Lesotho diamond could be largest ever polished round diamond

A huge 478 carats diamond has been discovered in Lesotho’s Letseng mine, jointly owned by Gem Diamonds and the Lesotho government.
According to specialists, it is already the 20th largest rough diamond found, and if cut and polished, could be the largest ever polished round diamond, weighing in at 150 carats.
The famous Koh-i-Noor diamond set in [...]

Hughes to resign from AGTA GTC

Richard W. Hughes, has decided to leave his position as a Gemological Administrator at the AGTA Gemological Testing Center (AGTA GTC), effective at the end of this month.
Hughes is leaving the company for a new opportunity in Thailand. Hughes has been with AGTA since 2005.
Douglas K. Hucker, AGTA CEO, said, we wish Richard nothing [...]

Fifth Antwerp diamond conference

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has announced that the Fifth Antwerp Diamond Conference will take place in Antwerp on Monday, November 17, and Tuesday, November 18, 2008. This year’s conference will focus on the value of the diamond in all its facets.
The 2008 Antwerp Diamond Conference will specifically examine the element of value [...]

GIA Laboratory offers priority lab service to JA show atendees

The Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) New York Laboratory has announced to offer “priority laboratory services” to Jewelers of America (JA) trade show attendees during the trade show this week in New York. The JA show runs July 27 – 29, and the GIA priority laboratory services will be provided from July [...]

Dubai and Thailand to boost trade opportunities

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), has signed an agreement with the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association (TGJTA) signifying TGJTA as the first affiliate member of the Dubai Gems Club (DGC). The DGC is a strategic initiative of the DMCC’s Coloured Stones and Pears Division.
The main objective of the agreement is to boost trade opportunities [...]

GIA Jewelry Career Fair in New York

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced the agenda for the 18th GIA Jewelry Career Fair being held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City on July 25, 2008.
Over 35 companies from the jewelry industry, who are seeking employees to fill a number of available positions, are likely to attend the Career [...]

India to host Kimberley Process meeting

India is hosting the 5th Intersessional meeting of the Kimberley Process from 17 to 19 June 2008 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. India hopes that delegates from about 35 countries will be attending the meeting and participate in the various joint sessions to take stock of the progress made in implementation of Kimberley Process Certificate [...]

JCK Las Vegas event ends

The 17th Annual JCK Las Vegas event provided jewelry retailers from 72 countries with new business insights to weather the current economy, new products to reach new market segments, and future trends such as nature-inspired and green-themed designs to bring back to their stores. During the five-day Show, retailers representing virtually every market size had [...]

WGI completes consumer research

From the moment a diamond is entrusted to the World Gemological Institute (WGI) until the moment it is returned to the client with its grading results and report,it is handled and assessed with the utmost care,security and expertise by our team of highly-trained gemologists and support staff. Using state of the art [...]

OGI launches OGI X-RAY

OGI SYSTEMS Ltd. the World’s leading company in technological solutions for the diamond industry, is proud to announce its biggest inauguration advances of its revolutionary developments and inventions, that will be presented to the public during the JCK Vegas Show 2008.
These revolutionary developments are the landmark in the technological field of the Polish and [...]

Panama Diamond joins WFDB

The Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE) was accepted for membership in the World Federation of Diamond Bourses during the 33rd World Diamond Congress that concluded recently in Shanghai, China.
On the first day of the congress, PDE president Erez Akerman gave the following address to the WFDB General Assembly: “Our diamond exchange was opened in Panama [...]

GIA’s Aurora Diamond Butterfly

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has recently exhibited the famous “Aurora Butterfly of Peace” starting with a special Opening Night celebration and lecture. This piece, formerly on display at the Smithsonian Institute, is a collection of 240 natural, fancy colored diamonds in various sizes, shapes and cuts and weighs a total of 167 carats. [...]

Events at JCK Las Vegas

From May 30 - June 3, 2008, jewelry retailers from around the world will gather at JCK Las Vegas to meet with colleagues, explore the latest trends and attend some of the year’s most exciting and informative special events.
Wednesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 29 — Pre-Show Events
— The JCK Conference [...]

Jovella 2008 in Tel Aviv

Jovella 2008, the international jewelry exhibition in Tel Aviv which will be held on July 1 – 3, 2008, will feature a seminar on forecasting trends in the jewelry industry, by renowned experts Paola De Luca and Paolo Novembri of the TJF Group. The seminar, which will be open to international jewelry manufacturers, designers and [...]

IDI plans for JCK Las Vegas

The Israeli Diamond Industry plans a huge presence at the JCK Show – Las Vegas May 30 — June 3, 2008, with 62 Israeli companies participating. The major US trade show for the diamond and jewelry industry, this is one of the most important events for The Israeli Diamond Industry. The United States accounts for [...]

GIA’s historical jewelry collection

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Museum is launching a significant new campaign to build the “GIA Historical Collection,” a comprehensive assemblage of jewelry, object d’arts and gemstones from all time periods and cultures world-wide.
Elise Misiorowski, GIA Museum director said, we intend to create a wide-ranging, world-class collection that captures the essence of each period [...]

GIA elects 3 new members

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has announced the election of Jeffrey H. Fischer, James P. Shinehouse and Ephraim Zion to its Board of Governors. The new Governors will assume their duties at the next GIA Board of Governors’ meeting in New York in May, 2008.
Fischer and Zion come to GIA from significant positions within [...]

DiamonEx updates on Lerala Mine

The commissioning phase for the Lerala Mine commenced in April with full-scale production of diamonds scheduled for June 2008. First diamonds will be processed and ready for sale in July 2008 through WWW International Diamond Consultants - one of the world’s leading diamond marketing and valuation companies (WWW IDC).
Commissioning of the Mine marks the final [...]

Gem Diamonds reports annual results

by Jo Black

2007 was Gem Diamonds first financial year as a listed company. The Company’s focus for the year was the execution of its acquisition strategy outlined at the time of its IPO as well as the development of existing assets to increase production. During the year capital raised on IPO was deployed on acquisitions in Australia, [...]

GIA’s Susan elected as ACCSCT

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) today announced that Susan B. Johnson, GIA’s director of Education Administration, has been elected to a full term as a school commissioner for the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Johnson will serve as one of 13 ACCSCT commissioners through June 30, 2012.
Last year, [...]