RAPAPORT... Eternity Rings Forever announced the opening of an online jewelry store and pledges to contribute 10 percent of profits from the sale of pink sapphire rings to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Eternity Rings Forever supports the mission of the National Breast Cancer Foundation  through early detection. Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women and 1,700 men will be...

(RAPAPORT) World News Connection: Police in Zimbabwe have joined in the intensifying scramble for the controversial Chiadzwa diamonds where companies linked to ZANU PF [Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front] and state security elements are making a mint. Information obtained this week shows that police were anxious to get involved in Chiadzwa diamond mining in conjunction with the sta...

RAPAPORT... Gem-A (The Gemmological Association of Great Britain) is bringing its Gemmology Foundation Lab Class to New York's  Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The two-day gem lab class will be presented by Gary Roskin and provide an introduction to practical gemology and  forms the necessary component for the next step -- Gem-A’s internationally acclaimed open distance learning F...

RAPAPORT... The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) will participate in educational panels during the JCK Vegas Show and at the Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) workshop. On June 3, 2010,  at 11 a.m., Cecilia Gardner, JVC’s president and  general counsel, will review jewelers’ obligations to disclose current gemstone treatments to customers at JCK session 212 titled  “Gemston...

RAPAPORT... The Birmingham Assay Office will sponsor the official "selling" launch of British Silver Week at St. Paul's Gallery in the city's jewelry quarter on the evening of June 7, 2010. The full run of the event is through June 27 and showcases outstanding talents of Midlands contemporary silversmiths as well as other British artists. The public can browse and buy pieces on exhibit. St. P...

RAPAPORT... Organizers of the World of Gems Conference II confirmed its list of speakers for this October event in Chicago. The two-day conference will feature presentations on the latest information  specific to diamonds, colored gems, pearls, treatments, nomenclature, and legal issues. Richard Drucker, president of Gemworld and the conference chair, said the speaker lineup covers a broad ba...

RAPAPORT... Jewelry style expert Michael O'Connor has taken on an expanded consulting role with Couture's executive team.  Couture leadership announced that O'Connor was deepening co-marketing opportunities with other luxury brands across varied disciplines and that he would look at strategic positioning to develop tactical relationships with international  brands. “With Michael O’Conn...

DTC April sight estimated at $470m as De Beers raises prices while production restrictions squeeze rough supply to cutters. Polished prices stable and not increasing with rough due to insufficient consumer demand. Polished trading steady with good liquidity for 0.30-0.70 ct, H+, VS+, certs. De Beers long-term production expected at 40m ct/year, well below previous peaks. Debswana considers diversi...

    RAPAPORT NEWS SERVICE | APRIL 30, 2010   www.rapaport.com | news@rapaport.com ...

RAPAPORT... IGE Resources, which bought Pangea DiamondFields operations,  completed its first rough diamond sale today. The company reported selling  3,407 carats of rough in Luanda, Angola. The sale yielded an average price of  $162 per carat, which was slightly higher than the most recent prices achieved by Pangea from the same concession. "The sale marks that IGE now ...

RAPAPORT... The New York Diamond Dealers Club has invited members and their associates to a very important seminar on crime awareness and prevention. The meeting will be held May 5, 2010, at 3:30 p.m. at the Dealers Club.  In light of several major robberies and killings in the industry, Club executives urged members to attend the program to learn important safety measures to guard yourself, ...

RAPAPORT... Jewelers Mutual Insurance warned that burglar alarm systems used by jewelry businesses across the U.S.  may be affected by a recently announced decrease in Honeywell’s AlarmNet-M radio network. Jewelers Mutual learned that Velocita Wireless, which provides the wireless backbone of Honeywell’s AlarmNet-M radio network, is de-commissioning a portion of its network that transmits one...

RAPAPORT... The United States Kimberley Process Authority (USKPA) launched its new website: www.uskpa.org.  The website includes information on how to become a USKPA licensee authorized to use U.S. Kimberley Process Certificates to export rough diamonds from the country.  The website will enable current licensees to manage their Kimberley Process Certificates in an efficient manner, to e...

RAPAPORT... Throughout the ongoing controversy that has surrounded Zimbabwe’s Marange fields, it has been quite easy to put aside African Consolidated Resources’ (ACR) legal claim to the property. Frankly, it complicates an already complicated issue.The Kimberley Process (KP) itself has been careful to avoid becoming entangled in “disputes between parties” as it works to fulfill its mandate to ens...

RAPAPORT...  De Beers sold an estimated $470 million worth of rough diamonds to sightholders at this week’s Diamond Trading Company (DTC) April sight, sources who participated in the sale reported. DTC raised prices an estimate by between 5 percent and 7 percent with sightholders reporting higher increases in rough above 5 carats, and for pique goods. Increases were also notable for 3-4 ...

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. opened a 6,400-square-foot store in Shanghai's Hong Kong Plaza, located on historic Huai Hai Road, one of the city's best-known destinations for luxury shopping and fashionable boutiques, and a center of business and financial services. The two-level store features an exterior with architectural details of Tiffany's famous New York store, along with clear and opaque b...

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co.'s headquarters staff in Manhattan has been located in three separate locations, but to generate operational savings, the company will consolidate space during second quarter 2011 and house  staff at 200 Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street.  Tiffany will sublease existing properties through 2015, the end of  lease terms, but expects to recover only a portion of ...

RAPAPORT... Christie's reported that its jewels auction in Dubai realized a total of $8,589,250 and was 72 percent sold by lot. The top lot was a 17.71 carat, D, VVS2 rectangular diamond ring, by J.Roca, which sold for $1,345,500 or $75,974 per carat; followed by a 26.61 carat rectangular fancy intense yellow diamond ring, selling for $722,500. David Warren, director of jewelry for Christie's Du...

RAPAPORT... Charles & Colvard's first quarter sales rose 15 percent to $2.9 million while the company managed to reduce total costs and expenses by 28 percent to $2.7 million. Charles & Colvard reported net income of $298,385 following a loss of $1.3 million one year ago. Randy N. McCullough, the group's chief executive, said the period was the first profitable quarter since third quarte...

RAPAPORT... Reports that Zimbabwe’s High Court has cleared the sale of a stockpile of diamonds mined from the Marange fields by evicted British company African Consolidated Resources are incorrect, according to the company's chief executive Andrew Cranswick.“It is simply a lie,” Cranswick told Rapaport News. “The judge dismissed our urgency application to prevent such a sale but made no comment on...