Exclusive
Tracr passes 5 million rough diamonds milestone as De Beers expands provenance push
De Beers Group's blockchain-enabled traceability platform Tracr reached a significant milestone in 2025, with more than 5 million rough diamonds individually scanned and registered, up from 2.8 million cumulative registrations reported in 2024. The...
28 september 2026
South African diamonds head to Hong Kong: SDT partners with BRINKS for JGW 2026
South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) has confirmed the country's participation in Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGW) 2026 through a partnership with BRINKS. SDT marketing and communication manager Tsholofelo Gopolang Tselapedi...
14 september 2026
David Benderly: PermaScribe seeks to put trust mark on diamond table, not just girdle
In this interview with Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa, PhotoScribe Technologies president and chief executive David Benderly explains how PermaScribe differs technically from conventional laser inscription, its potential to strengthen security, and...
31 august 2026
The great reset: Paul Zimnisky on supply catharsis, De Beers' bargain and the case for natural diamonds
The natural diamond industry is in the throes of its most profound reset in a generation. Supply is plunging to its lowest level since 1987 and De Beers—once valued at over $9 billion—is reportedly being sold for as little as $1 billion.
Lab-grown...
10 august 2026
Roman Karakurkchi: Maintaining the highest standards of jewelry craftsmanship
Roman Karakurkchi is the founder of the Roman Karakurkchi jewelry brand and the International Jewellery School that brings together instructors from Russia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Germany, as well as students from 65 countries...
03 august 2026
Debmarine Namibia's new diamond recovery vessel to sail to Namibia ‘soon’
“The vessel is nearing completion and will soon sail to Namibia, where she will join the rest of the fleet in recovering marine diamonds safely and sustainably and contribute to building a lasting legacy of marine diamond mining in Namibia,” Debmarine was quoted as saying by Namibia Economist.
The AMV3 took her maiden voyage to the Port of Cape Town from Romania on 19 August where it is currently being fitted with its mission equipment comprising of the bottom crawler that collects sludge and the treatment plant that separates the diamonds from the sludge.
The vessel is expected to boost Debmarine’s output by about 500 000 carats.
The construction of the vessel began in May 2019.
Debmarine Namibia currently operates five diamond recovery vessels as well as one exploration and sampling vessel.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
