Sarine’s David Block: Diamond Industry at Standstill Until Chinese Demand Returns

David Block is CEO of Israel’s Sarine Technologies and has served in the position since 2012. In this exclusive interview for Rough and Polished, Block gives his opinion on the leading issues affecting today’s diamond trade.

11 september 2024

Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge: Demand for considerable-sized diamonds stronger than ever

The African Diamond Council (ADC) chairperson Dr M'zée Fula Ngenge told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that although overall global diamond prices have been somewhat soft, the demand for considerable-sized diamonds...

02 september 2024

Amplats sees prospects as a standalone company

Anglo has revealed its plans to demerge Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which has operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, to optimise shareholder value. Rough&Polished contacted Amplats to comment on this and other issues but was referred...

19 august 2024

WFDB President Yoram Dvash Remains Confident Despite Global Diamond Challenges

Yoram Dvash is President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) having been elected in 2020. He found time in his busy schedule to speak to Rough&Polished about the state of the diamond industry around the world and some of the major...

12 august 2024

Lyudmila Vysotskaya: Amber is a mystical stone, a living substance

Lyudmila Vysotskaya is a Kaliningrad-based amber artist and designer, expert, chairwoman of the Amber Academy and member of the Creative Union of Artists in Decorative and Applied Arts. This summer, visitors could admire the art works by Lyudmila Vysotskaya...

30 july 2024

U.S. Jewelry Price Inflation -1% in May

19 june 2012

The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for jewelry fell 0.7 percent year on year in May to 173.3 points, Rapaport reports. While the index's change was slight, it was a significant shift being the first price decrease since August 2009. May's reading followed a 0.5 percent year-on-year increase in April.
The CPI is now at its lowest reading since March 2011; however,  May was the seventeenth consecutive month to register a reading above 170 points, reflecting historically strong commodity prices since 2008.
Meanwhile, the CPI for all product categories combined in May rose 1.7 percent year on year to 228.53 points. This reading was down from the record high of 229.18 points set in April.