Diamond News Archives

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested a government-gaurenteed income as a solution to some economic woes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Pelosi called the trillions of dollars in coronavirus relief spending Congress has agreed to is "stimulus." The Speaker said unemployment insurance and food stamps are examples of "stimulus" provided by federal spending. "Others have suggested a minimum income for -- guaranteed income for people. Is that worthy of attention now? Perhaps so," Pelosi said Monday. STEPHANIE RUHLE, MSNBC: But we know that the needs are massive in terms of economically. From a health perspective, we're preparing people to live without a vaccine for a year, but from an economic perspective, look at PPP. Even with all this money, we're only creating solutions for two months. Two months from now, when the majority of these businesses don't open back up, then what? SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI: Well, I think we should extend the time. I think what you suggest makes all the sense in the world. And then again as we go forward, let's see what works. What is operational and what needs other attention. Others have suggested a minimum income for -- guaranteed income for people. Is that worthy of attention now? Perhaps so because there are many more people than just in small business and hired by small businesses as important as that is to the vitality of our economy. And other people who are not in the public sector meeting our needs in so many ways that may need some assistance as well.

IDEX has a million diamonds online, more than any other trading portal, according to independent comparisons^[1] by the Diamond World website.

It emerges as "front-runner" and is singled out for its transparency and objectivity.

It also boasts by far the highest number of registered sellers, currently around 2,000.

IDEX outperforms five other portals in these key metrics, in a side-by-side analysis with Get Diamonds, Uni Diamonds, VDB, Polygon and DisaSense.

"Based on experience, number of diamonds listed, registered buyers and sellers, IDEX seems to be the front-runner, as it also provides financing as well as logistics," it says.

IDEX also wins praise as a "global, transparent & objective platform with a unique personal service" from researchers at Diamond World, the India-based B2B publication.

Welcoming the results of the analysis, IDEX COO Tamar Katzav, said: "We are delighted to have been recognized for our transparency and objectivity, as well, obviously for having the largest inventory and more sellers than any other site,"

"We pride ourselves on being the only platform that has real diamond prices. Our diamond index is widely respected throughout the industry as the only true reflection of market price trends.

"And as the only B2B platform with transactional capabilities, we've been able to keep business going in recent weeks, with our registered buyers still able to book and buy goods online."

IDEX, a market leader for 20 years, provides buyers and sellers with a full end-to-end service from purchase, authentication, consolidation of shipments and delivery.

Members using the mobile app can already search for diamonds on the go, upload buyer requests and use the...

(IDEX Online) - Diamond miners are being allowed to resume operations in Lesotho, even though the country's coronavirus lockdown has been extended.

The tiny kingdom, landlocked by South Africa, is home to Gem Diamonds' Letseng mine (pictured), Lucapa's Mothae mine,  and Namakwa Diamonds' Kao mine, but Firestone's Liqhobong mine is expected to remain closed for at least a year.

Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced last week that a three-week lockdown would be extended by a further two weeks to 5 May, even though his country is one of just two in Africa with not a single recorded coronavirus infection.  The other is Comros.

Gem Diamonds will begin a phased re-opening tomorrow (27 April) at Letseng, compliant with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, and hopes to quickly reach full production again.

Letseng is known for its exceptional white diamonds, which have made it the highest dollar per carat kimberlite diamond mine in the world....

(IDEX Online) - Indian diamond producers are being urged to adopt a voluntary month-long ban on the import of rough diamonds from 15 May.

Trade bodies make the plea in an open letter and say it will help the industry survive the coronavirus crisis and send a clear message to banks that it is not prepared to face further debt.

An estimated $7bn of rough and polished diamonds have been stuck in India, the world's production capital, since the country went into lockdown on 25 March.

Five trade bodies representing India's diamond industry have jointly written a letter urging their members to cease importation for at least a month. Copies have also been sent to the Indian government calling for "urgent measures".

The letter is signed by heads of India's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Bharat Diamond Bourse, Mumbai Diamond Merchants' Association, Surat Diamond Bourse and Surat Diamond Association.

"Import stoppage will help the industry face the challenge that has arisen out of turmoil in the global gems and jewellery market," says their letter.

"This move will basically cause fewer roughs to enter the diamond pipeline and the producer companies will thus face lesser strain and indirectly share in the financing burden and contribute to a faster restoration of normalcy in an otherwise healthy business."

Full text of the letter below: