Archive

Miner Petra Diamonds, which sells its entire production via Antwerp, announced they will invest $289 million to extend the life of both the Cullinan and the Finch mine. Thanks to an investment of approximately $173 million in the Cullinan mine and $216 million in the Finch mine, the mines will be able to stay in business until 2031 and 2030 respectively. Expectations are this would yield an additional 30% in revenue. According to Petra, both mines have the potential to produce even longer.

We were very saddened to receive the news of the passing away of Mrs. Dorothée Gizenga, founding Executive Director of the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), now part of Resolve. Mrs. Gizenga passed away of complications from diabetes on February 18 in Kinshasa.

She was a leader in the campaign to end conflict diamonds from the start when the Kimberley Process was established and was a tireless advocate on behalf of the world’s 1.5 million artisanal diamond miners as executive director of DDI.

According to the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), the net import of polished diamonds through the SDE in 2021 reached another record high, reflecting the potential and resilience of the Chinese diamond market. Total net polished import reached US$2.924 billion, surging 105.3% year-on-year of 2020, and up 58.0% from 2019. The SDE is the only portal in China to import polished diamonds under the favorable tax policy of 0% tariff and 4% Value Added Tax (VAT), therefore the figure reflects the value of polished diamonds imported for consumption in China.

Sotheby’s announced the 555.55 carat black diamond with 55 facets was sold for US$4.3 million in an online auction.

The Enigma is believed to be the world’s largest black polished diamond. The buyer used cryptocurrency for the purchase.

De Beers announced their first sight of the year raised $660 million, a strong increase compared to its revenue at the last December sight, which raised $336 million.

According to Bruce Cleaver, CEO De Beers, buyers are restocking: “As anticipated, there was strong growth in consumer demand for diamond jewelry over the end of year holiday season. As a result, we saw the continuation of robust rough diamond demand in the first sales Cycle of the year as buyers focus on restocking depleted inventories.”

Cycle 2 takes place from 14 – 16 February 2022.

According to Bloomberg, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced the UAE plans to implement a 9% federal tax on corporate earnings. Businesses will become subject to UAE corporate tax from the beginning of their first financial year that starts on or after 1st June 2023.

Bloomberg reports this shift might be in view of the increasing competition of neighboring country Saudi Arabia in mind. The levy-free regime made the UAE, and especially business hub Dubai, a magnet for businesses from across the world.

Sarine Technologies announced the French High Jewelry Maison Boucheron is launching a new fully-traceable bridal jewelry line, Etoile de Paris, for which it has partnered with Sarine to provide Boucheron-branded digital diamond reports "powered by Sarine".

Russian diamond miner ALROSA reported the company’s diamond production equaled 32.4 million carats in 2021. They sold 45.5 million carats with proceeds equaling $4.2 billion, $4 billion from rough and $200 million from polished diamond sales. Gem-quality diamonds accounted for 67% of total sales. In 2021, revenue per carat for these gem-quality diamonds equaled $128, a year-on-year increase of 17%.

This summer, French luxury house Balmain will debut their first fine jewelry collection of gender-neutral and socially conscious pieces. The company shared they would use ethically sourced 18-karat gold, “conflict-free minerals”, and traceable gemstones.

Auction house Sotheby’s announced an extremely rare black diamond of 555.5 carats with a 55- facet cut, called the Enigma, will go under the hammer in February.

The Enigma was listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records and will become the largest of its kind to be put up for auction. Sotheby’s expects the stone to fetch between $4.1 and $6.8 million.

According to the auction house, the Enigma is a rare piece that cannot be compared to other diamonds or even other black gemstones sold in the past.

Results from Mountain Province Diamonds on Q4 and the full year (2021) reveal the miner, operating the Gahcho Kué mine in the Northwest Territories are in line with production guidance (1% below) while preliminary cost per tonne was down slightly. The miner sold 808,739 cts for US$65,7m in Q4 in Antwerp, at an impressive average of US$83/ct, well above the US$65/ct achieved in the same period in 2020.