MANGALORE: The Francis Alukkas jewellery showroom, which promises lowest making charges and special discounts for wedding purchases, will open at City Centre Mall on K.S. Rao Road on Monday.

In a press release, the company said the new showroom will offer innovative designs in 100 per cent pure BIS 916 Hallmarked gold.

Besides offering making charges at 4 per cent, the showroom has come out with an inaugural offer of 100 pendants in 100 hours wherein a lucky draw winner will get diamond pendant estimated at Rs. 7,999.

> continue reading "Free certification for diamond jewellery"

India and Belgium want to diversify their trade ties — currently dominated by diamonds — in sectors like IT, energy and infrastructure development, a senior official said yesterday.

Brussels: India and Belgium want to diversify their trade ties — currently dominated by diamonds — in sectors like IT, energy and infrastructure development, a senior official said yesterday.

> continue reading "India, Belgium trade to go beyond diamonds"

Harare — GRACE Mugabe has been fingered as one of the principal beneficiaries of illegal Marange diamond sales, which have been described as one of the dirtiest.

According to the latest cable releases by whistleblower website, Wikileaks, diamonds sales have enriched those close to President Robert Mugabe including his wife Grace, who is said to have reaped “tremendous profits”.

The cable detailed allegations that Gono was making thousands of dollars a month from diamond dealing, with money being funneled to Mugabe’s wife and sister and to top members of the Zanu-PF party.

> continue reading "Zimbabwe: First Lady, Gono in Diamond Scandal - Wikileaks"

Two of the world’s largest diamonds sit quietly on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum as part of Bloomberg Link’s Hedge Fund. The two diamonds are being called Yin and Yang by their famous cutters, Steinmetz Diamonds. They are identical twins, each of them having been privy to the exact same cut and treatment as the other. The diamonds, pictured on the left resting on either side of a 2 carat diamond for comparison, were discovered in South Africa and each weighed an incredible 100 carats before being cut. Today, the round brilliant cut stones weigh in at 35.61 and 35.77 carats respectively. They are impeccable stones; each of them having been awarded the highest diamond color grade, D, making them perfectly colorless gems.

> continue reading "On the Market: World’s Largest Pair of Twin Diamonds"

Less than a decade ago before malls took over Delhi , the only market you could hope to find trendy clothes, jewellery and make-up in, was the Greater Kailash-I, M-Block Market. Despite the noxious generator fumes pouring into narrow passageways, I remember trudging through an endless array of basement shops that sold everything from Goth make-up to maternity wear. At one time the most expensive commercial real estate in Delhi , M-Block still draws in the crowds, though it’s advisable to carry an oxygen mask if you plan to spend time there. However, it no longer attracts teenagers in search of cool accessories; instead, it’s become a destination for serious jewellery shoppers.

> continue reading "Crystal Couture"

An Ottawa woman faces 15 charges after the Canada Border Services Agency, Ottawa police and the RCMP shut down a fraudulent jewelry business.

In February 2008, the CBSA intercepted a shipment from China with more than 100 pieces of undeclared jewelry. The CBSA officers later determined that shipments had entered Canada on several other occasions.

An investigation found that the suspect and a network of sales associates were selling the jewelry through parties at private residences, businesses, the Internet and local shopping mall kiosks.

> continue reading "Jewel fraud bust nets charges"

Africa-focused Riversdale Mining surged nearly 16% on the ASX on Monday, after the miner confirmed that it was in discussions with Rio Tinto regarding a possible A$3,5-billion takeover transaction.

Riversdale, which owns coking coal projects in Mozambique, received a A$15-a-share approach from Rio Tinto, chairperson Michael O’Keeffe said in a statement.

He added that these discussions were undertaken in confidence, and that Rio had advised that it was not in a position to submit a firm proposal.

> continue reading "Rio Tinto in talks over A$3,5bn Riversdale Mining takeover"

“As the world moves into a new era post the crisis, there are many aspects that have changed fundamentally. Key to this is the shift in focus. While the U.S. still remains a large diamond jewelry consuming centre, there can be no doubt that India and China are the centers of the future for the diamond industry on all fronts,” said former GJEPC Chairman Vasant Mehta at the 2010 China Diamond Conference in Shanghai.

Mehta discussed how India attained a leadership role, noting the country’s technological capabilities, labor force and how government aid helped it establish itself as a global jewelry hub.

> continue reading "Vasant Mehta: India and China are the Future"

Israel’s Sarin Technologies, which develops, manufactures and sells precision technology for use in the global diamond industry, has acquired Light Performance Technology from Overseas Diamonds Technologies.

Light Performance Technology (LPT) provides a method to measure a polished diamond’s appearance based on the diamond’s light performance characteristics: brilliance, fire, scintillation/sparkle, and symmetry. The LPT will also provide a report on each diamond evaluated.

> continue reading "Sarin Acquires Light Performance Technology for Measuring Diamonds’ Brilliance"

The combination of a tough economy and increasing gold prices makes selling old jewelry attractive to many

An elderly lady walked into a Jewelry Warehouse store in Lexington County recently wanting to sell her gold jewelry. She left with $3,000 in her pocket, according to store manager Scott Satterfield.

“She said she was buying $500 worth of medicine every month,” Satterfield said, recalling the story the woman had told him. “’I can buy six months of medicine now,’” she said.

The U.S. economy is still a tough go for a lot of people.

And gold?

> continue reading "Price of gold makes selling jewelry profitable"