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
De Beers only selling Elizabeth Bay Mine in Namibia, move to sustain operations beyond 2019
22 april 2019
Namdeb Holdings, a 50/50 joint venture between the Namibian government and De Beers is not selling Daberas, Sendelingsdrift and Southern Coastal mines in the southern African country. It had been alleged that Namdeb was planning to close and offload three mines together with the Elizabeth Bay Mine by 2022 as it searches for higher-value gemstones offshore. However, De Beers’ senior manager for media and commercial communications, David Johnson told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa that Namdeb is only disposing off the Elizabeth Bay Mine, which is located 30km south of Lüderitz. He, among other things, also spoke about their decision to move to calendar year ITOs and to allow sightholders disclose the provenance of the diamonds they purchase from the group.
Colorless diamonds as an investment class are evolving beyond their traditional ability to preserve, relocate and pass on wealth
15 april 2019
Antonio Cecere, the Founder & VP of Monaco Diamond Exchange dons many caps simultaneously. Currently, he is the President of Geneva Diamond Exchange, the President of Diamond Investment Club and the Principal of the Cecere Group. Antonio’s ability to advise is strong due to his substantial experience in the luxury goods sector, with a track record in creating commercial success in international markets including North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, China and Japan. From re-positioning the jewellery category at Montblanc, to leading the Swarovski Group team to achieve the fastest turnaround of a company ever recorded, Antonio was even awarded by HRH The Princess Royal with the UK Fashion Export Award for services rendered to the industry. Here, in an interview with Rough & Polished, Antonio Cerere walks us through his Exchanges and their activities, but not before offering a generous dose of his ‘advice’ as well…
Jewellery with diamonds, even with small ones, sells better than without diamonds
08 april 2019
The Yakut jewellery firm Kierge was set up 25 years ago on the basis of the jewellery workshop PKF Yakutrembyttekhnika which, in its turn, was founded way back in the 1970s. Over this period, Kierge turned into a well-established company successfully developing its brand and winning jewellery prizes and awards for its charity. In recent years, the company was among the ‘Top 100’ best Russian jewellery brands and was a winner in the city contest ‘The Best Entrepreneur (enterprise) of Yakutsk’ and the All-Russia contest ‘The Best Jewellery Store’, a leader in the economic development of the All-Russia Association of Business and Entrepreneurship, it was also awarded the Grand Prix at the International Jewellery Fashion Week ‘Estet Fashion Week’ (2016, 2017, 2018). Last year alone, Kierge was a prizewinner at the International Jewellery Contest named after Carl Faberge, and was granted the national award ‘Reliable Business Partner’ within the framework of the Public programme ‘For the Benefit of Russia’, as well as the prizewinner at the international JUNWEX jewellery and watch exhibitions in Moscow and St. Petersburg (in nominations ‘Ethnic Motifs’ and ‘Ethnic Style’). The Kierge CEO Galina Pavlova told Rough&Polished how to keep afloat in the stagnation and crunch periods.
Lucapa’s Wetherall on the past, present and the future
01 april 2019
Lucapa Diamond chief executive Stephen Wetherall recently attended a mining conference, in Cape Town South Africa, where he met Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa and granted him an exclusive interview. They discussed Angola’s first international diamond auction under the country’s new diamond trading policy, which featured Lulo stones; the company’s exploration programmes in Angola, Australia and Botswana as well as their future plans.
India’s gem and jewellery industry expects the government will consider its demand for lower import duty on raw materials
25 march 2019
A go-getter at heart, with an attitude to match, Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India is a man in a hurry. He has not left any stone unturned to bring back the Indian gem & jewellery industry back to its glorious days. Pramod Agrawal, along with the GJEPC Committee members, has been actively leading from the front, right from approaching the government for sops to spearheading all the GJEPC initiatives for the benefit of the whole industry. He has immense faith in the Indian government to work out an industry-friendly policy for the country’s G&J industry. An astute businessman, Pramod Agrawal is the Chairman of Derewala Industries Limited-- a Jaipur based conglomerate employing 1500 people across 4 unit, producing and supplying gold jewellery, silver jewellery, and imitation fashion jewellery in India and abroad. Besides steering his Derewala Group to a successful conglomerate, Agrawal has been a Member of Committee of Administration in GJEPC for many years. Regional Chairman of GJEPC – Rajasthan Region; Chairman of Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery (IIGJ), Jaipur; was associated with GJC and Jewellers Association, Jaipur; Convener of the Jewellers Association Show – JAS to name a few. Here, in an interview with Rough & Polished, Pramod Agrawal expresses his candid thoughts on the current industry situation; but also sees the resilient Indian G&J industry overcome all hurdles and surge forward as it has done during last few decades.
“Only do business with clients who have impeccable integrity,” suggests Davy Blommaert, banker
18 march 2019
Davy Blommaert heads the Diamond Business at National Bank of Fujairah, which falls under the bank’s corporate and institutional banking division. With nearly 10 years of experience in the diamond industry, he was tasked to establish a unit within NBF that is focused on providing working capital and trade finance services specific to the diamond sector. Prior to joining NBF, Davy Blommaert spent six years at Antwerp Diamond Bank, where he supported the development of its Antwerp and Hong Kong businesses before moving on to oversee its Dubai office. His two-year stint at International Diamond Laboratories DMCC (IDL) as its finance manager and legal counsel saw him play a key role in helping IDL set up its operations in locations from Mumbai and Jeddah to Istanbul and Antwerp. In an Interview with Rough & Polished, Davy Blommaert talks about NBF’s methodology, systems and policies, which protects the bank from losses.
Russia’s export legislation is like a log on the road making it difficult to drive through
11 march 2019
Eduard Utkin, General Manager of the Russian Jewellers Guild Association, which is a member of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry, answers the questions from Rough & Polished regarding the activities of the country’s professional jewelry community and the transformations in the jewelry industry.
Botswana mum on new demands as negotiations with De Beers draw closer
04 march 2019
Botswana said it will begin new diamond marketing and sales negotiations with De Beers in June or July this year. Mineral resources minister Eric Molale told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa on the sidelines of a mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa that he cannot divulge what the southern African nation would put on the table during the negotiations. However, reports suggested that Gaborone wanted to boost its share of independently marketed and sold rough to 30% from the current 15%. Botswana, as speculated, also wanted to be heavily involved in setting rough prices for its goods, which are currently decided almost singlehandedly by De Beers. The current sales agreement would come to an end in March 2021. The agreement, among other things, saw De Beers agreeing to shift its diamond aggregation and sightholder sales to Gaborone from London.
DLX-jewellery will focus more on colour stone designed pieces as well as diamond jewellery sets going forward - Jack Chen, General Manager, DLX-Jewellery
25 february 2019
Graduating in International Business from an Institute in Sydney, Australia, in 2015, Jack Chen returned to China to start managing his family-owned jewellery business. Besides holding a certificate in a practical diamond course at Gemological Institute of Australia, Jack Chen also completed Gemstone appreciation and marketing certificate course from the Asian Gemmological Institute and Laboratory Limited. In 2018, he also completed a course in Introduction to Rough Diamond Sorting and Planning in HRD Antwerp Education. During his stay in Sydney, Jack Chen also worked in a local retail chain store as service manager for 3 years to gain experience in customer services and store management. Presently, as General Manager at DLX-Jewellery, Jack Chen is totally engrossed in expanding and diversifying his family-owned business. In an Interview with Rough & Polished, Jack Chen draws out all the company’s plans that are in place to expand and diversify his family-owned business.
Ali Pastorini: “We have to change a little the way to sell the idea that buying jewelry is just for glamour”
18 february 2019
Ali Pastorini is the co-owner of DEL LIMA JEWERLY and President of Mujeres Brillantes, an association which brings together approximately 1000 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 tells about major trends and problems in the jewelry business.
