Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - Residents living near a diamond mine in Sierra Leone are seeking $288m in damages for illnesses allegedly caused by air and water pollution.

They are seeking a freezing order on assets belonging to Guernsey-registered Octea, a subsidiary of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources, which is now in administration.

An affidavit filed at Sierra Leone's High Court claim 73 plaintiffs, all living within 500 metres of the mine, have suffered respiratory infections and headaches which they blame on the company's mining activities, according to Reuters news agency.

Mr Steinmetz (pictured) became a major player in the country's diamond industry after the end of its bloody 11-year civil war in 2002.

Local people have also claimed their livelihoods have been destroyed, and they have been forcefully removed from their traditional homes without adequate compensation.

In March of this year, Brazilian mining giant Vale secured a court order against Mr Steinmetz, five executives who worked for BSGR, and two connected entities in a separate legal action.

It requires them not to dispose of or reduce the value of assets worth $1.85bn, including a Benetti motor yacht and two Bombardier aircraft....

(IDEX Online) - Tiffany has lost the latest round of its seven-year trademark battle with the warehouse club giant Costco.

The New York-based jeweler has been challenging its sale of generic diamond engagement rings bearing the "Tiffany" name.

Tiffany & Co was awarded $21m in damages in 2013 after a US district judge ruled that Costco had acted in bad faith by using its name to describe setting style of the rings it sold, in an attempt to mislead consumers.

   

But on Monday a federal appeals court in Manhattan overturned that ruling by 3-0, arguing that customers were unlikely to be confused by the use of the name and would not believe the rings were actually endorsed by Tiffany.

The 183-year-old jeweler said afterwards that it would pursue the case and was confident of victory in the end. 

"We have no qualms about trying this case again and remain confident that a jury will find counterfeiting and infringement upon retrial, just as the district court judge originally ruled," said Leigh Harlan, Tiffany senior vice president, secretary and general counsel, according to the Reuters news agency.

Costco declined to comment.

Pic shows a Tiffany & Co engagement ring...

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