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
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves plans for the largest open pit gold mine in South Carolina history
There is now some two million ounces in Haile mine reserves grading just over 2 g/t gold.
The Corps’ approval is one of the last remaining permits Romarco Minerals needs to begin digging the gold mine near the town of Kershaw about 60 miles north of Columbia. The mine will reopen and substantially expand the historic Haile Gold mine, which has a history dating to the 1800s.
The mine project, which features a pit 840 feet deep and will cover more than 2,600 acres, has drawn generally favorable response from both economic development boosters and environmentalists, many of whom recently dropped opposition in exchange for the company protecting ecologically sensitive land near the mine.
"The Company strongly believes that industry can and should work cooperatively with the conservation community for not only the creation of jobs and economic benefit but also for the protection of environmentally sensitive areas," Diane Garrett, the chief executive of Romarco Minerals said.
It's understood that Haile will produce, in the initial years starting 2015, some 150,000 ounces gold annually.
Olga Patseva, Editor in Chief of the American Bureau, Rough&Polished
