Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - Alrosa says it will not lower its forecast production of up to 35m carats this year - despite sanctions and banking restrictions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.

It also said plans to re-open the Mir mine, where a flooding accident claimed eight lives in 2017, were still under consideration.

The Russian miner, part-owned by the government, said it was on course to meet H1 2022 guidance and had no plans to lower its guidance for H2. Total production for the year is forecast at 34m to 35m carats.

"I think we are on track and so far, despite certain difficulties, we are working exactly according to plan in the first half of the year, somewhere in this range," said Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov, according to the independent Russian news agency Interfax.

"Interest in our products is high. New companies are emerging that are now interested in tapping the niche left [after the departure of some customers]."

He also said the Aikhal mine and Zarnitsa pipe, which were mothballed or scaled down during the pandemic, are now running at full capacity. 

"We are trying to maximize production based on current market conditions. We are not reducing productivity anywhere," he added.

Mr Ivanov also said there had been a positive feasibility study into reopening Mir - which had been producing 3.8m carats a year before the tragedy.

Alrosa declined to comment....

(IDEX Online) - A limited-edition Patek Philippe^[1] watch that was launched with a $35,893 price tag last April is now selling for up to $551,700.

Demand for the rare, olive green-dialed variant of the Nautilus^[2] 5711/1A model has been so intense that buyers are prepared to pay more than 1,400 per cent over the odds on the secondary market.

The market monitor Watch Charts^[3] currently reports $442,000 as a good price for the watch, but says buyers are prepared to fork out as much as $551,700.

The same watch, Nautilus^[4] 5711/1A, is available on secondary markets in other colors for a fraction of the price, around $140,000.

Patek Philippe president Thierry Stern said when the green-dial version was launched that it was in such short supply he couldn't even spare one for his son.....

In this week's recap, Lance Roberts and Adam discuss the continued lumps the markets took this week, including the sharp sell-off in oil stocks. They debate where markets are headed from here, and cautions investors that -- even though inflation is an understandable immediate concern -- there are so many multiplying examples of demand destruction that disinflation/deflation may be the bigger risk to worry about over the coming year.

The US dollar has skyrocketed in a monster rally this year, fueled by the Fed’s extreme hawkish pivot. Panicking over raging inflation, top Fed officials are aggressively hiking rates and starting to reverse years of epic monetary excesses. But resulting overcrowded dollar buying has left it extraordinarily overbought at precarious heights. As this lofty currency inevitably mean reverts lower, big gold-futures buying will be unleashed.