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
Part 1: KPCSC gives insight into illegal diamond mining, trading in Africa
18 october 2021
Although the diamond watchdog Kimberley Process (KP) prides itself for significantly reducing the flow of conflict goods since its establishment in 2003, the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC) alleged that illegal diamond mining is still taking place in some parts of West Africa, Central Africa, and southern Africa. Rough&Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa spoke with the KPCSC coordinator Shamiso Mtisi about illegal diamond mining in Africa as well as their efforts to have a new definition of conflict diamonds, which is being resisted by some members of the diamond watchdog. In this first installment of the two-part exclusive interview, we focus on illegal diamond mining in the continent and where the contraband ends up to. Mtisi, who is also the deputy director of the Zimbabwe Environment Lawyers Association (ZELA) revealed what is being done to stem the problem of illegal diamond mining as well as how the state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is turning the corners in terms of human rights.
The jewelry industry in Russia needs to be upgraded in a serious way
11 october 2021
Dina Nasyrova is a vice-president of the International Jewelry Exhibition-Congress J-1 recently hosted by the Atrium of Gostiny Dvor in Moscow. As a partner and the Muse of the famous jeweler Ilgiz Fazulzyanov, she actively participated in the preparation of his personal exhibition at the Moscow Kremlin Museums and in the opening of the galleries in Paris and Moscow. Having worked for 25 years at the world’s leading exhibition venues - from Las Vegas to Tokyo and Hong Kong (including Vicenza, Geneva and Basel), she set herself the ambitious task of using the best of her experience gained. Dina Nasyrova told Rough&Polished how she managed to make the J-1 not only a jewelry exhibition, but also a working platform where the professionals in various fields, vocational training institutions and relevant ministries gathered for cooperation and dialogue.
Smiling Rocks, a philanthropic business model, inspires companies to work for betterment of the world
04 october 2021
Zulu Ghevriya, the CEO and Co-Founder of Smiling Rocks, Founder of Vedantti Jewellery and Managing Director of Prism Group has been in the diamond and jewellery industry for over 20 years. Zulu started his business, Prism Group, as a natural diamond company. Today, Prism is globally recognised as a diamond and jewellery design house. He pioneered the colour-treated diamond business in Asia, which grew into a global venture, early on in his career. With experience in diamond manufacturing and trading in India, as well as his export expertise in Hong Kong, New York and Europe, Zulu is a recognised authority in the industry. In 2018, Zulu won JNA’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Smiling Rocks is a lab-grown diamond and jewellery brand based in New York, a dream project for the co-founders Manish Jiwani and Zulu Ghevriya, to build a chain of smiles and contribute back to different charity sectors about 1% of loose diamonds and 3% of jewellery revenue to its charity partners including Environmental Protection, Medical Support, Education Support, Animal Protection etc. Here, in an Exclusive Interview with Rough&Polished, Zulu Ghevariya speaks about Smiling Rocks... a dream project that will enable them to leave a positive footprint in this world through their business.
Work hard and you will find success
27 september 2021
Eduard Utkin, Director General of the “Jewellers’ Guild of Russia” Association, expert of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Committee on Precious Metals and Precious Stones, told R&P about implementing the SIIS PMPS (State Integrated Information System in the Sphere of Control over the Circulation of Precious Metals and Precious Stones) and the latest developments and sentiments in the jewellery industry.
GOLDNET.MARKET - “We want and are working to provide business with the opportunity to develop a lot of activity areas”
20 september 2021
Today, almost all jewellery companies have their own wholesale websites, online stores, and social media pages. But a year ago, GOLDNET.MARKET, the first jewellery wholesale marketplace appeared in Russia, a new effective tool for the jewellery market, business communication of the industry professionals and for the promotion of their jewellery goods in Russia and the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) countries. Vladimir Pilyushin, the editor-in-chief of the Russian Jeweller magazine, who is also one of the founders of GOLDNET.MARKET told the industry information agency Rough&Polished how this project works under the new conditions.
Platinum’s rare nature gives it additional value and appeal
13 september 2021
Huw Daniel is the CEO of Platinum Guild International, overseeing market development activities in China, Japan, India and the USA, on behalf of the platinum producers of South Africa. Before taking up this role in 2015, Huw ran PGI USA for 12 years. Prior to PGI, Huw had over 25 years’ experience in marketing and communications, mainly at Saatchi and JWT, working in the UK, France, Asia and the US, with clients ranging from Procter & Gamble, to DeBeers, LVMH and the European Commission. In addition to his role as President of the Precious Metals Commission at CIBJO, Huw has served on various boards including the Jewellers Vigilance Committee and New York Insight Meditation Society. Here, in an exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Huw Daniel elucidates about PGI’s efforts to grow the platinum jewellery markets across the globe.
Marco Carniello: We want to continue to be the engine boosting the jewellery industry
06 september 2021
Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) is a leader in Italy in the organisation of trade fairs and one of the main operators in the trade fair and conference sector at European level, with structures in Rimini and Vicenza, as well as further sites in Milan and Arezzo. The IEG Group is notable in the organisation of events in six categories: Food & Beverage; Jewellery & Fashion; Tourism & Hospitality; Wellness, Sports & Leisure; Lifestyle & Innovation; Green & Technology. In the last few years, IEG started a significant expansion process abroad, also by means of joint ventures with global or local organizers (for example, in the United States, Arab Emirates, Mexico, China and India). In 2019, IEG totalled 48 exhibitions and 190 conferences. Mr Marco Carniello, Global Exhibition Director Jewellery & Fashion IEG kindly agreed to answer Rough&Polished' questions.
There is a significant need for smart and technological financial solutions in the diamond industry
30 august 2021
MDPS, the Israeli start-up Fintech company from the Mazalit Group is gearing up to enter the diamond industry soon. Zeev Maimon, the CEO of MDPS is also the Founder / CEO of MAZALIT, a B2B payment platform designed and dedicated to the global diamond and jewellery industry. He is a former diamond dealer, having in-depth knowledge of the global diamond industry. Here, in an exclusive interview with Rough&Polished, Zeev Maimon spells out the new company’s plans, which include financing the Israeli diamond industry initially and later spreading its wings to other countries.
The future for synthetics lies in that it has become possible to grow a stone you want and make what you want out of it
23 august 2021
Alex Popov, President of the Moscow Diamond Exchange and head of the Âme jewelry brand, which uses lab-grown diamonds to produce jewelry, sat for an interview with Rough&Polished sharing his views on the coexistence of natural and man-made diamonds in the market and the problem of transparency in the supply of diamonds and their grading reports. He also commented on the issue regarding the work of artisanal diamond miners and spoke about how he sees the future of the diamond industry.
De Beers’ GemFair ropes in more than 160 Sierra Leone artisanal miners
16 august 2021
De Beers inaugurated its GemFair pilot programme in Sierra Leone’s Kono District with 14-member mine sites in 2018 to create a secure route to market for ethically sourced artisanal and small-scale diamonds. GemFair programme manager Ruby Stocklin-Weinberg told Rough&Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that the registered members working with De Beers in the district have now grown to 160. She said through their miner training programme, they had trained a total of 1,049 individuals on fair labour standards and safer and environmentally responsible working practices. De Beers said they only purchase diamonds from artisanal and small-scale mined sources that are extracted, processed and transported responsibly and legitimately.
