Alrosa auctions 101 special-sized diamonds for $ 14.8m
Rising Middle East tension forces World Diamond Congress to cancel
De Beers successfully tracks first diamonds from mine to retail on blockchain
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AUCTIONS
Alrosa auctions 101 special-sized diamonds for $ 14.8m
The United Selling Organization ( USO ) of Alrosa has sold 101 special size rough diamonds with the total weight of 1751.1 carats .
Total sales revenue for diamonds amounted to $ 14.8m (£ 10.9m ). The diamond mining company invited 86 companies from the main world ’ s diamond trading hubs , including Hong Kong , Belgium , Israel , India to an auction held in Vladivostok last month .
Evgeny Agureev , the member of the executive committee , director of the USO ALROSA , said : “ 33 companies were recognized as winners in different auction positions . The auction has completed with a very good results , confirming high demand for this category of rough diamonds ”.
The news comes after Alrosa announced that its supervisory board recommended the payment of dividends for 2017 in the amount of RUB 5.24 (£ 0.61 ) per share .
Shareholders are recommended to pay RUB 38.592 billion (£ 450m ) as dividends for 2017 , which is about 50 % of ALROSA net profit under IFRS .
EVENTS
Rising Middle East tension forces World Diamond Congress to cancel
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses ( WFDB ) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association ( IDMA ) have announced that due to rising tension in the Middle East , the World Diamond Congress has been cancelled .
The 38th World Diamond Congress due to be held in Tel Aviv , Israel , from 19 to 21 June has been cancelled “ as
a result of the weak response to registration ... influenced by the rising tension in the region ”.
The Congress is the biennial gathering of the WFDB and IDMA .
In a joint statement , WFDB president Ernie Blom and IDMA president Ronnie VanderLinden said : “ It is obviously with very great regret that we have reached the decision to cancel the Congress . We had a full agenda of issues regarding the state of the global diamond industry and preparations were in full swing .
“ However , we have to take all factors into account , and felt it was the correct decision to make which is in the best interests of all concerned . The Congress will be held at a later date which will be determined in the near future .”
The Congress was being organised by the Israel Diamond Exchange , and was due to feature a section on how technology can aid the diamond industry , among other matters .
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BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
De Beers successfully tracks first diamonds from mine to retail on blockchain
The De Beers Group has announced that it has successfully tracked 100 high-value diamonds along the value chain during the pilot of its industry blockchain platform .
An immutable and secure digital trail was created for a selection of rough diamonds mined by De Beers as they moved from the mine , to cutter and polisher , then through to a jeweller , marking the first time a diamond ’ s journey has been digitally tracked from mine to retail .
The platform , called Tracr , is expected to launch later this year and will be open to the industry . Five leading diamond manufacturers – Diacore , Diarough , KGK Group , Rosy Blue NV and Venus Jewel – have been working with De Beers during the system ’ s development . Bruce Cleaver , CEO of the De Beers Group , said : “ The Tracr project team has demonstrated that it can successfully track a diamond through the value chain , providing asset-traceability assurance in a way that was not possible before .
“ This is a significant breakthrough made achievable by the close engagement of the pilot participants who share our commitment to industry progress and innovation . We look forward to sharing the platform with more partners in the coming months and capturing their insights before ultimately making this technology available to the broader industry .”
Amit Bhansali , managing director of Rosy Blue NV , added : “ Technology has already significantly contributed to improving transparency within the diamond industry . Initiatives that use blockchain can drive this process even further , as their implementation requires collaboration and trust creation among all industry stakeholders .”
10 JEWELLERY FOCUS
June 2018 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk