanov told R&P about the use of synthetic and natural diamonds in modern high technologies, about the trends and prospects of their use in this area.
Ali Pastorini: The white diamond is the equivalent of a white shirt for a woman
08 november 2021
Ali Pastorini is the co-owner of Del Lima Jewelry and President of Mujeres Brillantes, an association that brings together more than 1,000 women working in the gold and diamond trading sector, mainly from Latin America, as well as from Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Germany. The mission of Mujeres Brillantes is to help women in the jewelry and watchmaking sectors consolidate their business in order to exchange professional skills and experience. In the immediate past, Ali Pastorini was also Senior Vice President of the World Jewelry Hub in Panama. In this interview with Rough&Polished she talks about the situation in the jewelry industry in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“As a purist and old school diamantaire, I don't believe in LGD,” says Vin Lee, CEO Grand Metropolitan
01 november 2021
Vin Lee, the King of Luxury, doesn’t need any introduction. He is a self-made billionaire CEO of Grand Metropolitan. The Beverly Hills' family office Grand Metropolitan is $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; participate 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 Gulf Coast, Florida & Southern California. In this exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Vin Lee is his original self … mirroring the US jewellery market for you with elan!
Part 2: KPCSC wants Russia to help end impasse on new definition of conflict diamonds
25 october 2021
In the first installment of this two-part exclusive interview with Shamiso Mtisi, the coordinator of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC), we focused on illegal diamond mining in the continent and where the contraband ends up to. This week, Mtisi talks about their call for the expansion of the definition of conflict diamonds. The current Kimberley Process (KP) definition of conflict diamonds is "a rough diamond mined in an area controlled by insurgent forces whose sale is used to finance anti-government military action". KPCSC wants the new definition to cover environmental issues, violence, poor labour standards and child labour. Although some member countries of KP had been resisting the move to expand the definition, the KPCSC coordinator told Rough&Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa that there is nothing to worry about as their intention is not to disenfranchise anyone. He said Russia, the current KP chairperson, can play a pivotal role by bringing the ‘warring’ parties to a round table to find each other.
