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
I have a dream to see India become a world leader in high-end jewellery manufacturing - Sanjay Kothari
03 december 2018
An industry leader who needs no introduction to the gem and jewellery industry is Sanjay Kothari…the former chairman of the GJEPC of India has held various positions in the Council including being Convener-Exhibitions for many years before becoming Convener-Promotions & Marketing; was the spokesperson for the Natural Diamond Monitoring Committee (NDMC) and so on. Under Kothari’s leadership, the GJEPC initiated ANANT, a diamond promotion program and also, ‘India International Jewellery Week’ --- India’s first ever jewellery week. He has led delegations as well as being a member of various Gems & Jewellery Industry delegations organized by the Council to countries in the Latin America and Middle-East regions, and not only. Kothari is a visionary and a philanthropist. He is a member of the Gem and Jewellery National Relief fund and Jagat Maitri Trust. He is also one of the Directors of M/s. Diatrends Jewellery Pvt. Ltd. In an interview with Rough&Polished, Sanjay Kothari elucidates on his plans for GJSCI as well as sees India grow to greater heights in jewellery manufacturing.
Style always reflects culture
26 november 2018
Reena Ahluwalia is a multifaceted artist …an award-winning jewelry designer, diamond painter, professor, speaker and a community builder and more. Recognized as one of the Top Masters of Jewelry Design and art in Canada, she has been creating jewelry with deep meaning and symbolism. Reena Ahluwalia's signature style is all about precision, geometry, fluidity and movement. She is one of the handful of living jewelry artists whose work is featured on a nation's (Belgium) postage stamp. As a tribute to the British Royal Wedding, Reena Ahluwalia created a Diamond Tiara for HRH Kate Middleton with Royal Asscher Diamond Company. She also designed a historic diamond piece for the Legislature of Ontario (Canada) with De Beers Canada. She created the inaugural collection for Rio Tinto Bunder Mine, where diamonds were found 100 years after the fabled Indian Golconda Mines depleted. Coveted internationally by art collectors, Reena Ahluwalia paints highly nuanced, hyper-realistic diamonds with ultra-magnified facets. Her paintings are in the collection of distinguished collectors worldwide, including, showcased at the DIVA Diamond Museum in Antwerp. Her artwork gives back to many organizations, including 'Jewelers For Children' (JFC) charity, to help children who are victims of catastrophic illness. Reena Ahluwalia is a member of the George Brown College (Toronto) Jewellery Program Advisory Committee. Reena is a Fellow of Institute without Boundaries (IwB). Each year Reena supports students by providing scholarship and mentor upcoming talent. In an Interview with Rough&Polished, Reena Ahluwalia takes us through her ‘journey’ so far…
Botswana Diamonds’ Campbell on Alrosa exit: no exploration JV lasts forever
19 november 2018
Botswana Diamonds is currently in talks with a major diamond producer interested in taking over a stake in Sunland Minerals previously owned by Alrosa. The Sunland joint venture was established in 2014 to test existing Alrosa exploration technology on Botswana Diamonds’ large data base. However, the Russians exited the joint venture company following changes in management and corporate strategy, which was now biased towards production and marketing. Company managing director James Campbell told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that Alrosa had been a good partner, but no exploration joint venture lasts forever. He also commented on the company’s new project in Marange, Zimbabwe through its partnership with Vast Resources as well as South Africa’s Thorny River, which is Botswana Diamonds’ most advanced project.
If real gems are replaced by artificial stones, it is not the difference in value that sellers may cheat you out, but the very idea that you are to obtain along with a jewelry piece made from a genuine stone
12 november 2018
Elena Titova is the Director of the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum. The museum, which she heads, was founded fairly recently (less than 40 years ago), but it is one of the most popular and stylish museums of Moscow, famous, among other things, for its collection of jewelry: Rostov enamel, Baltic amber, silver and bronze articles and much more in the same strain. In her interview with Rough&Polished, Elena Titova talks about the museum’s jewelry collection, the history of its emergence and plans for the future, also sharing her thoughts on the jewelry art, its features and trends.
The diamond market sentiment is cautious at the moment, especially in Europe
29 october 2018
Born in Switzerland, Angelika Mavridou relocated to Thessaloniki (Greece) with her family, only to establish her own business JEWELLS GALLERY LTD, which was later transformed to S.A. Prior to venturing into her own business, she studied Gemology and Diamond Grading in Germany and graduated from Deutsche Gemmologische Gesellschaft and the Gemological Association of Great Britain. Angelika is known for giving lectures on diamonds and gemology as well as a writer, with articles published in several Economic Magazines and Newspapers. A regular on TV Channels and Radio for discussions on the evaluation of gems and diamonds, Angelika is a celebrity in her own rights. Today, as the Founder, President and CEO of the company, Angelika not only manages the overall running of the business but makes ample time to organize private shows for loose diamonds in Greece and donate part of the turnover to Charity Organizations. Here, in an Interview with Rough & Polished, Angelika Mavridou tells her the story of her journey in the diamond jewellery industry, but not before expressing her opinion on the state of diamond industry in Greece as well as globally.
Zimnisky talks about pink diamonds, De Beers’ Lightbox
22 october 2018
An independent diamond industry analyst and consultant said although exceptional and ‘one-off’ diamonds are hard to assign a value to them, the Pink Legacy will likely fetch $2.64 million per carat when it goes under the hammer next month in Geneva. Paul Zimnisky, CFA told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that the 18.96 carats stone was one of the most extraordinary diamonds due to the quality of its colour. His comment dovetails with Christie’s auction, which projected the fancy vivid pink to fetch between $30 million and $50 million. Meanwhile, Zimnisky said De Beers’ Lightbox had registered an initial demand for the larger-carat sized products than anticipated. The company’s 1-carat solitaire pendants and some of the 1-carat total weight stud earing sets that had sold out days after its launch were now being restocked.
An alliance between a diamond producer and a diamond manufacturer in Russia is simply inevitable and necessary
15 october 2018
What is a diamond manufacturer’s margin composed of? What is the profession of diamond processing engineer about? How much time does it take to become a diamond cutter? How does a polishing factory work? The Russian Cut, is it alive? Lightbox from De Beers, what is it and why? Why do diamonds make banks feel edgy? What are the signs of a “diamond bubble” in the market? Maxim Shkadov, CEO of Kristall Production Corporation, Russia's oldest and largest diamond manufacturing business, sat with Rough&Polished to tell about all this and many other things.
High technologies make it possible to create a product that can be obtained in natural stones only for very big money
08 october 2018
Andrey Zharkov, having left the position of President at diamond mining company Alrosa, has established and headed the Ultra C company, which will be engaged in the production of diamonds from the reactor. In this interview with industry news agency Rough & Polished, he talks about prospects for the market of man-made diamonds.
The once unorganised domestic jewellery sector in India is now growing
01 october 2018
A veteran businessman, former Chairman of Gem & Jewellery Council (GJC), Bullion Expert, a third-generation jeweller born with a silver spoon (or was it gold?) in his mouth, a perpetual optimist … yes, the list could go on. As the first Chairman of GJC, Ashok Minawala was instrumental in tackling issues that cropped up with the government on policy matters, which eventually helped the otherwise unorganized domestic jewellery sector in India. Here, Ashok takes you down memory lane, from his teenage days to the present. Today, the 4th generation has taken up the reigns and Ashok reminisces his earlier days in the jewellery business with immense satisfaction.
India is poised to become a major fine jewellery market in the near future - Pramod Agrawal, Chairman GJEPC
24 september 2018
Pramod Kumar Agrawal, the current Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India is a successful entrepreneur in his own right. Despite belonging to a jewellery business family, with his father dealing in gemstones and gold jewellery, Pramod Agrawal’s aspirations were to go solo and start his own business venture. The year 1986 saw Agrawal begin a small silver jewellery business with one artisan… with a single customer to cater to. But, that was just the beginning and there was no looking back. Over the years, under Agrawal’s leadership and guidance, the small firm grew by leaps and bounds and has now evolved into a multi-vertical company. Today, 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. Agrawal has been a Member of Committee of Administration in GJEPC for many years and was the Regional Chairman of GJEPC – Rajasthan Region before getting elected as Chairman at the National level. He has also managed the GJEPC’s institute ---Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery (IIGJ), Jaipur--- for almost 5 years as its Chairman. During his tenure as Chairman IIGJ, he successfully garnered the support of the Government in getting the hostel building constructed. Today, the campus of the IIGJ, Jaipur is the largest campus among all IIGJ’s in the country. Apart from this, he was associated with other trade bodies like GJC and Jewellers Association, Jaipur. During his term as convener of the Jewellers Association Show – JAS, the show achieved many landmarks. A staunch believer in the advantage of a cordial and healthy relationship between the industry and the government, Agrawal expresses his faith in the Indian government to work out an industry-friendly policy for the country’s G&J industry. Here, in an interview with Rough & Polished, Pramod Agrawal speaks about the Indian G&J industry’s challenges and issues but not before taking pride on its growth and inherent resilience.
