RAPAPORT. Russia has begun its chairmanship of the Kimberley Process (KP) after the organization deferred the role by a year due to disruption stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country will chair the KP in 2021, having been scheduled to hold that position in 2020, while Botswana’s chairmanship will occur in 2022, instead of this year. The KP took the decision in August after receiving support from a majority of its participants.
Heads of the KP’s working bodies oversaw business in 2020, the organization pointed out in its August 21 administrative decision. The KP has also pushed back all 2020 deadlines to 2021.
Global measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus “drastically affected the daily work of participants and observers in the Kimberley Process, and completely excluded the possibility of organizing and participating in the face-to-face KP intersessional and plenary meetings in 2020,” the KP noted. Virtual events are not practical for every participant, i
RAPAPORT. A new project to combat undisclosed synthetics has launched in India, offering retailers low-cost screening and inscription using a model based on gold hallmarking.
Naturalmark will place tamper-proof seals on parcels of loose diamonds, as well as laser-inscribing finished jewelry, enabling transparency at a consumer level, Surat-based Gourav Sethi, its founder, told
Rapaport News last week.
The program, which launched in October, has received support and funding from regional jewelry associations in India, as well as from a handful of diamond and jewelry manufacturers, said Sethi, who has been a board member at the Surat Diamond Association for 10 years.
RAPAPORT. De Beers intends to reintroduce sights in Botswana in the first quarter of 2021, enabling a more efficient sales process following months of viewings in scattered locations.
The miner plans to offer sightholders the flexibility to attend sales in Gaborone or continue inspecting goods in markets such as Dubai, Paul Rowley, executive vice president of diamond trading at De Beers, told
Rapaport News last week.
De Beers hasn’t held sights in Botswana since February, as the country placed limitations on incoming travel, with the company instead bringing the rough to Antwerp, Dubai and Israel. However, Botswana relaxed some of those restrictions in the past month, allowing foreigners to enter without quarantine if they are asymptomatic and present a negative Covid-19 test result.
RAPAPORT. Independent jewelry retailers in the US noted solid sales over the holiday period, as consumers had more disposable income and more couples got engaged.
“Sales were fantastic,” said Eva-Michelle Spicer, owner of Spicer Greene Jewelers in Asheville, North Carolina. “In December alone they were up 45% year on year, and last year was our best December ever. We are not only having more sales than usual, but those sales are also higher value than usual.”
During the month, sales volume rose 66%, while the average sale was up about 30%, Spicer claimed. While the store saw an uptick in diamond-jewelry sales in general, bridal was the standout.
RAPAPORT. Pandora expects its full-year results for 2020 will exceed the company’s earlier predictions, as strong sales in the fourth quarter outweighed the negative impact of coronavirus restrictions.
The Danish jeweler expects revenue growth to be at least one percentage point better than the high end of its guidance range, it said Wednesday. It initially predicted sales would drop 14% to 17%. The retailer’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin is also expected to beat the top end of Pandora’s 17.5% to 19% forecast.
“Pandora started [the fourth quarter] with positive growth in October and November,” the company noted. “December was impacted by phasing of revenue from December to November, but underlying performance continues to be solid, and December revenue is above expectations.”