reena ahluwalia donates paintings to benefit jewelers for ... · reena ahluwalia donates paintings...

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20 SOLITAIRE INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2017

Reena Ahluwalia Donates Paintings To Benefit Jewelers for Children

Noted jewellery designer and artist Reena Ahluwalia has donated two original, museum-quality paintings to be auctioned at the Jewelers for Children’s Facets of Hope event in Las Vegas. The paintings, Portal of Empowerment and Radiate Brilliance, show highly nuanced, hyper-realistic diamonds with ultra-magnified facets.

Ahluwalia is a multiple award-winning Canadian jewellery designer, diamond painter and educator, whose creations are prized by jewellery and art collectors. She has won the coveted De Beers Diamonds International Award, Rio Tinto

Diamonds’ Global Design Competition, and the Tahitian Pearl Trophy.

“My paintings are very personal to me and each one is a unique creation that has its own personality. Knowing that the sale of them will benefit children who need the most help is truly gratifying for me,” she said.

Both paintings will be on display during the event for potential bidders to view up close. Portal of Empowerment is valued at $20,000 on the collector’s market and Radiate Brilliance is valued at $10,000.

“Having a talent such as Reena provide these beautiful paintings to benefit Jewelers for Children (JFC) is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the charity. So many more children will be helped due to her generosity and huge heart,” said David Rocha, executive director.

The Facets of Hope event will take place on June 7th in the South Seas Ballroom at Mandalay Bay Resort Casino. The paintings will be on display during the cocktail reception starting at 6:00 pm and during the dinner programme. Anyone interested in presenting a reserve bid before the event can contact JFC.

Jewelers for Children was founded in 1999 by the US jewellery industry with the mission of helping children in need. Since its inception, JFC has donated more than $ 51 million to programmes benefiting children whose lives have been affected by illness, abuse or neglect through its charity partners St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Make-A-Wish America, and the National CASA Association.

Reena Ahluwalia with her paintings.

GIA To Hold Sixth Gemological Symposium In October 2018Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will convene its sixth International Gemological Symposium in Carlsbad, California, from October 7th to 9th, 2018.

Focused on the theme “New Challenges. Creating Opportunities.”, the three-day event will offer insight into the latest gemmological research including recent findings by GIA and other leading researchers. Professors from the Harvard Business School (HBS) will lead a track on business concepts and innovations, using the renowned case study method employed in all HBS programmes, including the annual GIA Global Leadership Program.

The Symposium will also celebrate the centennial of Richard T. Liddicoat, the beloved second president of GIA known as “the Father of Modern Gemmology”.

GIA held the first International Gemological Symposium in 1982 in Los Angeles to mark the institute’s 50th anniversary. That gathering and each of the subsequent four (1991, 1999, 2006 and 2011) brought together leaders from all aspects of the gem and jewellery trade and

other experts for presentations, panels and discussions on relevant issues and topics affecting the industry.

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De Beers Returns $5bn To Partners In 2016De Beers increased returns to governments, communities, supply chain partners and its joint venture partners by 26% to $5 billion in 2016, according to its latest Report to Society.

The increase, delivered through taxes, payments for goods and services and dividends, reflects De Beers’ improved financial and operating performance in a year that it signed a milestone sales agreement with its government partner in Namibia and opened the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada.

De Beers generated further socio-economic benefit for its partners through the sale of $1.4 billion of rough diamonds to local cutting and polishing businesses within its producer countries – a more than 70% increase on 2015 – as part of its in-country beneficiation strategy.

Goods and services amounting to more than $1 billion were procured by the company within its producer countries – a 3% increase – ensuring greater value was realised across domestic supply chains.

The report also highlights that De Beers supported more than 640 jobs and 120 businesses through enterprise development projects in southern Africa; managed 164,000 hectares of land for conservation – an area five times the size of that affected by the company’s mining activities; launched Diamox, Element Six’s industrial waste water treatment system that purifies highly contaminated water using synthetic diamond material; invested a further $5 million in the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research’s testing and grading facility in Surat, India, helping to reinforce consumer confidence.

Following extensive research undertaken over the course of last year, the company is also working on a project to investigate the potential of carbon-neutral mining through storing large volumes of carbon in kimberlite tailings, the rock material left over after diamonds are mined.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers, said: “Last year our partnerships delivered significant value for the countries in which we operate. Through our $1 billion investment in local goods and services, we helped put local supply chains to work, sustaining jobs and encouraging socio-economic development.

“As the world’s leading diamond company, we have a responsibility to the people in the countries we operate in to ensure the value of what we mine below ground is realised at a local level above ground.

“Diamonds are a finite and precious resource, so it remains our responsibility to mine them safely and sustainably, and always while focusing on delivering real benefits for our partners in our operating countries that will be realised long after our last mine closes.”


Thailand Gems & Jewelry Fair To Debut In JuneThe inaugural Thailand Gems & Jewelry Fair (TGJF) is being organised by the Thai Gem and Jewelry Traders Association (TGJTA) from June 15th to 18th at the Impact Challenger 2, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Suttipong Damrongsakul, president of the TGJTA revealed that with the theme ‘Treasure Road to the World’, the organisers are convinced that the fair will help boost trading within domestic and regional markets, while highlighting the strength of Thailand’s gems and jewellery industry.

“The TGJF is where regional trading of gems and jewellery will take place, as well as provide a platform that will see more cooperation among gems and jewellery associations from the Asian Economic Community Plus Six countries,” he said. “Moreover, we will be highlighting Bangkok’s famous jewellery districts while looking into the future at new innovations that will improve jewellery production.”

Currently, Thailand’s gems and jewellery industry employs

over a million people, with exports amounting to $14.25 billion in 2016, up 29.6% on the preceding year. The mid-year fair is expected to stimulate gems and jewellery trade in both domestic and export markets.

Parliamentary Labour Committee Visits GJSCI Training Centres In SuratThe Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour visited the training centres of the Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) in Surat on May 2nd. The delegation comprising 20 Members of Parliament was led by chairperson and MP Kirit Somaiya and included Rajesh Agarwal, joint secretary – Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Jayant Krishna, COO – National Skill Development Council (NSDC), and Gaurav Kapoor, head–industry partnership & CSR; SSC engagement-NSDC.

The visitors appreciated GJSCI for its dedication towards reforming the Indian gems and jewellery industry. The committee sought to understand the course and curriculum established by GJSCI under the aegis of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). This was followed by a discussion on how skilling can help in uplifting the industry.

The centres visited were the Knowledge & Training division of Shree Ram Krishna Exports led by Govind Dholakia, chairman- SRK Group, and the Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) led by Samir Joshi.

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GJSCI & Training Partners Discuss Key PrioritiesGem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) organised a training partners’ meet at SEEPZ in Mumbai to discuss priorities of the coming year along with the updates on various schemes and benefits. The meet was conducted by Binit Bhatt, CEO, GJSCI and his team for the 80 existing and potential training partners that were present.

The meeting discussed key topics like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2.0 scheme mechanism and on-ground implementation, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Project, GJSCI and its related services, non-scheme GJSCI affiliation, job roles offered by GJSCI, followed by an open discussion on the operational challenges faced and possible solutions.

“It is important to hold such meets which enable us to keep up the spirit of our training partners and also update them about the timely progress and development of GJSCI,” said Bhatt.


GJSCI CEO Binit Bhatt addressing training partners at the meet held in SEEPZ.

Leading diamond producer Alrosa said its Q1 2017 revenue totalled RUB 84.8 billion, up 38% versus the previous quarter, but down 17% on a year-on-year basis. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) totalled RUB 35.2 bn, while net income was RUB 22.7 billion.

Sergey Ivanov, chief executive officer of Alrosa, said, “In Q1 2017, we delivered better results compared to late 2016, due to the recovery of demand from Indian rough diamond consumers after a temporary decline caused by the monetary reform. The company’s margins were affected by the rouble appreciation. But what I would like to emphasise here is the success of our cost control programme, which ensured a minimum increase in our production costs.”

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Alrosa Q1 Revenue +38% On Indian Demand Recovery

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GJF Holds PMI Meet In Delhidiamond, and studded jewellery.

Nitin Khandelwal, GJF chairman and PMI convenor, said, “The PMI programmes are held in select cities and towns that have been especially chosen with the objective of filling in the gaps between the demand and supply needs of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.”

Sumeet Anand, co-convenor, PMI, said, “I’m always happy when I hear that the relationships built at PMI have helped build many companies’ top and bottom lines. The unique platform


All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) organised the 6th show of the 3rd edition of the

Nitin Khandelwal, chairman, GJF.

Preferred Manufacturer of India (PMI) Regional Networking Meet from May 17th to 19th in Delhi.

The PMI programme provides a marketing platform for manufacturers and retailers, providing 360-degree solutions to participants by fulfilling several business objectives, including enhancement of the brand’s image and expansion of market share by establishing and reinforcing business relationships with prominent retailers. The PMI participants comprised the country’s leading manufacturers of gold,

allows PMI participants to remain updated and relevant within changing market scenarios, develop their clientele and promote innovation in manufacturing, while retailers maintain a competitive edge in terms of the product pricing and range, as well as service support thereby maintaining a distinctive position for their brands and stores.”

GJF has so far organised PMI meets in Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi-Gurgaon, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata and Delhi.

GJSCI Conducts ‘Jewel Talks’ At GIA MumbaiGem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) conducted its 4th edition of ‘Jewel Talks’, a monthly interactive platform between industry experts and aspirants pursuing a career in the gems and jewellery industry. Hetal Vakil, founder, Vakil’s Institute of Jewellery Design, was the spokesperson for the programme which was held at GIA, Mumbai. The event was attended by Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) members and GIA students.

Industry experts spoke about key issues related to the gems and jewellery industry; Vakil gave a presentation on ‘Luxury Selling – The Next Level’ and Binit Bhatt, CEO, GJSCI, enlightened the audience on ‘emotional intelligence’.

“Events like Jewel Talks are grooming grounds for the next-gen custodians of the gems and jewellery industry. It has been an amazing experience interacting with the fresh talent and learning the new perspective they bring in,” said Vakil.

“Jewel Talks is an integral path for GJSCI that leads towards our ultimate goal of a well-organised gems and jewellery industry. Through this, we are welcoming the young talent to come and explore this sector through the unparalleled experience of industry experts. This will encourage the youth to choose gems and jewellery as a career and, in turn, carve a better future in the industry,” said Premkumar Kothari, chairman, GJSCI.

“We started off with Jewel Talks as a raw concept and are now overwhelmed to see the immense response driven by this initiative. The industry is always looking for young talent and Jewel Talks is the platform through which they can be absorbed into the industry. Over the last four months, we have seen the number of attendees only growing, which indicates a promising future of the gems and jewellery sector,” Bhatt noted.

Hetal Vakil speaking at the fourth edition of Jewel Talks.

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Forevermark Inscribes Two Millionth Diamond In IndiaDe Beers said its Forevermark diamond brand has inscribed its two millionth diamond at the Forevermark Diamond Institute in Surat. The 3.48-carat round brilliant stone has been inscribed with a unique ‘2,000,000’ serial number. The diamond was cut and polished in Windhoek by Ankit Gems, Namibia.

The milestone follows the announcement in February this year of Forevermark being available in more than 2,000 retail outlets worldwide.

The $10 million Surat facility is one of the most technically advanced diamond inscription and grading centres in the world, employing around 100 highly skilled diamond workers.

The Forevermark Diamond Institute provides an accurate and reliable grading service for each Forevermark diamond, selecting and inscribing Forevermark diamonds with a unique identification number.

The two millionth diamond will be set in a piece of jewellery at the Forevermark Design and Innovation Centre in Milan, Italy, and will ultimately become part of the brand’s exclusive red carpet collection.

Emerging South African designer Louise Kriek, the 2015 runner-up of De Beers Group’s Shining Light Awards, will work on the design for Forevermark’s milestone two millionth diamond under the Forevermark design team, as part of a three-month internship in Milan, Italy.

Stephen Lussier, CEO of Forevermark, said: “The individual inscription is a unique feature of every Forevermark


South African designer Louise Kriek will work on the design for Forevermark’s milestone two millionth diamond.

diamond. It’s not only a symbol of the exceptional standards of the diamond’s beauty, but also

represents our commitment to responsible sourcing, tracing each diamond along its journey and ensuring strict business, environmental and social standards are met at every step.

“By providing an accurate and reliable grading and inscription service, our world-leading Surat facility plays an important role in ensuring consumers can have the highest levels of confidence when purchasing a Forevermark diamond. The brand’s message is increasingly resonating with consumers worldwide, as this latest milestone shows.

“The fact this diamond can embark on a journey from the Orange River to a Windhoek cutter and polisher, and then across the world, ultimately to be showcased on the international stage, is a demonstration of the important role Namibia plays in the global diamond sector.”

Forevermark has experienced steady growth in demand from Indian consumers since launching in the country in 2011. It is now available in more than 190 retail outlets nationwide.

Plumb Club Renews Partnership with Jewelers unBLOCKedThe Plumb Club renewed its partnership with Jewelers unBLOCKed as the preferred insurance provider for the group and its members. Focused on providing value-added benefits to help its members and their customers be successful, The Plumb Club continues its agreement with the only A++ A.M. best-rated jewellers block insurance company in the marketplace. Jewelers unBLOCKed is the exclusive provider of Tokio Marine America’s jewellers block policy.

“Over the past year, Jewelers unBlocked has proven to be extremely competitive in offering insurance products to our members,” said Lawrence Hess, executive director of The Plumb Club. “We are happy to continue the relationship and include this significant value-added benefit as part of The Plumb Club membership.”

Jewelers unBLOCKed addresses the specific challenges of the jewellery industry by providing broad

coverage with customised solutions that fit the needs of clients ranging from wholesalers and manufacturers to designers and retailers.

“We are proud and honoured to again be recognised as the preferred insurance provider for The Plumb Club for 2017,” noted Patricia K. Low, CEO of Jewelers unBLOCKed. “The synergy of our respective organisations as ‘Best in Class’ is a natural fit, and we are excited to

further our partnership as we look forward to continuing to generate value for this prestigious organisation and their members.”

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De Beers To Hold First Polished Diamond Auction In JuneDe Beers said its auction sales business will pilot the sale of its own polished diamonds using auctions for the first time. The sale will comprise a wide range of polished stones manufactured directly from its rough diamonds.

The polished diamonds are available following contract manufacturing of De Beers auction sales rough diamond products to assess what range of polished diamonds they would produce. The polished diamonds will be accompanied by both International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) and Gemological Institute of America (GIA) grading reports.

The pilot auction will give De Beers’ auction sales business the opportunity to assess customer demand for buying polished diamonds through this channel.

Neil Ventura, executive vice president of auction sales, De Beers, said: “We have a limited amount of a wide range of polished diamonds, so it makes commercial sense for us to trial this auction on our existing platform.

“We are interested in testing the level of demand from polished buyers for diamonds that have a clear and attractive source of origin, and that offer the assurance of product integrity that dual certification provides. Meanwhile, a successful auction would also generate an additional polished price reference in US dollars per carat. In addition, this will complement our existing rough auctions and enable buyers to fill supply and inventory gaps if they were unable to secure supply at our spot and forward auctions for rough diamonds.”


De Beers occasionally uses a third party contractor to cut and polish some of its rough diamonds to better understand to what extent they are delivering customers’ polished outcome requirements.

All registered buyers of De Beers Auction Sales will be eligible to bid in the auction which will take place on June 29th 2017.

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Signet Resolves Equal Employment Opportunity Case

Bermuda-based Signet Jewelers Limited, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, said it had reached an agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve all claims related to the pay and promotion of female retail sales employees at the

company in EEOC v. Sterling Jewelers Inc. The consent decree states that there were “no findings of liability or wrongdoing,” and does not require the company to pay a monetary award.

“We are pleased to have resolved this matter with the EEOC,” said Lynn Dennison, Signet chief legal, risk and corporate affairs officer. “Signet has a sound framework of policies and practices designed to ensure equal opportunity for women and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. The additional steps agreed to as part of the consent decree with the EEOC are consistent with our commitment to continuous review and improvement.”

Last month, Signet announced several actions to ensure company policies and practices are functioning as intended and to identify areas where the company can further improve. Those actions included the formation of a new board committee focused on programmes and policies to promote respect in the workplace. The committee recently appointed former US district court judge Barbara S. Jones to serve as an independent consultant.

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GJF Organises Labham Educational Seminar In Mumbai


Zaveri Bazaar, a busy jewellery quarter in Mumbai, India.

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All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) held an educational programme titled “Labham” on May 12th in Mumbai. Sponsored by GIA, Labham was an interactive, intensive one-day seminar on compliance, risk management and best business practices in the gems and jewellery industry.

The sessions were conducted by experts in the field and the topics included:• Finance & Banking, Taxation, GST & Accounting related

key aspects

• Regulatory compliance framework• Synopsis of the High Level Committee (HLC) report on

excise• Operations management• Standardisation and certification

Nitin Khandelwal, chairman, GJF, said, “We have identified the needs of a large section of jewellers to understand the technicality of various compliance procedures with complex practices of doing business and we have designed the programme for the benefit of the jewellers. This day-long educational programme at various jewellery clusters of the country would empower the business community to manage their jewellery businesses more effectively in respect of improved governance and ease of operations.”

Nirupa Bhatt, convenor, Labham and GIA managing director for India and Middle East, said, “Labham is an effort to support the industry become more organised and compliant to enhance its credibility and profitability. Governance, knowledge, ethics and transparency are the pillars on which successful and sustainable businesses are built.”

GJF plans to organise Labham programmes in more than 30 cities across the nation.

2.65-ct Diamond Found At Arkansas State Park

Victoria Brodski, 25, a visitor to Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park in the US, discovered a 2.65-carat brown diamond within minutes of entering the famed diamond field.

Brodski was sitting with her daughter and brother by a culvert near the mine entrance when she picked up what she thought was a piece of glass. Noting its shine, she put it in a plastic bag and continued searching. It was only a couple of hours later in the park’s Diamond Discovery Center that she first realised she may have found more than just glass.

Brodski’s diamond is about the size of a bead, with a dark brown colour. It has a smooth, rounded surface and appears free of blemishes, inside and out. It is the second-largest diamond found so far in 2017, topped only by the 7.44-carat brown diamond found by a 14-year-old.

Brodski dubbed her gem the Michelangelo diamond, after one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So far this year, 188 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park, weighing a total of 46.08 carats.

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DDE Rough Diamond Tender Sells 50,000cts

Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), a subsidiary of DMCC, successfully concluded the first of six tenders scheduled for 2017. The tender was held at the Almas Tower and was facilitated by the DDE in a secure, transparent and regulated environment, which resulted in 50,000 carats of rough diamonds being sold.

As part of DMCC’s collaboration with Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS), more than 130 buyers attended the 12-day event. The partnership will see TAGS organise six rough diamond tenders in Dubai in 2017.


(From left) TAGS owner Anthony Peters, TAGS general manager Mike Aggett, DMCC CEO Gautam Sashittal, Trans Hex chairman Marco Wentzel, TAGS operations manager Talia Norvall, and TAGS technology manager Bob McKendrick.

Commenting on the series of tenders, along with DMCC’s ongoing collaboration with TAGS, Gautam Sashittal, chief executive officer of DMCC, said: “Dubai is one of the world’s top three diamond trading hubs and recorded a rough diamond imports rise of 16% to $6.3 billion in 2016 and DMCC has contributed significantly to that growth. DDE provides industry participants with the infrastructure, and regulatory framework they require to grow, while leveraging Dubai’s unique geographic position between producing and consuming markets across East and West.”

Through a unique sales platform developed by TAGS and the Dubai Diamond Exchange, artisanal suppliers with smaller productions are able to market their goods alongside larger industrial miners. This tender featured diamonds from South Africa’s west coast, which is renowned for its clarity and quality.

Larger producers taking part in the series of tenders also have a unique opportunity to benefit from the increased interest arising from the inclusion of a wider range of goods.

Marco Wentzel, chairman, Trans Hex and shareholder International Mining and Dredging Holdings, one of the industry’s leading underwater mining operators, noted: “Diamond tenders are vital means to generate revenues and assess the true market value of their goods, especially in a place such as Dubai, which has a unique ability to bring producers and consumers together in one place. By taking part in this platform, and maintaining the contacts we have cultivated over the past 12 days, we look forward to increasing our trading activities in the region and beyond.”

Alrosa President Sergey Ivanov Visits AngolaAlrosa president Sergey Ivanov last month paid a working visit to Angola where he inspected the company’s production facilities and held a number of meetings with Angolan partners to discuss development prospects of Alrosa’s investment projects in the country.

During the meeting with Carlos Sumbula, chairman of Endiama, Ivanov noted the good financial results of Catoca Mining Co. “Last year, proceeds of the project reached almost $600 million and became completely self-contained. We are ready to be fully engaged in its further development and expect the cost-effectiveness to increase,” said Ivanov.

The parties also agreed to continue operations at Kimang Exploration Company. “We have also planned geological studies to discover new kimberlite deposits. According to the plan, early in 2019 we will be launching projects to develop these deposits,” added Ivanov.

Alrosa’s president held a working meeting with Manuel Vicente, Vice President of Angola. “Alrosa will continue

implementing its projects in Angola. We are carrying out research on Luaxe, the largest diamond deposit in the country, and based on its results we will determine the main stages of further development of this project,” he concluded.

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GSI Partners With Lavalier Insurance CompanyJewellery insurer Lavalier Personal Jewelry Insurance and Gemological Science International (GSI) announced an affinity partnership that offers a 10% premium discount to consumers submitting a GSI grading report for jewellery they insure at Lavalier.com. Berkley Asset Protection, which underwrites the Lavalier policy, has an A.M. Best rating of A+ and a Financial Size XV which reflects a strong foundation.

“This is great news for our customers,” said Debbie Azar, GSI’s co-founder. “We are extremely pleased to be able to offer this added value to our customers


GSI co-founder Debbie Azar.

and to be associated with a premier insurance company like Lavalier/Berkley.” Consumers can obtain instant, online insurance quotes at Lavalier.com by entering just their ZIP code, value of item to be insured, and their choice of deductible. The GSI discount is applied when they upload the grading report.

“Reliable, accurate jewellery descriptions and values, such as those from GSI, are indispensable for consumers to obtain appropriate insurance for their treasured jewellery pieces,” explained Joseph Dowd, president of

Berkley Asset Protection. “Too often, consumers receive documents with inflated values or vague descriptions that make it difficult to replace or repair with like kind and quality in a claim situation. GSI provides independent, third-party documentation that consumers can rely on.”

The Lavalier policy is “all risk”, covering everything unless expressly excluded. The worldwide coverage includes loss, damage, theft and mysterious disappearance/unexplained loss, newly purchased jewellery and jewellery in transit for inspection, repair or sale.

Sarine Reports Higher Q1 Revenue

buyers’ group in Australia, Leading Edge Group,” said David Block, the group’s newly appointed CEO. “We intend to double the number of stones scanned for Sarine Profile in 2017 and expect its contribution to account for around 5% of group sales this year.”

Coming up next will be Sarine’s new technologies for clarity and colour grading for polished diamonds. These new technologies will address the $500 million a year 4Cs grading market and their application could potentially extend grading to smaller stones under a fifth of a carat, which would effectively expand the total addressable market value by an estimated 50% to $750 million annually. These technologies are currently undergoing large scale testing in India and the group expects the commercialisation of these new services in Q3 2017.

Backed by healthy levels of manufacturing activities in the diamond industry, Sarine Technologies recorded a 5% rise in revenue of $16.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. The group delivered 17 Galaxy family systems, comprising 11 Meteor small stone machines, 5 Solaris machines and a Galaxy system to customers in the first three months of this year, bringing the total installed base to 316.

Overall recurring income accounted for approximately 42% of total revenue, with trade revenue derived from the polished diamond line of products and services representing about 2% of total revenue.

In line with increased revenue, gross profit rose 6% to $11.1 million and gross profit margin remained stable at 68%. In order to support continued growth and the launch of new services, higher operating expenses were incurred in the first quarter. The increase in expenses was compounded by the 5% strengthening of the Israeli NIS against the US dollar. As a result, profit from operations fell 14% to $3.2 million, while net profit dropped 17% to $2.45 million.

Sarine noted that the positive business conditions in the diamond industry are likely to persist in FY 2017 but it will continue to monitor market developments closely.

“We have a number of significant successes in the Asia Pacific region and the list of new customers includes two new chains in Japan, K-Uno and Sadamatsu, and a large

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Artisanal Gold Supply Chain Operational In Eastern DRCPartnership Africa Canada (PAC) said the Just Gold project has successfully implemented a system to trace legal and conflict-free artisanal gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Just Gold project began as a pilot in Ituri Province in 2015. The announcement is a milestone for the project—moving it from the pilot stage—having proven a successful chain of custody from mine site to exporter.

“After almost two years of testing the Just Gold project with an aim to develop a chain of custody and due diligence system for artisanal gold in DRC, we are excited to share news of our success,” said Joanne Lebert, PAC’s executive director.

“The Just Gold project can now move from a period of testing to implementation and ensuring we have a long-term, sustainable and viable solution for traceable, legal and conflict-free exports of artisanal gold from Congo. We look forward to sharing our lessons learned with key actors and to deepening our collaboration with the DRC government.”

The Just Gold project creates incentives for artisanal gold miners to channel their product to legal exporters—and eventually responsible consumers—by offering fair and transparent pricing and by providing capacity-building, such as technical assistance to miners in return for legal sales. Miners are taught better exploitation techniques and offered Just Gold project equipment, in return for which any gold produced must be tracked and sold through legal channels.

“Proving that artisanal gold in eastern Congo can be conflict-free, legal and traceable is a major step in responsible sourcing efforts in the Great Lakes region. The government of DRC is taking major strides in complying with regional standards and demonstrating how implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains can contribute to progressive improvements in the sector, supporting artisanal gold men and women miners to enter international markets,” said Lebert.

Partnership Africa Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the DRC’s minister of mines Martin Kabwelulu on September 2016, outlining support for the organisation’s activities to strengthen natural resource governance. Specifically, the ministry of mines recognised the Just Gold project as a system of traceability and encouraged its implementation. PAC has provided technical support to the ministry since 2011.

Current activities in DRC include the Just Gold project, capacity building to implement both the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region’s (ICGLR’s) Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM) and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance applicable to high-value minerals, as well as support to civil society for monitoring and reporting on supply chain integrity.

PAC has also undertaken research and analysis of the artisanal gold supply chain to understand women’s roles in the sector. Through sensitisation and outreach, the Just Gold project improves awareness of women’s rights, and their right to access, control and take benefit of resources. The project also supports and fosters women’s leadership opportunities through skill-building and training.

PAC’s work in DRC developed from its engagement as a technical partner to the ICGLR, providing capacity-building to implement the six tools developed by the ICGLR’s Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources.

Funding for the Just Gold project and PAC’s work in the Great Lakes Region is provided by Global Affairs Canada. Additional funding for the Just Gold project is provided by USAID through the Capacity Building for Responsible Minerals Trade (CBRMT) project and International Organization for Migration.

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Gem Diamonds Recovers 80-carat DiamondBritish diamond miner Gem Diamonds Limited recovered a high-quality 80-carat, D colour Type II diamond from the Letseng mine in Lesotho – the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world.

Commenting on this recovery, CEO Clifford Elphick said: “Although this 80-carat diamond is not of the very large size for which Letseng is renowned, it is one of the highest quality diamonds recovered at the Letseng mine and is entirely undamaged making this a significant recovery.”

The Letseng mine has produced four of the 20 largest gem-quality white diamonds ever recorded.

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n 2016, global platinum jewellery demand fell by 12% to reach 2.18 Moz (67.7 tonnes), Thomson Reuters said in its GFMS Platinum Group Metals Survey 2017. This took jewellery’s share of total fabrication to 28%,

down from 45% at the start of the millennium. The GFMS report noted that the bulk of the losses were

centred on two major markets, namely China and North America, which both saw fabrication fall by double-digit percentages.

Indian platinum jewellery fabrication declined last year by 5% due primarily to the excise duty and liquidity crunch, the report said. “The impact of the excise duty was widespread, impacting all segments of jewellery, including those fabricators using platinum as most were under the ambit of excise duty limit, making it necessary for them to register for excise. By registering, this exposed their books to authorities with regard to manufacturing and sales of gold jewellery which dominated their portfolio.

“As a result retailers and fabricators had to limit transactions and move away from the conventional way of managing a two-book system. Following weak second and third quarters, fourth quarter demand related to weddings (chiefly bands) did pick up, but post demonetisation demand slowed. Moreover, diamond set platinum jewellery had its share of gains on the first two days of demonetisation as the public wanted to quickly convert their cash holdings in demonetised currency.”

GFMS: Indian Platinum Jewellery Fabrication -5% In 2016

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GFMS PLATINUM GROUP METALS SURVEY 2017

JEWELLERY

— Global platinum jewellery demand fell by 12% to an

estimated 2.18 Moz (67.7 t) in 2016, dragged lower by

another material decline from China.

— A precipitous fall in Chinese demand saw palladium

jewellery demand decline by 13% last year to

0.30 Moz (9.3 t).

In 2016, global platinum jewellery demand fell by 12% to reach 2.18 Moz (67.7 t). This took jewellery’s share of total fabrication to 28%, down from 45% at the start of the millennium. The bulk of the losses were centred on two major markets, namely China and North America, which both saw fabrication fall by double-digit percentages. The former was hindered by a weaker economic environment and market share loss to yellow 18-carat jewellery, while for the latter, a lack of promotion, slow moving stock, and that jewellery sticker prices did not reflect that platinum was trading at deep discount to gold, accounted for the decline. Japanese demand held up well, declining only at the margin, while European offtake was also impacted by a lack of promotional activity.

Palladium jewellery fabrication also fell last year, slipping 13% to an estimated 0.30 Moz (9.3 t). Losses were concentrated in China as the market there struggles for survival, plummeting by 77% in 2016 to represent just 4% of global demand against over 75% of the market at the peak in 2005. North American demand declined 5% on a year-on-year basis to record the eighth consecutive annual contraction on the back of weaker promotional activity, while European offtake was only marginally weaker, supported by a resilient wedding ring market.

CHINA

Chinese platinum jewellery fabrication declined for a third consecutive year, falling 17% year-on-year to an estimated 1.3 Moz (40 t) last year. In value terms, demand fell 13% to approximately US$1.4 billion, as the average price of platinum in local terms increased by 13%.

China’s annual GDP growth rate was 6.7% in 2016. The strength of the Chinese economy took a notable downturn since 2015 and this downwards momentum continued into 2016, although sentiment did start to improve in the second half of the year. The official manufacturing PMI, which tracks manufacturing activities of the larger sized enterprises in China, saw monthly ratings below 50.0 recorded in three months in 2016, compared to seven months during 2015. When the PMI is below 50.0 this indicates that the manufacturing sector is shrinking and a value above indicates an expansion. Meanwhile, if we look at the Caixin manufacturing PMI, which tracks orders of the more middle and smaller sized companies, things looked less rosy, with monthly readings below 50.0 for six months last year, all during the first half. While the Chinese economy improved in 2016 compared to the prior year, unfortunately it did not translate to higher demand for platinum jewellery within the country.

The Chinese have a long cultural affinity to gold, and thus the gold market in China is much more developed than the platinum market. Compared to platinum, gold has higher transparency in terms of price as well as liquidity, which consumers will consider before purchase.

There has been a significant shift in market strategies for Chinese jewellery retailers in recent years. As the economy slowed this had a real negative impact on consumer sentiment with consumers reducing their discretionary spending in a bid to maintain cash reserves. The whole jewellery sector has not been performing well since the peak in 2013, and retailers have shifted their selling strategies from the volume based model used in the past to now focusing efforts on selling higher margin items. The traditional 24-carat gold items, which have been the dominant segment in the jewellery sector in volume terms, usually command a gross margin of less than 20%. Thus retailers have been cutting down orders for these low margin products, instead shifting their focus to products that carry much higher margins like 18-carat gold items and gem sets. While in theory, platinum jewellery also commands a much higher margin compared to the 24-carat gold products, this sector failed to take advantage of the high margin strategy

PLATINUM

(000 ounces) 2015 2016 Change

North America 248 223 -10%

Europe 215 207 -4%

Japan 324 317 -2%

China 1,561 1,299 -17%

Other regions 118 130 10%

Total 2,466 2,176 -12%

Source: GFMS, Thomson Reuters

JEWELLERY DEMAND

SOLITAIRE INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2017 39

China was hindered by a weaker economic environment and market share loss to yellow 18-carat jewellery, while fabrication demand in North America was dragged lower by a lack of promotion, slow moving stock and the high cost of jewellery when platinum was trading at a steep discount to gold.

Japanese demand held up well, declining only at the margin, while European offtake was also impacted by a lack of promotional activity.

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