Jewellery and Coins – Page 2 – Republic of Mining

Britain’s least valuable coin is in terminal decline (The Economist – January 21, 2024)

January 22, 2024

https://www.economist.com/

Inflation is the prime culprit for the problems of the penny

For many centuries using Britain’s currency required advanced mathematical skills. The pound was divided into 20 shillings; a shilling was worth 12 pennies; and each penny was further subdivided into two halfpennies or four farthings. Many argued for a more straightforward system. As early as 1696 Christopher Wren was arguing that a decimal system would be “very proper for accounts”.

Wren eventually got his wish. In 1961 the government dropped the farthing, the spending power of which had fallen by so much that bus conductors were refusing to accept it. A decade later, in 1971, decimalisation divided the pound into 100 new pennies, and shillings and halfpennies both stopped being minted.

Long-Lost Ship Found in the Desert Laden With Gold – by Tasos Kokkinidis (Greek Reporter – January 21, 2024)

January 22, 2024

https://greekreporter.com/

The discovery of a ship that disappeared five hundred years ago and was found in a desert in southwest Africa with gold coins aboard has been one of the most exciting archaeological finds of recent years.

The Bom Jesus (The Good Jesus) was a Portuguese vessel that set sail from Lisbon, Portugal on Friday, March 7, 1533. Its fate was unknown until 2008 when its remains were discovered in the desert of Namibia during diamond mining operations near the coast of the African nation.

EU adds Russia’s biggest diamond-mining company and CEO to sanctions list – by Mared Gwyn Jones (Euronews – January 3, 2024)

January 3, 2024

https://www.euronews.com/

PJSC Alrosa, which is owned by the Russian state, accounts for over 90% of all Russian diamond production, representing a highly valuable revenue stream for the Kremlin.

The EU said Wednesday that Alrosa and its CEO Marinychev had been added to the list of sanctioned persons and entities for “actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” “The company constitutes an important part of an economic sector that is providing substantial revenue to the government of the Russian Federation,” it added.

Italian Grading Lab Warns of Synthetic-Diamond Scam – by Leah Meirovich (Rapaport Magazine – December 26, 2023)

January 3, 2024January 3, 2024

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Italian gemological lab Gem-Tech has warned the trade that a number of lab-grown diamonds circulating in the country are being sold as natural.

Three stones were submitted to the lab accompanied by certificates from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) stating they were natural, Gem-Tech said last week. Gem-Tech weighed the stones and found them to be nearly identical to those recorded on the GIA certificates.

Perfection in Practice: How Do Emerald Enhancements Work? – by Richa Goyal Sikri (Rapaport Magazine – December 5, 2023)

January 2, 2024

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Keeping the green clean: Treating this precious stone is common in the industry. Five experts offer some clarity on the process.

Rubies, sapphires and emeralds form the most valuable trifecta in the colored-gem universe. But unlike the first two, which measure 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, emeralds rank at 7.5 to 8 and therefore require more care in handling. Due to various formation and extraction factors, it is natural for an emerald to contain fissures and fractures, which is why eye-visible inclusions are more acceptable in an emerald.

Global wealth expansion and the increased awareness and appreciation for emeralds have increased demand for top-notch stones in the face of limited supply. At the same time, connoisseurs of top-grade emeralds are developing less tolerance for inclusions, seeking an unnatural perfection from a natural gem. The result is that miners, lapidaries and merchants have increasingly been using clarity enhancement to meet the burgeoning demand.

Canada Has A New $250 Coin Made Of Pure Silver & It’s A Monochromatic Dream – by Mike Chaar (MSM.com – November 2023)

November 20, 2023

https://www.msn.com/

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced a brand new $250 coin made up of one kilogram of pure silver. The Silver Maple Leaf coin is a 2024 release featuring a completely monochromatic look. The new coin is valued at $250 but costs a whopping US$2,098.40 to purchase, which is fair considering it is, in fact, a kilogram of pure silver.

“An elegant showpiece and an exquisite example of world-class craftsmanship, your coin has been meticulously crafted in 1 kilogram of 99.99% pure silver,” the Royal Canadian Mint wrote on its website. On the coin’s reverse, a silver maple leaf designed by Canadian artist Lilyane Coulombe can be seen with intricate formations within to create a pulsating effect along with an engraving of the 250-dollar value.

Soon You May Know Exactly Where Your Diamond Was Mined – by Victoria Gomelsky (New York Times – November 20, 2023)

November 20, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Several traceability systems have been introduced in the last six months, spurred by sanctions against Russian-mined stones.

Tracing the path of a diamond from the mine where it originated through the global supply chain is not as straightforward as it might seem — especially for consumers who make an effort to know the source of their purchases, from coffee beans to clothing.

The reasons include a longstanding industry practice of aggregating rough diamonds from different mines, the number of intermediaries involved in transforming a raw stone into a cut and polished gem, and the fragmented and global nature of the trade itself.

1st batch of newly minted Canadian coins bearing King Charles’s image unveiled (Canadian Press/CBC News Manitoba – November 14, 2023)

November 14, 2023

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/

Small number of 2023-dated coins to circulate in early December

The first Canadian coins featuring the face of King Charles were unveiled in Winnipeg on Tuesday, the King’s 75th birthday.

“Since 1953, the portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth has graced the obverse of Canadian coins. Today, 70 years later, a new chapter in Canadian history begins,” mint president and CEO Marie Lemay said during a news conference at the Royal Canadian Mint plant that produces circulation coins.

Renowned Diamond Cutter Gabriel ‘Gabi’ Tolkowsky Dies – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport.com – May 30, 2023)

November 12, 2023

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Sir Gabriel “Gabi” Tolkowsky, one of the world’s most revered diamond cutters, has died at 84, friends and family wrote on social media on Monday. Born in Tel Aviv in 1939, Tolkowsky was from a family steeped in the diamond industry. He learned the trade from father, Jean, who had a diamond-polishing factory in Israel — an education that would set him up for a career manufacturing some of the world’s most famous diamonds.

“Every day after work, [my father] would come home from his workshop with people from all over the world who had come to learn about diamond polishing and sit in the one big living-cum-bedroom-cum-dining room we had,” Tolkowsky said in a 2008 interview with Singapore’s The Straits Times.

That diamond ring? It may have helped pay for Russia’s war – by Daniil Ukhorskiy (Kyiv Independent – October 12, 2023)

November 10, 2023November 10, 2023

https://kyivindependent.com/

Editor’s note: This story uses sources who are speaking on condition of anonymity since revealing their identities would heavily damage their careers and expose them to legal and personal risks in the diamond industry. Their identities are known to the Kyiv Independent.

Soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, luxury brands like Tiffany and Cartier announced they had stopped buying Russian diamonds. An investigation by the Kyiv Independent has found evidence to the contrary. A year and a half into the all-out war, export data shows Russia keeps selling its diamonds to the West. Now, through intermediaries, primarily Dubai.

Thanks to weak American sanctions and the absence of any in the European Union, Alrosa, the leading Russian diamond producer partly owned by the state, keeps profiting from diamond sales. The company may be using some of its profit to fund the Russian military directly. Alrosa has not responded to a request for comment.

HOLY COW! HISTORY: How Harry Sent the Hope Diamond – by J. Mark Powell (Inside Sources – September 6, 2022)

November 10, 2023

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Think quick! You’re a jeweler. You’ve got a gemstone. And an organization is waiting for it some 225 miles away. What do you do? A merchant once pondered that very question. But it wasn’t just any jeweler shipping any precious stone to any old group.

It involved America’s foremost jeweler at the time, the most famous gem in the world, and America’s most celebrated museum. And how he wound up sending it will amaze you.To fully appreciate this story, you must first understand the players involved.

Blue diamond rakes in nearly $44m at Geneva auction (Gulf News – November 8, 2023)

November 9, 2023

https://gulfnews.com/

The Bleu Royal is largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue gem ever to appear for sale

Geneva: An exceptionally rare blue diamond went under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday, selling for more than $40 million, making it one of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction, Christie’s said. Weighing 17.61 carats, the Bleu Royal is the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue gem ever to appear for sale in auction history.

It is the star lot in a series of luxury sales in Geneva this month, which also feature items from movie history including pearls worn by Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando’s self-engraved watch. The Bleu Royal had been expected to fetch between $35 million and $50 million in Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction.

Jewelry for Rap Gods (and Mortals Alike) – by Christopher Barnard (New York Times – February 5, 2023)

September 18, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

The jewelry designer Alex Moss specializes in creating custom pieces for clients like Drake and Jack Harlow. This month, he releases a collection available to the masses.

Nine floors above the storefronts of New York’s diamond district, in a corner suite of the World Diamond Tower, a lariat necklace with diamonds the size of molars sat inside a silver briefcase. The necklace was fresh from a cleaning — an ultrasonic water bath, followed by a steam — and visiting the office of the jewelry designer Alex Moss in late January en route to its owner: the rapper and singer Drake.

“Jewelry is like a car, it needs to be maintained,” Mr. Moss, 30, said. The piece, created by Mr. Moss, took 14 months to make. A video shared on Instagram by the designer said that its 42 diamonds represented the number of times that Drake had considered proposing marriage. When asked how much the necklace cost, Mr. Moss declined to answer, citing the security of its owner.

The Story of the King of Diamonds – by Melanie Abrams (New York Times – September 7, 2023)

September 11, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Harry Winston’s nickname is just one element in a new biography by one of his sons.

“Talk to me, Harry Winston. Tell me all about it,” Marilyn Monroe purred in “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” the song in the 1953 movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” that named one of New York’s pre-eminent jewelers.

Now his son Ronald is telling all about it, too, in a new book describing his father’s rise in the jewelry business and the lengthy legal battle over the company with his brother, Bruce, that followed his father’s death in 1978. (The company has been owned by the Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch Group since 2013.)

Thailand Gets Ready to Sparkle – by David Belcher (New York Times – September 7, 2023)

September 7, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

The country plans to use a trade show in Bangkok this week to remind the world of its expertise in processing and perfecting natural stones.

Thailand’s history is rich with gemstones, beginning in the 1400s when its mines first produced the sapphires and rubies that adorned the crowns, swords and even the footwear of the country’s royalty. And as recently as May, jewelry fans took note of the glittering sapphire and diamond necklace and earring set that Queen Suthida of Thailand wore at King Charles III’s coronation in London.

But since the 1970s, Thailand has mostly been known as a global hub for cutting, polishing, heating and trading stones, doing business with its gem-rich neighbors Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, along with countries far beyond.