Three Years on, Surat Diamond Bourse is Still 90% Empty

November 03, 26 by John Jeffay

The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB) still has only 300 of its 4,700 offices in operation, almost three years after it first opened for business. The nine-tower complex, which cost $388 million to build, was awarded a Guinness World Record in August 2023 as the ... Read More...

Diamond Downturn: 100,000 Jobs Lost at Manufacturing Hub

November 02, 26 by John Jeffay

Hundreds of diamond-trading offices have closed in Bhavnagar, a city in Gujarat, western India, as a prolonged industry downturn forces workers to abandon the trade. As many as 100,000 people have lost their livelihoods or moved into other occupations, according ... Read More...

US Jewelry Industry Shrinks as New Business Openings Fall

November 01, 26 by John Jeffay

The number of US jewelry businesses continued to decline in the third quarter, although the rate of contraction slowed slightly, according to the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT), which provides commercial credit information. There were 21,831 US ... Read More...

IDEX Price Report for 1 November: Decreases Dominate in Rounds and Fancies

November 01, 26 by IDEX Online

October saw further downward pressure on prices, with decreases substantially outnumbering increases in both rounds and fancy cuts. Rounds recorded 267 price decreases against 75 increases. Fancy cuts recorded 253 decreases and 134 increases... Read More...

Putin Claims De Beers Wants Closer Cooperation With Russia

October 31, 26 by John Jeffay

Russian president Vladimir Putin claims De Beers wants closer cooperation with Russia. He made the statement at the third Russia-Africa summit, on October 28, according to TASS, Russia's state-owned news agency, although there has been no ... Read More...

Memo by John Jeffay

October 29

The Swiss watch industry was devastated by quartz technology in the 1970s. Exports halved in a decade as Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Timex and other brands flooded the market with mass-produced watches that did essentially the same job. They told the time. But that ...  Read More...