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
Those who implement the right anti-crisis strategies have more chances
22 june 2020
It is not surprising that because of the pandemic and the crisis, the most heated debate in the jewellery industry is about what is happening and the possible ways of survival. Irina Slesareva, an expert, art director of the Russian Diamond Line contest, member of the award panel of international jewellery contests, participant in the online inauguration of the Watches & Wonders digital platform held at the end of April, told the Rough & Polished industry news agency about the sentiments in the jewellery community and how its representatives prefer to act today.
The secondary diamond market in Russia is not mature although its prospects are huge
15 june 2020
Pavel Barannik, the founder and head of the Moscow Gemological Laboratory, the founder of the Gemological Institute and President of the Moscow Diamond Club, graduated from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). He is an expert and consultant. He has been in the field of the precious stones expert evaluation and grading for more than 15 years.
Johan Erikson: The industry needs to spend more on advertising and marketing
08 june 2020
First Element is a fully independent Diamond Services Company registered in Belgium, Botswana, South Africa and Dubai. First Element is committed to providing a world class diamond service aimed at adding value to the entire supply chain, from the daily recoveries of diamonds at mines to putting them up for sale at tenders, thus optimizing the value of stones sold. In this interview with Rough & Polished First Element’s Managing Director Johan Erikson talks about the pandemic impact on diamond trade and the tenders his company managed to hold and intends to continue, as well as about future polished prices and diamond marketing.
African diamond firms on COVID-19 response, recent developments
01 june 2020
Rough & Polished recently contacted several diamond producers and exploration companies with operations in Africa to establish how their operations were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and what they are doing to alleviate the impact. We also sought to establish when they will likely resume their operations. Furthermore, we elicited their comments on efforts to temporarily suspend rough imports in India. Petra Diamonds, Lucapa Diamond, De Beers and Botswana Diamonds gave us their comments. Although, Lucara Diamond was yet to respond at the time of writing this article, we managed to extract some information in their first quarter 2020 report, which addressed some of our questions.
Below are responses from the diamond companies:
“Get Diamonds” platform will soon be available in Russian, Hindi, Arabic and any other languages as per demand from any countries
25 may 2020
A first-generation diamantaire Yoram Dvash, currently serving as the Acting President at World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), launched his diamond manufacturing and trading business, Yoram Dvash Diamonds Ltd., in 1991. Yoram Dvash has been a member of Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA) since the beginning of the century and an IsDMA board member since 2011. He also served a term on the board of the Israel Diamond Institute. In 2013 elections, Yoram was chosen as the IDE's honorary secretary, Chairman of the Industry Committee and Chairman of the Marketing and External Relations Committee. Yoram first joined the board of directors of the Israel Diamond Exchange in 2013. In the 2015 elections, Yoram was elected as President of the Israel Diamond Exchange. In 2016, five months after being elected as Israeli Diamond Exchange President, Yoram was elected as Vice President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). Here, in an interview with Rough & Polished, Yoram Dvash expresses his confidence in WFDB’s ‘Get Diamonds’ platform that has been designed to bring transparency; and also be ideal to connect traders across the globe.
Sustainability is the only way forward - Rahul Jauhari
18 may 2020
Rahul Jauhari, Sr Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Star Rays, has forged ahead professionally for more than 14 years garnering experience in Business Development, Luxury Lifestyle Consultancy, Market Analysis, Global Fashion / Luxury trend study, Strategic Planning, Merchandising, Product Sourcing/ Pricing Strategy, Profit Centric Operations and much more. For the last 2-plus years as Sr Vice President Rahul has been handling Star Rays’ marketing adeptly across the globe. Before this, he was Commercial Director, India of HRD, and also Sr Manager - International Business at Gitanjali Gems Ltd. Rahul also has a range of degrees under his belt like IT-Computer Science; Diamond Grading – GIA; Marketing Management – NMIMS; and an Executive Program in Luxury Management- IIM, Bangalore. Here, in an Interview with Rough & Polished, Rahul Jauhari speaks about Star Rays, a major Indian diamond company’s journey over the years, as well as its plans for the future…
Keeping global supply chains functioning vital – De Beers
11 may 2020
Diamond giant, De Beers has said that it is essential to keep global supply chains functioning in view of the substantial impact of Covid-19 on the industry. Group spokesperson David Johnson told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that although the current situation was challenging for all parts of the value chain, there is need for shared solutions. He was commenting on recent advise by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and other Indian trade bodies for the Asian country’s diamond sector to halt rough diamond imports for 30 days starting mid-May. Meanwhile, De Beers said that all of its upstream operations have either returned to work or will do so in the near future, although they are all operating at reduced levels.
Gabon courts foreign investors to grow fledgling diamond sector
05 may 2020
Diamond production in Gabon, which has been a member of the Kimberley Diamond Certification Process since 2018, is currently dominated by artisanal miners. The artisanal miners are producing about 300 carats per month, according to Gabon’s director of the Centre Permanent du Processus de Kimberley, Meboua Essoukou. She told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa through an interpreter that they now want the situation to change by attracting foreign investments.Essoukou said that De Beers, SouthernEra of Canada and Motapa Diamond of South Africa had previously done some exploration work. She said the foreign investors will be expected to continue with exploration work and possible commence mining ventures.
TaTe Diamonds - a Namibian diamond company specialized in Namibian rough
27 april 2020
Armed with degrees in Economics and Commerce and an MBA - specialized in Strategic Planning & Business Development, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi is an executive, possessing many years of global experience in Information Technology and Strategic Management. As Managing Director of TaTe, his primary focus is centered on growing and diversifying TaTe Group’s portfolio. The company’s current holdings span a wide array of industries and include interests in the following sectors like Diamond: Rough Trading & Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Information Technology and Real Estate. In this interview with Rough&Polished, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi spells out his goals for TaTe Diamonds, which he aims to grow into a fully integrated organisation, right from mining to retail.
Russian Jewelers Guild: If the church will not support us, then soon everyone will have to wear crosses made in China
20 april 2020
The Ministry of Finance of Russia proposed to include the jewelry industry in the list of sectors of the Russian economy that were most affected due to the deteriorating situation as a result of the spread of a new coronavirus infection. The corresponding proposal was sent to the Government of the Russian Federation.A week ago, the Russian Jewelers Guild addressed the Prime Minister with a request for measures to support the jewelry industry and with proposals that take into account the specifics of the jewelry market and its individual segments. Eduard Utkin, General Manager of the Russian Jewelers Guild Association answered the questions from Rough&Polished about what kind of measures these may be and what the industry expects in the near future.
