Art, Diamonds, Watches, Collectibles etc.

[winston]

Rare Petra diamond may be destined for China buyer

* Sale price underlines strength of market for rare stones

By David Brough

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters Life!) - A 507-carat rough diamond which sold to a Hong Kong jewellery company for a world record $35.3 million on Friday could yield a large, unblemished polished gemstone for a super-wealthy Chinese collector.

Miner Petra Diamonds (PDL.L) sold the Cullinan Heritage diamond on tender in South Africa to Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited in Hong Kong, for the highest sale price ever achieved for a rough diamond.

The stone by far exceeded its pre-sale estimate, underlining the strength of the market for magnificent diamonds. Analysts had expected the stone, one of the biggest high-quality rough diamonds ever found, to command about $25 million.

"It's a very special gem. It will surely go to some form of jewellery," said Adonis Pouroulis, chairman of Petra.

"There was huge interest in the stone. A stone like this doesn't come around very often," he told Reuters.

The gemstone, recovered from Petra's Cullinan mine in South Africa, the origin of some of the world's most important diamonds, is the 19th largest gem diamond ever discovered.

CHINESE MARKET GROWING FAST

Jewellers said Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company will likely find a buyer in China, one of the world's largest and fastest growing diamond markets.

"The next big market for rare diamonds will be China," said Marwan Chatila, owner of Chatila, a leading fine jeweller in London's exclusive Bond Street jewellery hub, which had been one of the bidders for the Cullinan Heritage.

"If the Chinese boom has legs, it will become very hard to find such diamonds. They will be sold there."

The Cullinan Heritage has potential to yield an exquisite, "D-flawless" clear polished stone of 170-180 carats, he said.

The finished stone would be far more valuable than the rough diamond.

Pouroulis said there had been no doubt that such a rare rough stone would sell for an exceptional price, even during an economic downturn.

"It's like a Van Gogh painting. It will always sell."

Marijan Dundek, a leading authority on gemstones who recently published a new edition of his book entitled "Diamonds", told Reuters that the rough stone could undergo months of examination to test its clarity.

"The key factors will be the clarity and whether there are any inclusions, and on this basis a decision will be made on how to cut the stone," he said.

AIM-listed Petra found the gem last September at its 74 percent owned Cullinan mine in South Africa, which it bought from the world's largest diamond producer De Beers in 2007.

The Cullinan mine has been the source of many large diamonds, including the world's largest rough diamond -- the Cullinan -- at 3,106 carats. That gem was cut into the Star of Africa stones that are now set in Britain's Crown Jewels.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6 ... arketsNews

[winston]

Diamonds aren't forever? De Beers to cut supply By William MacNamara, FT.com
April 26, 2010 -- Updated 0258 GMT (1058 HKT)

(FT) -- De Beers believes that the supply of diamonds is running out over the long term, prompting the world's biggest miner of the gems to reduce production in an attempt to extend the life of its mines.

Assuming the move moderated production, rough diamond prices could rise by at least 5 per cent per year for the next five years, said Des Kilalea, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

De Beers' move, which will see production plateau at about 40m carats a year from 2011 compared with 2008 production of 48m carats, anticipates new Asian demand accelerating the depletion of the world's existing diamond mines, said Gareth Penny, managing director.

For 20 years the industry has found no new diamond deposit to match De Beers' two biggest mines in Africa or the best Russian mines of Alrosa, the other big diamond producer.

"Do we want to ramp production back up to 48m carats, given the lack of availability in the future?" Mr Penny asked. "Diamonds are a treasure of nature that should be properly protected, because there will be less to sell. The reality is that supply cannot keep up, and that will become very accentuated over the next 15 years."

De Beers, while no longer a cartel, accounts for 40 per cent of global rough diamond sales. After a brutal year for the industry, which pushed De Beers to a net loss for 2009, the company stands to gain over the next five years from what Mr Penny calls "a natural supply-demand imbalance".

Diamond analysts also read the move as a precursor to the privately held group relisting, because it improves its production profile over the long term. "If the De Beers shareholders are planning to go public next year, this might be timed with the beginning of the renewed growth of consumer demand," said Chaim Even-Zohar, a Tel Aviv diamond consultant, who says?De Beers is certain to relist.

China's affluent urbanites are buying diamonds in droves and the country's share of the diamond jewellery market should double to 16 per cent by 2016, De Beers said. The company has emerged from the downturn with a halved cost base and a new strategy centring on protecting the value of diamonds.

"We are not seeking to manipulate anything," Mr Penny said. "But there is a natural supply-demand imbalance that is leading to certain realities."

World rough diamond production last year was 124m carats, according to Mr Even-Zohar.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/04 ... index.html

[kennynah]

i am not sure of the movie about Blood Diamond had discouraged purchases ??

does your wife/girlfriend consider if those diamonds they are buying are fueling civil wars and atrocities in africa?

[winston]

Richard Russell: This is the most portable form of concentrated wealth
From Richard Russell in Dow Theory Letters:

As subscribers that have been with me for a while know, I've advised buying gem-quality diamonds. Why? Diamonds are the most portable form of concentrated wealth. You can cross any border with a 15-carat stone, worth over a million dollars, something you surely can't do with gold (Have you ever tried to lift half a million dollars worth of gold? Good luck ...).

... Large diamonds are expected to increase in price about 25% to 50% over the next five years. Diamond values have changed over the years because of the Rapaport grading tables.

You can now present a diamond to a knowledgeable dealer, and he can give you a legitimate price for your stone in a matter of minutes. Diamonds and gold, the new intrinsic monies. Part of the new measures of eternal wealth.

[winston]

Mugabe: Diamonds can revive Zimbabwean economy

Zimbabwe's massive diamond reserves can revive nation's shattered economy, says Mugabe

Staff
AP News

Jul 13, 2010 07:33 EDT

Zimbabwe's president says his nation will sell its massive stores of diamonds despite not receiving authorization from the world's diamond control body.

A defiant President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday told lawmakers diamond sales have "huge potential" to revive the shattered economy. He says Zimbabwe can account for one-fourth of the world's diamond supply.

The Kimberley Process diamond certification scheme has not authorized international sales amid allegations of killings, human rights violations and corruption in the massive diamond fields discovered in eastern Zimbabwe in 2006.

The southern African nation is rich in diamonds and other natural resources. But critics of Mugabe say his economic policies have contributed to precipitous economic decline.

Source: AP News

[kennynah]

better dont end up funding their warlords to massacre the population

[iam802]

Reminds me of the movie 'Blood Diamond'

[tonylim]

My mum subscribed this collection in 1980 from Hallmark Replicas Limited thru Chartered Bank.
Total 25 pieces , struck in solid sterling silver and gilded with pure gold.
Is there anyway to find out the market value of this collection ?
Many thanks in advance for kind advice.

[kennynah]

Since we now hv no Estate Tax, u might wish to consider inheriting these?

[LenaHuat]

Hi Tony
Try ebay, both the local and international sites. Lots of BE collections for auction. I use ebay to check prices out pretty often.