News
Gem and jewellery exports from India saw an overall reduction in FY2024
The Gem & Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India has released monthly data on the country's rough and polished diamond trade for April 2024.
17 may 2024
WFDB and SDE to jointly promote natural diamonds in China
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) to promote the development of the natural diamond market in China.
17 may 2024
DRC demands international embargo on Rwandan mineral exports
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has demanded an international embargo on mineral exports from neighbouring Rwanda, whose government it accuses of stealing its natural resources with the help of rebel groups.
17 may 2024
De Beers’ GemFair to support fair access to finance for artisanal miners
De Beers’ GemFair is expected to support fair access to finance for artisanal miners by 2025, according to the group’s 2023 sustainability report, which was released last week.
17 may 2024
Russia’s best jewelry designer from Far East picked at competition in Arkhangelsk
The best jewelry designer from the Far East and the Arctic regions of Russia was picked at the finals of the “Arctic Start-up Expedition: Russian Far East and Arctic” competition.
17 may 2024
Andrey Yanchevsky: All the current changes are for the better
24 july 2023
Director General of LA VIVION Andrey Yanchevsky came to a jewelry business in the late 1990s, he has gone from a software programmer to a member of the board of directors. He created his own project - one of the first online jewelry stores in Russia, and in 2008, he and his partner set up a wholesale company in Hong Kong that supplied diamond jewelry to jewelry stores and chains in Russia and the CIS countries. The company has an impressive office in the Kalanchevskaya Plaza business center where Andrey Yanchevsky told Rough&Polished about the development and prospects of the LA VIVION brand on the Russian market after the Covid pandemic and under the sanctions.
De Beers sees great geological potential in Angola concession sites
17 july 2023
De Beers says that early data indicate that their two concession sites in the Angolan provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul have great geological potential. Group spokesperson David Johnson told Rough&Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that they are looking forward to commencing fieldwork to investigate this further through their joint venture partnership with the state-owned Endiama.
Why Lucapa’s Lulo diamonds are fetching higher prices, Wetherall has the answer
10 july 2023
In this second part of a two-part exclusive interview, Lucapa managing director and chief executive Stephen Wetherall told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa that Lulo is endowed with exceptional size, quality, and high-value diamonds whose demand is still solid.
Merlin has potential to transform Lucapa into a mid-tier diamond producer – Wetherall
03 july 2023
Lucapa managing director and chief executive Stephen Wetherall told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa that although Merlin, previously owned by Rio Tinto until 2003, was a low-cost acquisition, it has the potential to transform Lucapa into a mid-tier diamond producer.
AHMED BIN SULAYEM: Under Zimbabwe’s leadership for the remainder of this year and the UAE’s leadership in 2024, we will all work together to accelerate our ambitions and deliver real-world change
26 june 2023
Ahmed Bin Sulayem certainly needs no introduction being widely popular globally as one of the leaders of modern Dubai. As the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC, Ahmed Bin Sulayem has and continues to play a key role in establishing and positioning DMCC as a major international commodities hub for trade.
In recent years, the KP has demonstrated consistency in shooting itself in the foot as a result of failing to incorporate recognized human rights abuses that exist, specifically in Africa
19 june 2023
Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge, Chairman of the African Diamond Council (ADC), is a Mining Engineer and highly respected Senior Strategy Advisor who celebrated 40 years in the global diamond industry this year. He acts as a professional liaison within the international diamond trade and is well-positioned to influence, both, the public and private sectors. At the beginning of 2019, Dr M'zée was assigned as Chairman and Managing Director of the African International Diamond Exchange (AIDEX), Africa's most transparent rough diamond supplier for four diamond exchanges in Antwerp, the Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan, the world's largest diamond bourse in Mumbai as well as the largest Free Zone in the United Arab Emirates. At the end of 2019, he was entrusted as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the African Diamond Trust Fund (ADTF), a fully integrated, autonomous financial depository and vault operator for ethically mined rough diamonds originating in Africa.
ALEXANDRE GHOTBI: Buy the best possible quality watch you can affiord
12 june 2023
Alexandre Ghotbi is one of the leading horological personalities in the world. As Head of Watches, Continental Europe and Middle East for Phillips Watches, he has a unique experience in evaluating both the products of mainstream brands and independent manufacturers. Mr. Gotbi kindly agreed to answer questions of Rough&Polished.
CHAMOVSKIKH Jewellery House: “We strive to occupy a bigger share of the world market”
05 june 2023
Alexander Chamovskikh is the founder and owner of the CHAMOVSKIKH Jewellery House, Chairman of the Ural Jewellers Guild. He was born in 1978 and graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Ural Radio Engineering College named after A. S. Popov. He lives and works in Yekaterinburg. He has been in the jewellery business since 1996 and founded his own jewellery manufacture in 2001. In 2015, he registered the CHAMOVSKIKH Jewellery House brand, under which exclusive jewellery pieces with rare precious gems are created using innovative technologies. The head of the CHAMOVSKIKH Jewellery House told R&P about the current state of the Russian jewellery market.
“Telling the people about the beauty and value of the Baltic gem”
29 may 2023
The Kaliningrad Amber Integrated Plant belonging to the State Corporation “Rostec” is the world leader in mining amber (90% of the world’s reserves of the Baltic gem are concentrated at the Primorsky Quarry). The Moscow Representative Office of the Kaliningrad Amber Integrated Plant occupies the ground and first floors of a historic building on famous Stary (Old) Arbat Street. In addition to the Kaliningrad Amber Plant’s Representative Office, there is a company store selling amber jewellery and souvenirs, as well as the Amber Gallery’s rooms that house the amber collections brought here from the Kaliningrad Amber Integrated Plant’s reserve stock. In April, the Amber Gallery was reopened after a major renovation. Maria Zhuravel, Head of the Moscow Representative Office of the Kaliningrad Amber Integrated Plant, told Rough&Polished about its Moscow branch and its plans, about the renovated Amber Gallery, the peculiar features of the Baltic gem and amber-studded jewellery.
TaTe Diamonds: "Our goal is to successfully complete the Enterprise Development Program and work towards achieving Sightholder status in the shortest time possible"
22 may 2023
taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi is widely and rightly known as the 1st Namibian diamantaire. As Founder / Managing Director of TaTe, his primary focus is centred 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, and Real Estate. Armed with an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance, as well as an MBA - specialising in Strategic Planning from the USA, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi worked for 3 Fortune 500 companies before venturing into the entrepreneurial world. Here, in an exclusive Interview with Rough&Polished, taShi Shiimi-ya-Shiimi spells out his goals for TaTe Diamonds, which he aims to grow into a fully integrated diamond company, right from mining to retail.
