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Rapaport TradeWire October 13, 2016
Oct 13, 2016 6:00 PM
By Rapaport
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Rapaport Weekly Market Comment
October 13, 2016
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Trading centers quiet
over Jewish holidays. U.S. stable with good demand for H-K, SI-I1’s before
Christmas selling season. Indian buyers looking for deals with rising
expectations for Diwali sales after good monsoon season and lower rupee gold
prices (-5%). LVMH 3Q jewelry & watch revenue +2% to $966M. U.S. Aug. net
polished imports -1% to $240M. Belgium Sep. polished exports -11% to $1.2B,
rough imports +39% to $1.2B. DPA launches generic advertising videos targeting
millennials. Rapaport offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday (Oct 17-18)
and the Rapaport Price List will not be published next week (Oct. 21) due to
Jewish holiday of Succot.
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Diamonds |
1,266,599 |
Value |
$7,963,703,562 |
Carats |
1,341,918 |
Average Discount |
-30.47% |
www.rapnet.com
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The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) is the average asking price in hundred $/ct. of the 10 percent best priced diamonds, for each of the top 25 quality round diamonds (D-H, IF-VS2, GIA-graded, RapSpec-A3 and better) offered for sale on RapNet - Rapaport Diamond Trading Network. |
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Get Current Price List | Subscribe to Rapaport | Join RapNet |
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Maybe we won’t ever get married and maybe we will, but I will spend my future with you.
The line from the DPA's generic marketing video advertisement sums up how it is presenting diamonds to millennials.
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MARKETS
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United
States: Trading sentiment
improves for holiday season as DPA launches unconventional video ads
focused on millennials who think differently about diamonds and relationships…
Belgium:
Trading quiet over
Jewish holiday period. Dealers focused on filling U.S. pre-season orders…
Israel:
Short week in Israel due
to Yom Kippur holiday. Bourse to close Sunday and Monday (Oct. 16-17) with
half-day services over rest of the Succot holiday…
India: Market slow with dealers
already in festive mode after auspicious Dussehra holiday on Tuesday (Oct. 11).
Very few foreign buyers in Mumbai during Jewish holiday period…
Hong
Kong: Polished market stable but
few buyers from trading centers. Steady demand for 0.30 to 0.50 ct., G-J, VS-SI
diamonds…
Click here for deeper analysis
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FIVE-MINUTE INTERVIEW
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An Industry Perspective
Rapaport’s Avi Krawitz spoke with newly appointed De Beers
CEO Bruce Cleaver at the recent Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. Cleaver maintains
short-term caution for the diamond market but outlines some burgeoning
opportunities.
Click here to read the interview |
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INDUSTRY
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DPA Campaign Focuses on Imperfect Relationships
The
Diamond Producers Association (DPA) launched an advertising campaign that
breaks with tradition by featuring imperfect relationships and emphasizing
“real” and “precious” human connections. The group released two “provocative”
video commercials telling the story of couples on life journeys together as it
aims to connect with millennials. In contrast with traditional diamond
advertising, which often featured glamorous, perfect models, the ads portray
the lives of real people and the warts and blemishes of their relationships.
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U.S. Polished Imports Rise
U.S.
polished diamond imports jumped to the highest level seen in the seasonally slow
month of August in three years. Inbound shipments of polished rose 2.4% to
$1.66 billion. Polished
imports by weight grew 4% to 906,469 carats, while the average price declined
1.5% to $1,833 per carat. Polished
diamond exports, meanwhile, increased 3% to $1.38 billion, driving net imports
down 0.7% to $280 million.
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U.S. Jewelry Industry Returns to Myanmar
Representatives
of the U.S. gem and jewelry industry made their first visit to Myanmar since
President Barack Obama said he will lift remaining economic sanctions.
The delegation was aimed at re-establishing lines of commerce between the two
nations. It was led by American Gem Trade Association president Jeffrey Bilgore and chief executive
officer Douglas Hucker, Jewelers of America President and CEO David Bonaparte and Jim Shigley,
a seasoned gemologist at the Gemological Institute of America.
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Belgium’s Rough Trade Soars
Belgium’s rough trading leapt in September as shipments of
uncut diamonds continued to outperform polished. Rough exports soared 61% to
$1.42 billion and rough imports surged 39% to $1.21 billion. By volume, rough
exports jumped 26% to 10.78 million carats. Net rough imports slumped to
negative $212.7 million from negative $14 million a year ago. By contrast,
polished exports slid 11% to $1.24 billion, while polished imports declined 5%
to $1.28 billion.
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RETAIL & WHOLESALE
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Sotheby's Expects $3M/ct. for Cartier Blue Diamond
A blue diamond ring will go under the hammer in Geneva next
month with an estimated price tag of $15 million to $25 million, or up to $3.1
million per carat. The square emerald-cut, 8.01-carat, fancy vivid blue
diamond, named the ‘Sky Blue Diamond,’ will headline Sotheby’s Magnificent
Jewels and Noble Jewels auction on November 16. Mounted by Cartier, the
diamond also has “excellent” polish and is a type-IIb stone.
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LVMH Watch & Jewelry Sales Rise
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s revenue from watches and
jewelry rose 3% to $2.74 billion (EUR 2.49 billion) in the first nine months of
the year as its iconic Bulgari jewelry brand gained market share. “Organic”
revenue growth, which assumes a comparable structure and constant exchange
rates, was 4%. During the third quarter, watch and jewelry sales grew 3%
to $965.8 million, representing a 2% rise in organic revenue.
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NRF Predicts U.S. Holiday Sales to Rise
U.S.
sales in the upcoming holiday season will increase amid an improvement in jobs
and income and stronger consumer sentiment, the National Retail Federation forecast. Revenue is expected to rise 3.6% to $655.8 billion year on year
in November and December, beating the 10-year growth average of 2.5%.
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Titan Warns of Stagnant Indian Jewelry Demand
India-based
Titan Company said demand was weak in the second fiscal quarter as consumers
suffered from “consumption fatigue.” The quarter that ended September 30
started off with expectations of improvement because of a “bountiful” monsoon
season. But in the end, sales of gold jewelry were sluggish even as
studded-jewelry sales beat expectations.
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MINING
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Lulo Mine Production Hits Record Levels
Lucapa Diamond Company said production from its Lulo mine in
Angola reached its highest point yet for both total output and average size in
the third quarter. The alluvial mine yielded 8,853 carats in the three months
that ended September 30 – representing a 154% jump over the same period a year
ago. The average weight of diamonds grew an impressive 62% to 1.9
carats per stone as 137 “specials” above 10.8 carats were extracted.
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Stornoway to Sell Renard Rough Ahead of Schedule
Stornoway
Diamond Corporation will hold the first sale of diamonds from its Renard mine
two months earlier than expected. The sale will start November 14 in Antwerp.
First ore from the mine in Québec, Canada, reached the diamond plant July 15,
with 111,556 carats produced by September 30. Output included 21 “special”
stones larger than 10.8 carats.
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GENERAL
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New Synthetics Detector Works on ‘All’ Jewelry
DRC
Techno launched a device for detecting synthetics which it claims is the
market’s first machine that sifts out lab-grown diamonds in all types of
jewelry. ‘J-Secure’ identifies synthetics from 0.003 carats to 10 carats. The
basic model is designed for retail stores, while the ‘J-Secure plus’ machine is
for a company’s purchase office. The equipment picks up diamonds created using
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and high pressure-high temperature (HPHT), the
two main methods for growing synthetic diamonds.
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SimplexDiam Buys All Items in JSN Liquidation Sale
SimplexDiam
purchased all the jewelry lots in the liquidation of JSN Jewellery, the
wholesale manufacturing division of Canada-based Ben Moss Jewellers. The sale
is the “largest” jewelry liquidation this year, with the goods valued at about
$4 million at wholesale cost. The company bought more than 8,500 pieces, mostly
in commercial price points below $500 at wholesale.
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ECONWATCH
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Diamond Industry Stock Report
LVMH (+4.8%) gained this past week on strong sales results,
with other Europe-based luxury stocks such as Swatch Group (+7.5%) and
Richemont (+7.3%) also strengthening. Gemfields (-7.1%) was the weakest
performer of the listed miners, many of which lost value. In the U.S., Birks
Group (-11%) headed the declines, while Charles & Colvard (+5.2%) was the
strongest performer.
View the detailed industry stock report
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Oct 13 (11:03 GMT) |
Oct 6 (12:25 GMT) |
Chng. |
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$1 = Euro |
0.91 |
0.89 |
0.01 |
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$1 = Rupee |
66.90 |
66.75 |
0.14 |
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$1 = Israel Shekel |
3.81 |
3.78 |
0.03 |
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$1 = Rand |
14.33 |
13.83 |
0.50 |
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$1 = Canadian Dollar |
1.32 |
1.32 |
0.01 |
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Precious Metals |
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Chng. |
Gold |
$1,259.17 |
$1,261.95 |
-$2.78 |
-0.2% |
Platinum |
$942.30 |
$969.75 |
-$27.45 |
-2.8% |
Silver |
$17.55 |
$17.56 |
-$0.01 |
-0.1% |
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Stock Indexes |
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Chng. |
BSE |
27,643.11 |
28,106.21 |
-463.10 |
-1.6% |
Dow Jones |
18,144.20 |
18,281.03 |
-136.83 |
-0.7% |
FTSE |
6,974.67 |
7,031.56 |
-56.89 |
-0.8% |
Hang Seng |
23,031.30 |
23,952.50 |
-921.20 |
-3.8% |
S&P 500 |
2,139.18 |
2,159.73 |
-20.55 |
-1.0% |
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INDIA MARKET REPORT
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Polished Trading Activity
Market slow with dealers
already in festive mode after auspicious Dussehra holiday on Tuesday (Oct. 11).
Very few foreign buyers in Mumbai during Jewish holiday period. Polished
inventory rising ahead of Diwali break (Nov. 1). Selective good demand with
dealers shifting to lower price points. Steady U.S. demand for 0.20 to 0.70
ct., H-K, SI-I2 diamonds. 1 ct. and larger slower. Melee improving, stars remain
weak.
Read the Polished Diamond Trading Report |
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