News
Richemont, Signet in talks to join De Beers consortium – report
Luxury group Richemont and US retailer Signet Jewelers are in advanced talks to join the Global Diamond Consortium (GDC) bidding for De Beers, according to five people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.
Yesterday
Rio Tinto begins Q4 of 2026 with strong operational performance
The Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has reported its third-quarter 2026 results, highlighting strong operational performance.
Yesterday
Silver market deficit to widen in 2026 - report
In the latest World Silver Survey prepared by the Silver Institute and Metals Focus, the global silver market deficit is forecast to widen for the sixth consecutive year to 46.3 million ounces.
Yesterday
Tharisa signs PGM offtake deal with Valterra Platinum, expands chrome collaboration
South Africa’s Tharisa has entered a binding arrangement for the sale of PGM concentrate to Rustenburg Platinum Mines, a subsidiary of Valterra Platinum, effective 1 January 2027.
Yesterday
Norilsk hosts Nornickel’s 3rd Geology and Mine Surveying Forum
The 3rd Geology and Mine Surveying Forum, organized by Nornickel, has kicked off in Norilsk. The event continues to grow in scope, this year bringing together representatives from universities, equipment suppliers, design teams, mining companies, and...
Yesterday
War on blood diamond trade loses its lustre in age of digital smuggling
22 february 2018
(telegraph.co.uk) - The diamond industry stands at a crossroads. The Kimberley Process, a scheme designed to certify that diamonds are “conflict-free”, is under pressure to reform. Once regarded as a landmark agreement between industry, governments and NGOs, it has been attacked for widespread shortcomings. Can it restore confidence in the industry and can consumers be sure of what they are buying?
Lab-Grown Diamond Line Shutters First Store
21 february 2018
(nationaljeweler.com) - Less than six months after opening, fine jewelry line Vrai & Oro has shuttered its first brick-and-mortar retail location. The brand began in 2014 as an online-only venture, marketing itself as a company that sold directly to customers without a retail markup. In November 2016, Diamond Foundry—the Silicon Valley man-made diamond start-up that uses solar power technology to create its stones—purchased Vrai & Oro, which led to a slew of growth initiatives for the brand. Vrai & Oro began using Diamond Foundry stones exclusively and launched both a bridal collection and a collection of jewelry that featured significantly larger diamonds than Vrai & Oro had used in the past. In August last year, Vrai & Oro opened its first store in downtown Los Angeles at the ROW DTLA shopping center. In the first week of January, Vrai & Oro founder Vanessa Stofenmacher announced the closing of the store on the brand’s website, writing, “The fact is that retail is a true challenge—one that we would never enter into lightly, and we have to give props to those thriving in that environment.”
Former Gitanjali Gems MD claims Mehul Choksi sold overpriced and fake diamonds
20 february 2018
(moneycontrol.com) - After allegations that Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems forged letters of undertakings (LoU) issued by Punjab National Bank, a senior ex-employee has now alleged the company would falsify the quality of its diamonds and even pass off fake diamonds as real ones. According to the company's former Managing Director Santosh Srivastava, a huge chunk of diamonds sold by Choksi were lab produced with valuations nowhere near the price at which it was sold to customers.
‘Pudiya Ghumao’: How the diamond industry uses bogus trading to inflate balance sheets
20 february 2018
(livemint.com) - Nirav Modi is most likely to have indulged in round-tripping of diamond consignments to artificially inflate his balance sheet for raising loans. In Mumbai’s diamond trading circles, pudiya ghumao (which literally means “pass the packet”), the colloquial term for round-tripping of diamond consignments from one market to another, ostensibly to artificially inflate company balance sheets, isn’t exactly a secret. While the finer details of the Nirav Modi case are expected to be known in due course, several people with knowledge of the matter whom Mint spoke to, said that the alleged fraud came to light only after Modi failed to secure fresh loans to service his existing debt. According to the people cited above, Modi had been trying to raise money for more than two years and had repeatedly approached several private equity funds, offering to sell a controlling stake in the company, and was also considering an initial public offering, but remained unsuccessful.
US Diamond Trade: The Figures Reveal Oddities
19 february 2018
(edahngolan.com) - Diamond import and export figures can tell a story, and a good story sparkles with oddities. Good stories start with facts that raise questions. In this case, the question is why a consumer market would import eight times the amount of diamonds it consumes. Or how a country with no diamond mining might export more rough than it imports.
