Surat diamond traders face stiff competition from China

Sat, May 1 01:40 PM

Surat, May 1 (ANI): Diamond traders in Surat are facing tough competition from China, which is pushing for direct deals with African governments for the supply of rough diamonds.

Surat is considered India's diamond hub, and this scramble for diamonds from Africa has unsettled many diamond traders in the region, as they fear that gradually China would emerge as a major diamond manufacturer in the near future.

"Indian industries can be affected by this news as there are many diamond cutting and polishing industries in this country, and many people work in these industries.

If raw material are given to China, then people over there will get more employment and gradually China would emerge as a strong diamond manufacturer," said Chandrakant Sanghvi, Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

Meanwhile, Rohit Mehta, the chief of Surat Diamond Association said that the Indian government should strike a similar deal with the African governments so that India can obtain rough diamonds from the African countries as part of deals.

"The export promotion council is putting pressure on the Indian government to do a similar act and set up a fund, which will help the government in giving assistance to various African countries. The export diamond association fully supports the Export Promotion Council in this particular matter," said Mehta.

The Surat diamond industry is worth 800,000 million rupees and accounts for over half of the total diamond exports from India.

It employs over 700,000 workers from across the country. Over 2.5 million people are indirectly associated with the trade.

The diamonds processed in Surat are sent to various parts of the world, including the Middle East, from where manufactured jewellery is then sold across the globe. (ANI)

Blue diamond fetches 4.2 mn pounds in auction

Blue diamond fetches 4.2 mn pounds in auction

Thu, Apr 8 02:08 PM

London, April 8 (IANS) A flawless pear-shaped blue diamond has been auctioned for over four million pounds in Hong Kong, a media report said Thursday.

The diamond, which was originally from De Beers Millennium Collection was expected to sell for between 3 million pounds and 3.8 million pounds at Sotheby's, but it eventually sold for 4,221,533 pounds, The Telegraph reported.

The diamond, which had been owned by a private buyer, was one of 12 in a collection De Beers put together for the turn of the millennium and was displayed in 2000. The police had thwarted an attempt to steal the diamonds at the time.

Gem sales in Hong Kong have been increasing and the city has overtaken New York to become Sotheby's second biggest market after Geneva.

'There have been a lot of new diamond buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere in the region.

'I think after the financial crisis, the Asian buyers realised that the prices of diamond are relatively stable compared to other types of auction items,' Terry Chu, deputy head of Sotheby's jewellery department for China and South-east Asia, was quoted as saying.


Kaushik Sanghvi, Mahavir Gems, Mumbai India.

Biggest diamond found in Panna 01/07/2010

Biggest diamond found in Panna

Thu, Jul 1 02:45 PM

IT MAY not be the biggest diamond in the world but it certainly is the biggest to be unearthed from the Panna mines in Madhya Pradesh.

"We have found the biggest ever diamond. The diamond is not only bigger in size, but it is of extremely good quality as compared to the diamond we found in 2005," C. E. Kindo, project manager at the National Mineral Development Corporation's (NMDC) said over telephone from Panna.

The 34.37-carat diamond, which was recovered from a pit during a daily blasting on Tuesday, could fetch over Rs 2 crore in an auction, NMDC officials said. "This is the biggest diamond that the NMDC has delivered in the past 65 years," he added.

The pear-shaped white gem-quality diamond has been sealed by the NMDC officials. Now, the sealed diamond will go under the hammer in an upcoming auction at Panna.

The officials said since the last NMDC diamond auction was held in Mumbai recently, the auction of the biggest ever diamond in Asia would take place in Panna itself. "We are yet to commercially value the diamond we have found," Kindo said. But, the diamond merchants in Bhopal have reacted with shock on knowing the size of the diamond.

When a Bhopal-based diamond merchant was asked if he had ever handled a 34.47 carat diamond, he queried incredulously if he was being asked about one diamond or several pieces of diamonds. The NMDC-owned Panna diamond mine in Madhya Pradesh is situated at Majhgaon.

This is the only mechanised diamond mine in Asia and is known across the world for producing top-quality gems. Panna diamonds are rated second only to South African mines, which hold the record of producing some of the largest diamonds in the world.

Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2010. MTNPL. All rights reserved.

Kaushik S Sanghvi

Mahavir Gems, Mumbai.