News of the day

Stellar Diamonds plc, the diamond development company focused on West Africa, announced the sale of 4,414 carats of diamonds in Antwerp for gross revenues of $417,122.

The sale included excellent quality white stones, with a value of $5,000 per carat achieved for one particular five carat stone.

The company withheld 1,617 carats from the sale as the bid prices were not considered acceptable. These goods will be added to future exports and be offered for sale at a later date.

The Directors of Botswana Diamonds announced that the Botswana government has awarded a new license, PL 085/2015, to Atlas Minerals, the local subsidiary company.

It will be explored as part of the ongoing 50/50 exploration joint venture between Botswana Diamonds and Alrosa.

De Beers' International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) will reveal details of an upgraded DiamondView™ instrument at GIA GemFest in Basel on March 22.

DiamondView™ is part of the suite of IIDGR verification technology. The instrument generates a surface fluorescence image on any stone being tested, providing information on growth history from which synthetics can be identified.

The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association will be hosting the biennial Presidents' Meeting of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) in Israel, at the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel, June 14-16, 2015.

Rio Tinto introduced its latest range of Argyle diamond jewelry collections during the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show.

The new collections are part of Rio Tinto’s ongoing investment to develop the diamond fashion jewelry market in China, creating opportunities for diamond purchasing beyond the solitaire engagement ring.

PDLG Creative Intelligence presented the latest international trends in design and demonstrated how these translate into diamond fashion jewelry for the Chinese consumer.

The World Diamond Mark Foundation (WDMF) said it was very pleased with the outcome of the meeting held by a number of the major producers - as reported by Bloomberg News - who met in London to discuss diamond marketing, industry research and the threat to consumer confidence from undisclosed synthetic stones entering the market.

Reportedly, the meeting was attended by representatives of De Beers, Rio Tinto, Alrosa, Dominion Diamond Corp., OAO Lukoil, Petra Diamonds Ltd., Gem Diamonds Ltd. and Lucara Diamond Corp.

The AWDC hosted 109 leading diamond traders in the Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at the 2015 Hong Kong Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show From March 2-6.

It was the second year the traditional Hong Kong March fair featured a separate loose stones venue. In its first year, the show attracted over 32,000 professional buyers from around the world, marking its emergence as one of the most successful shows in the industry.

The year 2015 got off to a good start for watch exports, after two less favorable months, the Swiss Federation of Watchmakers reported.

At 1.6 billion francs (approximately $1 billion), their value was up 3.7% compared to January 2014. This increase was recorded on an already high base and with one less working day.

Steel watches registered a sharp rise in value terms, followed by bimetallic timepieces. However precious metals experienced a slight dip in demand.