Danish jewellery brand PANDORA has appointed Nike veteran Geena Tok to head its China business. One of her main tasks is to counter the grey market in the country, that is seriously impacting its business with imports from other countries being sold online. PANDORA has 200 retail outlets and 1,400 personnel in China, which it sees as a major market for its product, accounting for 12 percent of its overall sales and offering huge growth prospects. But due to the grey market, it lowered its Chinese retail prices on average by 15 percent last month. Tok will join the company in September, having spent 17 years with Nike in the US, Thailand, India and most recently, China. She replaces Anthony Asinas, who will now head the company’s Hong Kong and Macau...

ALROSA announced it will auction special size rough diamonds (over 10.8 carats) in Vladivostok from August 27 to September 12. The assortment on offer includes 129 gem-quality rough diamonds with the total weight of 2,312 carats. The company has invited 76 firms from Russia, Israel, Belgium,India, Hong Kong, the UAE and the US to participate in the auction. The results will be announced on September 13. "Since it was set up in 2016, our branch in Vladivostok has established itself as a reliable trading platform. Every auction is attended by clients not only from Russia and nearby Asian countries, but also from Europe and the US. Since the beginning of the year, we have conducted two auctions and already received more than $30 million in sales revenue from the Vladivostok centre," said...

With fewer than eight weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, the second of the CIBJO commissions' Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Huw Daniel, the report examines the influence on the sector by outside forces, be they political, regulatory or the result of decisions by the International Standards Organisation. "Unlike diamonds and other gemstones, where prices are almost exclusively a function of supply and demand in the jewellery markets, precious metals are also safe haven assets, and as such are subject to forces that simultaneously are driven by both psychology and economics," writes Daniel. The special report specifically looks at the difficulties encountered in predicting...

Sarine Technologies Ltd announced it has entered into an agreement with Clara Diamond Solutions Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucara Diamond Corp. to roll out a digital rough diamond spot sales platform. The rough diamond industry handles some $14 billion worth of stones annually. An estimated 90 percent of diamonds are sold in "boxes", typically to pre-approved major polishers, who may or may not also be major retailers. Buyers or Sightholders are allocated these boxes of rough diamonds and sell the stones they do not want into the secondary market by way of brokers. Sometimes the Sightholders get many stones that closely match their actual current needs, but sometimes just a few and need to buy more in the secondary market themselves. Ultimately what Clara is proposing is that buyers don...

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) India plans to conduct gemological and professional development seminars across India to strengthen its alumni network, said GIA Managing Director for India & the Middle East Nirupa Bhatt. Bhatt was commenting on the strong response to a ‘meet-and-greet’ event that was hosted at the GIA booth during the recently-concluded India International Jewellery Show (IIJS). She noted, “I’m excited that this event has received participation in great numbers from all parts of India. Many alumni expressed the value of GIA credentials and how they add recognition and credibility to their careers and businesses.” She added, “The success of the event is...

CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, has paid tribute to Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), who died in Switzerland on August 18 at age 80.  Anan formulated the eight international development goals that were codified in the UN Millennium Declaration that later morphed into the Sustainable Development Goals. CIBJO represents the global gem and jewellery industry at the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) in working toward achieving these objectives. CIBJO also joined the UN Global Compact, which is a United Nations initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation that was first proposed by Annan at the World...

ALROSA announced it will hold an auction for the sale of special size rough diamonds (weighing over 10.8 carats) in Israel between August 19 and September 6. The company will auction 202 gem-quality rough diamonds with the total weight of 3,165 carats. About 100 companies from Israel, Belgium, India, Hong Kong and Russia were invited to participate in the auction. Evgeny Agureev, Director of ALROSA’s sales arm, the United Selling Organisation (USO), observed, ”The end of summer is traditionally a good time for auctions — the demand for rough diamonds is growing. It is also great for Israel, where our goods are always in demand and most local companies specialise in large-size rough diamonds.”  Agureev added that considering all these factors, ALROSA had changed its plans and increased the...

ALROSA has tested a system for payment in Russian rubles for its overseas rough diamond clients. The trial involved clients from China and India and ALROSA is evaluating the system to see whether it could be implemented in future. The trial involved both auction sales as well as long-term-contract clients. A Chinese company that successfully bid for some rough diamonds at the ALROSA special size (+10.8 carats) rough auction in Hong Kong, paid for them in rubles through the Russian VTB bank branch in Shanghai. An Indian long-term-contract client paid for a scheduled rough diamond sale under contract by transferring rubles from its account in another Russian bank into ALROSA’s account.  According to Evgeny Agureev, Director of the United Selling Organisation, ALROSA’s sales arm, payment...