RAPAPORT. Gem Diamonds has recovered a 370-carat rough stone in Lesotho, the second over 100 carats in one week.
The “high-quality,” white, type II diamond came from the company’s Letšeng mine, known for producing large diamonds, it said Monday. The new find follows the discovery of a high-quality, 254-carat, white, type II diamond the miner reported on May 4.
The miner has unearthed three 100-carat-plus diamonds so far this year, including a 146.9-carat rough in January. Although output of large stones was sluggish in the first quarter as the company mined lower-value areas, it is still ahead of last year’s discovery of two stones greater than 100 carats by the middle of May.
RAPAPORT. Sarine Technologies, which supplies equipment to the diamond-manufacturing sector, saw sales rise in the first quarter as cutters lifted production in response to strong retail demand.
Manufacturers bought and processed large quantities of rough during the period as the diamond market recovered from last year’s slowdown, Sarine said Monday. This supported demand for the company’s rough-mapping technology, which generates revenue each time a client scans a stone.
Group sales grew 5% year on year to $17.3 million for the three months ending March 31, while net profit came to $6.7 million, approximately double the figure for a year earlier.
The positivity continued until India’s recent coronavirus outbreak, which led to tightened restrictions from April onward after the end of the first quarter.
RAPAPORT. Prices of fancy-color diamonds increased in the first quarter as the American market showed renewed demand for high-end products, according to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF).
The group’s Fancy Color Diamond Index gained 0.3% compared with the previous three months, the organization reported Thursday. Prices of blue fancy-color diamonds jumped 0.5%, while pinks increased 0.4%, outweighing a 0.2% decline in the yellow category.
“As the USA rebounds from Covid-19, we are witnessing an uplift in spirits, which in turn affects the demand for luxury goods,” said David Shara, founder and CEO of Optimum Diamonds, one of the companies that supplies pricing data to the FCRF. “We see now, and will see, a continuous rise in prices of fancy-color diamonds.”
RAPAPORT. Diamonds Do Good (DDG) has launched a contest in which it asks designers from around the world to create a signature bracelet that defines the nonprofit’s mission.
The pieces designed for Project Bracelet should relate to growth, unity and equality, DDG said last week. The group is specifically encouraging Black, Indigenous and multicultural designers to participate.
“We believe the need for unity and equality has never been more important, and we have each grown in our own distinct way through the challenges of this past year,” said DDG president Rebecca Foerster.
A panel of trade members will review the bracelets which must be created using sustainable materials and choose three finalists. DDG will announce those finalists on July 18, the 103rd anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Each finalist must present his or her design to the panel and explain how it relates to the project’s themes, D