Ice Cold: Exploring The Unique Relationship Between Hip Hop And Jewelry – Josh Wilson (Forbes Magazine – July 24, 2022)

https://www.forbes.com/

What goes through your mind when you see some of hip-hop’s heavy hitters sporting exorbitant jewelry everywhere they go? Do you think they’re just living their best life, or they’re being irresponsible with their money?

The world of hip-hop is unique in many ways. It is one of the most expressive art forms available today. It’s common, expected even, to see some of the biggest names in the genre donning expensive diamonds, gold studs, rings, bracelets, grills, and watches. And with shows like Youtube docuseries, “Ice Cold,” where stars like Migos, A$AP Rocky, Lil Baby, and French Montana show off their bling, it seems they’re clamoring for every opportunity to exhibit their collections.

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Four Questions the US Must Answer on Diamond Sanctions – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – March 10, 2024)

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A broader US ban on Russian diamonds went into effect on March 1, but uncertainty remains about key details.

Sanctions on Russian diamonds and diamond jewelry went into effect on March 1 across Group of Seven (G7) nations, expanding the ban to 1-carat and larger polished stones manufactured in a third country from Russian rough. Previously, goods “substantially transformed” (i.e., manufactured) in countries such as India were technically legal in the US. The US and other member countries have released information on how enforcement will work, but many questions remain.

US Customs and Border Protection has ordered importers to use a self-certification statement declaring that the diamonds are not Russian. This is likely a temporary measure while US authorities devise a way to enforce the rules.

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Diamond producers warn of pitfalls in G7’s Russia gem ban – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – February 28, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) issued an open letter on Wednesday calling on the G7 nations and the European Union to rethink the potentially “irreparable” market outcomes of its ban on Russia-produced diamonds.

Russia is the biggest global supplier of uncut diamonds by volume. The international community has imposed new sanctions targeting Russian diamond transactions as part of a wider strategy aimed at reducing Moscow’s income streams, which support its military actions in Ukraine.

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What to expect in 2024 after diamond sector’s price plunge – by Paul Zimnisky (Mining.com – February 25, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

It’s been a tough ride for the diamonds sector since rough prices hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2022. Last year rough prices fell 15-20% according to the Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index. Prices are now down about 25% from their early 2022 high.

So what happened to cause prices to tumble? The pandemic years brought generational volatility to diamond supply. In 2020, production dipped to the lowest levels since the 1990s. A recovery in 2021 through 2023 ensued. However, the new “normal” for output is still some 15-30 million carats below pre-2020 levels.

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Detecting Lab-Grown Diamonds That Deceive – by Jennifer Heebner (Rapaport Magazine – February 26, 2024)

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As Guy Borenstein gears up for Stuller’s Bench Jeweler Workshop in March, there’s one hot topic that will be addressed for the fifth consecutive year: synthetic diamonds. There’s no shortage of available equipment to detect lab-grown diamonds. According to the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), there are about 40 instruments on the market that aim to discover natural versus synthetic diamonds.

“Five years ago, I asked attendees how many were screening for lab-grown diamonds [LGDs] and one hand went up,” says the director of gemstone procurement for the Lafayette, Louisiana-based manufacturer. That number has grown as the years passed, but “the majority are still not checking,” he adds.

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New York Diamond Dealers Upbeat Amid Tight Supply – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – February 22, 2024)

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Demand is slow, but India’s import freeze is still having an impact.

Retail restocking is slow after a decent but not record-breaking holiday. The diamond market is uncertain about the rest of the year, and while inflation has eased, interest rates remain high. Yet despite the sluggishness on the demand side, New York dealers are reporting firm pricing on the local and Indian markets. This is mostly because there aren’t enough diamonds coming out of India; the inventory surplus that froze the market in 2023 has abated.

The market is soft in general, but particularly in round, D to Z goods, said Nilesh Sheth, president of New York-based polished supplier Nice Diamonds. Fancy shapes and colors are still moving well, he noted. In this context, “we are only adding items available at attractive prices,” Sheth revealed.

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What is the history of the South African Jewish diamond industry? – by Lionel Slier (Jerusalem Post – December 2, 2021)

https://www.jpost.com/

Once a desirable trade for a nice Jewish boy, diamond cutting and polishing in South Africa no longer is – here’s why.

The story goes that in 1867 a 15-year-old farm boy, Erasmus Jacobs, picked up a “mooi klippie” (a nice stone) on the banks of the Orange River in the Hopetown district of South Africa’s Northern Cape. He gave it to the farm’s owner who had it authenticated as a diamond by the leading minerals expert of the time.

News soon spread and there was a great deal of excitement about the possibility of finding diamonds in South Africa. The British Governor of the Cape Colony, George Grey, exclaimed: “This is the stone on which the future of this country rests.”

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Lab-grown diamonds come with sparkling price tags, but many have cloudy sustainability claims – by Isabella O’Malley (Associated Press – February 13, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The muted sounds of hammering and sanding drift down to the first floor of Bario Neal, a jewelry store in Philadelphia, where rustic artwork that mimics nature hangs on warmly-lit walls.

Waiting for one of those rings is Haley Farlow, a 28-year-old second grade teacher who has been designing her three-stone engagement ring with her boyfriend. They care about price and also don’t want jewelry that takes a toll on the Earth, or exploits people in mining. So they’re planning on buying diamonds grown in a laboratory.

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ON ST VALENTINE’S DAY, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (Gript – February 14, 2024)

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According to the wedding website theknot.com, February 14th is actually not the most popular day to get engaged; that day is December 25th, Christmas Day. However, Valentine’s day is up there in the top 5 for the ultimate romantic gesture.

Valentine, the 3rd Century Roman Christian who tied the knot for piles of young couples in spite of emperor Claudius’s commands forbidding marriage, would be pleased you feel. Not recently though. Weddings for the first half of the year in 2020 were at about 2% of the previous year. Not even old Claudius had such a wedding-killing hit rate.

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Israel’s Diamond Trade Is Stuck Between Two Crises – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – February 8, 2024)

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The global downturn is a bigger challenge for the market than the war is, says bourse president Boaz Moldawsky.

October 7 was supposed to be a joyous day for Boaz Moldawsky, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). His daughter gave birth at 11 p.m. the night before. The Hamas attack on Israel started early the next morning.

Moldawsky was in Tel Aviv when it all kicked off. As many did, he brushed off the first rocket siren at 6:30 a.m. as an ordinary warning that happens from time to time. Within a few hours, it became clear that something more serious was happening. “At the beginning, nobody thought it was something so big,” Moldawsky says. “But after a few hours, we saw the catastrophe.”

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Lab Diamonds Are Too Perfect for Their Own Good – by Amanda Mull (The Atlantic – February 7, 2024)

https://www.theatlantic.com

The traditional diamond industry is thought to be under threat from lab-grown stones. But that’s not how luxury works.

Last year, a funny thing happened at Ring Concierge’s Manhattan showroom. A bride-to-be brought her engagement ring back to the popular jewelry store after wearing it for a few weeks and wanted to trade out her diamond for a worse one.

The woman was worried that the original rock was too clear, too bright, too perfect for its large size, Ring Concierge’s CEO, Nicole Wegman, told me. She wanted to replace it with a lower-quality stone of a similar size—something a little less bright white.

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Surat’s Shining Moment: India’s ‘DREAM’ Destination to Transform Surat into Global Diamond Trade Centre – by Shubhangi Sharma (News 18.com – February 7, 2024)

https://www.news18.com/

The business landscape of Surat, India’s Diamond City, is on the brink of a great leap forward steered by the colossal Surat Diamond Bourse and a new international airport. Already bustling with exceptionally vibrant business activity, Surat is gearing up to chart greater heights globally with its diamond prowess in focus.

Surat Airport in Gujarat was officially granted the status of an ‘International Airport’ after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 17. This development marks the third international airport in Gujarat, alongside Ahmedabad and Rajkot, and holds significant potential for India’s prominent diamond industry.

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Angola’s diamond sparkle brightened by new De Beers deal – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – February 6, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) ­– Diamond mining and marketing company De Beers is to collaborate with Angola on opportunities to increase diamond production, support alluvial mining sector and enhance social development for the benefit of Angola’s citizens.

De Beers on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Angola’s National Mineral Resource Agency, Angola’s State-owned Endiama diamond company, and Angola’s State-owned Sodiam diamond trading company, to support these objectives.

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Lab-grown diamonds vs mined gems – can YOU spot the difference? – by Rebekah Absalom (Daily Mail – January 26, 2024)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Lab-grown diamonds have gained popularity in recent years thanks to their ethical production methods, affordable pricing and celebrity endorsements. Despite being labelled as ‘fake’ by traditional diamond enthusiasts, man-made and natural diamonds share identical physical and chemical characteristics – even experts struggle to distinguish between the two.

Sales for these sustainable gems achieved a record high last year, drawing significant interest from socially-conscious consumers seeking high quality and responsible sourcing that doesn’t harm the environment.

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The fatal plane crash in the Northwest Territories this week was rare – but the journey to remote mines is always perilous – by Mike Hager, Niall McGee and Wendy Stueck (Globe and Mail – January 27, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

After a few months or years of working rotating shifts at the Diavik Diamond Mine, flying to the site can become routine.

Employees file into a twin-propeller plane, exchange small talk with the crew and then tend to put their earbuds in and try to catch some shut-eye before their shifts, says Sean Farmer, a pilot who until recently worked with Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. Mr. Farmer flew all over the North, including twice-monthly flights between Fort Smith, NWT, and the Diavik mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

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