Diamond Club West Coast (DCWC) has unveiled its new leadership team, with Kalpesh Jhaveri taking over as president. He succeeds Moshe Salem.

The new executive board also comprises Antranig Ayvazian, vice president; Mervyn Hahn, vice president; Lisa Wiener, secretary; and Sean Gamliel, treasurer.

“We are proud to announce our newly elected board of directors who are committed to guiding DCWC towards further growth and success in the diamond industry,” the Los Angeles-based trade body said Friday. “Their diverse backgrounds and expertise will enable them to address challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and drive innovation within the organization.”

The new board of directors consists of:

Doron Auslander

Hala Alam

Sam Barkati

Stanley Horowitz

Tanya Parikh

Sina Partownavid

Ruth Raviv

Vipul Udani

Jack Weir

Ramin Zar

Image: Inside the DCWC’s new premises in Los Angeles. (DCWC)

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De Beers has rebuffed allegations in the media that it sold Russian diamonds in breach of US sanctions.

On Thursday, luxury publication Glitz.Paris reported that De Beers had “sold stones of Russian origin in the US” last year. It also claimed the company “bought diamonds in 2022 from the Russian firm Alrosa via an Israeli company.” Over the weekend, Botswana newspaper Sunday Standard cited the allegations in a front-page story.

“Let us be clear — this allegation is not true,” De Beers said in a statement Sunday. “De Beers only sources diamonds discovered in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa, or from select companies that adhere to our strict and third-party audited sourcing policy. Following the start of the war, we removed Russia from our third-party sourcing list. We do not source diamonds from Russia.”

The “shady deals” threaten to “taint Botswana diamonds” and might affect ongoing negotiations between De Beers and the Botswana government, Sunday Standard asserted.

De Beers’ Forevermark consumer brand “conducted at least 120 transactions of Russian diamonds with customers in which the stones were destined for the US market,” Sunday Standard reported, citing the paywalled Glitz.Paris article. These stones ranged from 0.19 to 0.27 carats, had VS1 clarity, and carried insurance valuations of $227,000 to $366,000, the newspaper continued.

De Beers signed “several contracts” with Alrosa, Russia’s partially state-owned diamond miner, in recent years, with three of them dated February 21, 22 and 23, 2022, according to the same report. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 — the same day the US sanctions went into effect. It’s unclear if the reports were alleging any deals took place after this date.

Some of the alleged purchases were via Israel-based diamond manufacturer and De Beers sightholder Dalumi Group, the report claimed — a fact that Dalumi also denied.

“Dalumi Group ceased buying Russian diamonds from Alrosa on February 22, 2022,” Dalumi managing director Rafi Yerushalmi said in a statement to Rapaport News on Sunday. “Furthermore, Dalumi Group confirms that it has never sold Russian polished to the De Beers Group.”

The claims raise the stakes in the De Beers-Botswana negotiations, according to Sunday Standard, since the government has demanded that the country’s diamonds be marketed separately from De Beers aggregated goods as “Botswana diamonds.” At present, the bulk of rough coming from De Beers’ mines in Africa and Canada goes through aggregation before reaching the market.

“It is no secret that we have been the subject of a number of headlines in Botswana over the past several months,” De Beers said in its statement on Sunday. “While those stories were distortions, this particular story is dangerous. Beyond De Beers, it suggests to consumers that the natural diamonds they buy, a significant percentage of which come from Botswana, are tainted. This is not true, but in an attempt to discredit De Beers, the article risks damaging much more.”

On March 11, 2022, following the US’s ban on imports of Russian diamonds, De Beers released a statement saying that “every diamond that De Beers Group sells is discovered at one of our mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia or South Africa.”

The current version of that statement on the De Beers website reads: “Every diamond discovered by De Beers Group comes from one of our mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia or South Africa.” A note accompanying it says that the wording was “amended for accuracy” on March 23, 2022.

While De Beers only sells rough from its own mines, it sources diamonds from third parties for Forevermark and De Beers Jewellers, its consumer brands.

This is not the first time De Beers has moved to refute reports about it in Botswana. In November 2022, it denied a Sunday Standard article saying the government might “ditch” the mining company. 

Image: A diamond engagement ring at a De Beers Forevermark store in Gaborone, Botswana. (Ben Perry/Armoury Films/De Beers)

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Former Stuller executive Stanley Zale has taken on the role of principal consultant at Hill & Co.

Zale left his position as vice president for diamond and gemstone procurement at Stuller earlier this month following 17 years there. He is the first male addition to the Hill & Co. team.

“Last year saw a marked increase in the number of diamond businesses joining the Hill & Co. client list,” said Hill & Co. CEO Elle Hill. “Adding the deep industry expertise, network, and savvy that Stanley brings to the table to our existing SWAT [special weapons attack team]…of innovators and experienced specialists in strategy, execution planning, technology, operations, marketing and client acquisition will benefit all our clients.”

Hill & Co. creates and implements growth strategies for the diamond, gemstone and jewelry industry.

Image: Stanley Zale. (Hill & Co.)

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Lisa Bridge, CEO of Ben Bridge Jeweler, will serve a second consecutive one-year term as president of the board of directors for the American Gem Society (AGS).

The organization announced Bridge as the head for the 2023 to 2024 term at the organization’s annual Conclave in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this month, it said in a recent statement. Bridge has had a spot on AGS’s board for the past 11 years.

Alexis Padis, president of Padis Jewelry, will again take over as president-elect, while Bryan Moeller, manager of R.F. Moeller Jeweler, will continue to serve as secretary.

Other members of the executive committee announced at the Conclave also remained the same as the prior year. They include William Farmer, Jr., as senior adviser; Larry Rickert as treasurer and chair for the finance, audit and legal committee; John Carter as chair of the AGS laboratories advisory committee and the gemological sciences committee; and Maria Brown as chair of the Young Titleholders Committee.

The one new addition to the board is David Mazer, who was elected as a director-at-large. Mazer works as director of sales and training and as a diamond buyer for Marks Jewelers in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.

Image: Lisa Bridge. (PRNewsfoto/Ben Bridge Jeweler)

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An Art Deco pendant by Cartier fetched $100,800 at Hindman’s May 16 Important Jewelry auction, achieving five times its high estimate.

The carved jade, diamond and multi-gem pendant depicting a carp swimming below large lotus leaves was the number-three lot of the sale. It was one of several Cartier jewels that achieved strong results, the auction house said.

The piece wasn’t dated, but it was made at a time “when members of the Cartier family were traveling to Asia gathering stones and creating rare objects like this with carved gems,” said Sally Klarr, director and senior specialist of Hindman’s jewelry and watches department.

The sale of 350 lots at Hindman’s Chicago saleroom achieved just under $3.7 million, with 67% selling within or above estimates.

The auction’s top item was a cushion brilliant cut, 5.02-carat diamond with D color and VS2 clarity mounted on a platinum ring. It fetched $163,800, within its expected range.

This was followed by an unheated Burmese ruby of undetermined weight mounted on a platinum ring that sold for $138,600, more than double its high estimate. The number-four lot was an oval mixed cut, 2.65-carat unheated Kashmir sapphire surrounded by diamonds and mounted on a platinum ring. It brought in $94,500 against a high estimate of $35,000.

Another Cartier jewel was an Art Deco platinum and diamond bracelet that beat estimates to realize $59,850. Meanwhile, a Cartier London Retro aquamarine bangle bracelet fetched $22,680, nearly double its upper price.

A unique plique-à-jour enamel, diamond and cultured pearl Iris brooch by award-winning jewelry designer Evelyn Clothier achieved $20,160, more than double its high estimate. It was one of 10 Clothier pieces Hindman offered in the auction.

Correction, May 23, 2023: The auction achieved just under $3.7 million, and not more than $3.7 million, as incorrectly stated in an earlier version of this article.

Image (left to right): The Cartier Art Deco pendant, the ring featuring a 5.02-carat diamond, and the Evelyn Clothier brooch. (Hindman)

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Belit Myers, who has served in a number of management positions at Stuller since 2002, has been promoted to chief operating officer of the jewelry manufacturer.

In her new role, she will be responsible for leading Stuller’s technology, pricing and product-data teams as the company further integrates technology throughout its operations.

Myers is one of several promotions by the Lafayette, Louisiana-based company that, it said, reinforce its strength through long-term management stability.

The other promotions are as follows:

Coby Blanchard has been appointed chief supply-chain officer, where he will oversee Stuller’s international and domestic manufacturing and distribution teams. Blanchard has been with the company since 1994.

The company has named Taylor Burgess as its chief customer officer, responsible for leading the customer-experience, sales and marketing teams. Burgess began her career at Stuller in 2013.

Tiffanie Ortis has been made vice president of global supply chain. Ortis, who joined the jeweler in 2007, will head Stuller’s procurement teams, including diamonds and gemstones.

These managers have accrued more than 100 years of combined experience within the company, said Matt Stuller, founder and chairman.

Image (clockwise from top left): Belit Myers, Coby Blanchard, Tiffanie Ortis, and Taylor Burgess. (Stuller)

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The Group of Seven (G7) nations have pledged to focus on keeping Russian diamonds out of the market, while the UK will ban them completely.

“In order to reduce the revenues that Russia extracts from the export of diamonds, we will continue to work closely together to restrict trade in and use of diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia,” leaders of the bloc said Friday in a statement on the White House government website, following a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan.

They will also “engage with key partners with the aim of ensuring effective implementation of future coordinated restrictive measures, including through tracing technologies,” the statement continued.

The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, as well as the European Union (EU). Many of those introduced their own measures after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. For instance, the US imposed sanctions on diamonds coming directly from Russia, but rough cut and polished in places such as India or Belgium technically remains legal.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak further announced that the nation would ban all Russian diamonds, as well as imports of copper, aluminum and nickel. The UK had previously instituted sanctions against Russia, including doing business with Alrosa, the country’s largest diamond miner, and increased import duties by 35 percentage points on a range of precious and semiprecious stones and metals.

“As today’s sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia,” Sunak noted. “The UK has already taken a lead on action on Russian diamonds…. Today’s announcement goes further…. Sanctions imposed on Russia by the UK and our G7 partners are having a clear and progressive impact in degrading [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war effort.”

Meanwhile, the EU, which has yet to impose a ban on the import of Russian diamonds, may be headed for that in the next few days, according to a CNN report.

Russian diamond exports totaled $4 billion in 2021, the UK government said.

Image: Diamond sorting. (Alrosa)

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Sarine Technologies saw revenue decline in the first quarter as economic uncertainty weighed on US consumer confidence and sentiment in the trade.

“The negative macroeconomic environment, driven by as-yet-untamed inflation and dramatically increasing interest rates, continues to take its toll on consumer confidence in the US, the key global market for diamond jewelry,” the provider of technology services to the diamond trade explained in a trading update.

Revenue fell to $11.5 million during the first three months of the year, down 12% from the preceding fourth quarter, the company reported Tuesday. Sarine had revenue of $15.6 million in the comparable first quarter of 2022.

Teething issues relating to the recently launched Meteorite Plus model of its Galaxy inclusion-mapping systems also contributed to the drop, resulting in just six Galaxy machines being delivered during the period. Sarine expects demand for its Galaxy products to rebound once the issues with the Meteorite Plus model have been resolved. Trade-related revenues were up 12% compared to the fourth quarter, despite a drop in digital tender-related revenues resulting from the decrease in rough-diamond supply. 

Group net profit was $800,000, down from around $3.4 million reported a year earlier.

Sarine expects negative macroeconomic conditions to continue to affect its business in 2023. The company noted, however, that it is well-positioned to capitalize on the drive to show traceability across the diamond supply chain, with the International Group of 7 (G7) nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US — calling for implementation of such systems to prevent sanctioned Russian diamonds from entering the market.

Image: Graphic displaying data transfer. (Sarine)

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US private-equity firm Blackstone is on the verge of acquiring the International Gemological Institute (IGI) for up to $550 million, according to a report in the Indian press.

The investment group is expected to sign a binding agreement with sellers Fosun International and IGI’s other shareholders soon, The Economic Times said Thursday, citing two anonymous sources. This could be as early as this weekend, the newspaper added.

The proposed deal’s enterprise value — which includes debt — is $500 million to $550 million, according to the report.

Headquartered in Antwerp, IGI operates 20 laboratories and 15 gemology schools around the world. China’s Fosun has owned 80% of the organization since acquiring the stake for $108.8 million from shareholders Roland Lorie and Marc Brauner in 2018. The Lorie family, which founded IGI, still holds the remaining 20%.

Blackstone told Rapaport News it could not comment on “live deals.” Fosun and Lorie were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Image: Jewelry grading at IGI. (IGI)

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Harry Levy, the former president and honorary life chairman of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB), has died at the age of 83, the exchange’s management announced Tuesday.

Levy was an LDB member for 57 years, having joined when he was 26. His stints as either president, vice president or chairman of the bourse covered more than 10 years.

“Harry was a truly all-round wonderful person, and he will be sorely missed by those that were fortunate enough to have known him,” said Alan Cohen, the LDB’s current president.

He was born Hanukkah Levy in Turkey in 1939 into a Persian-Jewish family and arrived in Britain as a young boy, according to a statement by the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO). Levy gained a master’s degree in mathematics and lectured in the subject while also dabbling in the gemstone trade, in which his family was involved.

He left academia to found Levy Gems in London, which became a respected company in the city’s Hatton Garden diamond district. He also held a degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).

Levy made a broad contribution to the industry. He served on the executive committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), chaired the British Jewellers Association, and was the president of Gem-A.

He was also active at CIBJO, where he was president and later vice president of its diamond commission. One of his main achievements came in 2015, when he oversaw the creation of the first set of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) guidelines for the diamond industry.

“Harry embodied the very best of CIBJO,” said CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri. “He was a true gentleman, soft-spoken, gentle, polite, and with an iron-clad moral compass. He also was completely dedicated to the mission of creating harmonized standards for our industry, combining the intellectual excellence of a true academic and the realism of an individual who earned his living as a gem trader.”

Image: Harry Levy. (London Diamond Bourse)

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