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

Eco-friendly packaging made out of algae developed in Russia

22 may 2024

Sergey Marinin, a graduate student at the Faculty of Ecology of Chelyabinsk State University, presented a new type of bio-packaging called algocarton (algae cardboard).

This innovative material is made from planktonic algae with the necessary strength and flexibility. Algocarton may become a promising replacement for conventional plastic and cardboard, offering more environmentally friendly and biodegradable packaging.

Modern packaging materials such as cardboard and plastic pose a significant environmental threat due to their slow decomposition. Algocarton, on the contrary, is biodegradable, which significantly reduces its impact on ecosystems. Algae for algocarton production are widely used in various industries, which makes this material not only environmentally safe, but also economical.

The development of algocarton production technology can be key in the creation of new environmentally friendly packaging materials that will find application both in industry and in everyday life.

The development and implementation of algocarton may significantly reduce the use of traditional plastic and cardboard packages, diminishing the amount of waste and its negative impact on the environment, according to nia.eco.

Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished