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Lucapa Reports Strong First Quarter
RAPAPORT. Revenue at Lucapa Diamond Company soared in the first three months of the year as the miner benefited from a rebound in the rough market.
Sales from the company’s Lulo mine in Angola increased 22% year on year to $9.5 million for the quarter ending March 31, Lucapa said Monday. An 89% surge in sales volume to 5,313 carats outweighed a 35% drop in the average price to $1,796 per carat.
Meanwhile, revenue from Lucapa’s Mothae mine in Lesotho leaped to $11.5 million from $2.1 million a year earlier. Sales volume climbed 63% to 10,295 carats, and the average price jumped 330% to $1,117 per carat.
Michael Hill Gets a Boost from Digital Sales
RAPAPORT. Michael Hill’s sales rose in the third fiscal quarter as robust e-commerce growth compensated for store closures in Australia and Canada.
Group revenue climbed 12% to AUD 118.5 million ($91.5 million) in the three months ending March 31, the jeweler reported last week. During the quarter, the company was forced to close 72 stores in Australia, 16 in New Zealand and 46 in Canada temporarily due to coronavirus restrictions. However, digital sales for the January-to-March period jumped 69% year on year as consumers moved online for their purchases. Same-store sales at branches open for at least a year grew 16%.
Bold Bracelets Lead Sotheby’s Hong Kong
RAPAPORT. Sotheby’s garnered $54 million from its Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction, with two bracelets stealing the show.
A diamond and rock-crystal bracelet by Cartier, featuring a pear-shaped, 63.66-carat, D-color, internally flawless diamond, brought in $6 million, Sotheby’s said Wednesday. The piece, which took nearly 2,000 hours to create, was originally estimated to fetch up to $8.4 million at the April 20 auction. Meanwhile, the Circle of Happiness, a jadeite bangle weighing 277.67 carats, sold for $3.9 million.
Other notable items included an emerald-cut, 39.88-carat, D-flawless, type IIa diamond, which achieved $3.6 million, below its $3.9 million low estimate. A necklace containing 47 jadeite beads, diamonds and rubies went for $3 million, while a pair of imperial-green jadeite earrings sold for $895,080, generating a record for a cabochon imperial green jadeite at $35,101 per carat.
Industry Veteran Joins Heritage Auctions RAPAPORT. Heritage Auctions has hired Brett O’Connor as senior director of private sales for jewelry and timepieces.
O’Connor, who was most recently senior vice president and head of jewelry for North America at Bonhams, will focus on expanding Heritage’s platform for private sales, the company said Tuesday. He also previously held senior roles at Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
“[Brett] brings a wealth of global experience to Heritage Auctions, and we are delighted to welcome him,” said Heritage cochairman Steve Ivy.
O’Connor will be based at the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas.