The R&M “Lettre”

Press release – US$545 Million (provisional)

Lucara Diamond Corp. has recovered an unbroken 549-carat white diamond that it says is of “exceptional purity.” The stone was recovered from the Karowe diamond mine in Botswana.

Gem Diamonds has recovered a white diamond weighing 183 carats at its Letšeng mine in Lesotho, the first stone over 100 carats the miner has found this year.

Graff-owned diamond manufacturer Safdico will cut and polish a portion of rough from the Lulo mine through a partnership with Lucapa Diamond Company.

De Beers’ rough diamond output eased 13% to 30,8 million carats in 2019 compared with 35,3 million carats in 2018, according to Anglo American.

 De Beers plans to abandon its practice of using sightholders’ purchase history as the main factor in determining how it allocates rough supply, sources have told Rapaport News.

Lucara Diamond Corp. has sold Botswana’s largest diamond to Louis Vuitton in a rare move that will see the fashion house partner with an Antwerp manufacturer to polish the stone.

The UK has secured independent membership of the Kimberley Process (KP), enabling it to continue participating in the international rough-diamond trade after the nation leaves the European Union.

Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 117-carat, gem-quality diamond from its Lulo alluvial mine in Angola.

Rio Tinto expects a decline in diamond production in 2020 as it reduces output at its Argyle mine in Australia, which is set to close in the fourth quarter.

Press release – Graff Diamonds, the world-renowned hi-end jewelry brand, has acquired the Firebird 20.7 ct diamond from ALROSA. The parties do not disclose the transaction details, but note that it achieved one of the highest prices per carat for such a stones in recent years.

After six years of development, production is due to begin at Alrosa’s Luaxe diamond deposit in Angola next year, the nation’s government said.