New York Diamonds articles from September 2004

New York Diamonds archives from September 2004

Message from the publisher.
September 1, 2004... Dear reader, It would be fair to state that there was a collective sigh of relief in the diamond community in July, when the news was released about the brief but important statement on page 188 of the report by die official commission...

Hezbollah charged with diamond dealing.(Trade Notes)
September 1, 2004... A U.S. diplomat in Sierra Leone has aid that the militant Lebanese movement, Hezbollah, has been siphoning profits from West Africa's multimillion-dollar diamond trade, by threatening Lebanese diamond merchants who traditionally have...

Pfeffer joins HSBC Bank.(Trade Notes)
September 1, 2004... HSBC Bank USA has named Jeff E. Pfeffer as a senior vice president to head the company's Diamond and Jewelry Practice, as part of its Middle Market lending group. Pfeffer, who previously worked for Bank Leumi USA, will report to Diane...

DTC first half sales up 2.16 percent.(Trade Notes)
September 1, 2004... De Beers has announced that its marketing arm, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), registered rough diamond sales worth $2.98 million. 2.16 percent higher than during the equivalent period in 2003. According to the De Beers statement, the...

NYD editor wins kudos for coverage.(Trade Notes)
September 1, 2004... The Contemporary Design Group (CDG), established in 1989 to promote creative jewelry design, has named New York Diamonds' editor, Ettagale Blauer, as its "Best Designer Advocate" in 2004. The award was presented at the CDG's annual dinner...

Guilty by admission: De Beers pleads guilty in a U.S. federal court to fixing the price of industrial diamonds, so opening the way for its executives to visit the United States. The roots of the case stretch back to World War II and beyond.'.(In the Spotlight)
September 1, 2004... The beginning of what could be the end of De Beers' legal troubles in the United States brought the company, full cycle to where those troubles began--with industrial rather than gem-quality diamonds at the heart of the matter. In the...

Betting on: Polar Ice: New York and Montreal companies team up to rescue an ailing diamond manufacturing plant in Canada's Northwest Territories. They see added value in Canadian diamonds.(The Diamond Industry)
September 1, 2004... Diamonds have a way of turning up in the most inhospitable places on earth, and under it. Prime examples include the deserts of Africa and Australia, the frozen tundra of Russia, and the bitter cold northern reaches of Canada. But in the...

Industry warned about reputational risk.(Diamond Banking)
September 1, 2004... 'More than anything else, we view compliance with the various anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing statutes as a reputational imperative. Reputation is a key business asset, especially in banking and maybe even more so in the...

Going upstream in Sierra Leone.(Diamond Mining)
September 1, 2004... Of the small-scale mechanized operations at work in Sierra Leone, Magna Egoli is the largest diamond mining company in the country. At full production, the mine will produce some $25 million worth of diamonds per year, for a diamond jewelry...

Former New York sightholder to take De Beers to court; W.B. David sues the various members of the De Beers Group, J. Walter Thompson and all the DTC sightholders for damages caused to it as a result of the implementation of Supplier of Choice.(The Diamond Industry)
September 1, 2004... De Beers' guilty plea and payment of a $10 million fine too settle charges of anticompetitive behavior and price-fixing may have put an end to the criminal case against the company in the United States. But the firm still confronts an array...

Conquering the dot-com bust.(The Marketplace)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... The conventional wisdom that emerged after the "dot-com bust" seems to have been correct, at least as far as online jewelry sales are concerned: The Internet craze of the 1990s had inflated a bubble that had to burst, after which the...

The art and science of cutting colored diamonds: over the course of several months, New York Diamonds was afforded the privilege of witnessing the journey taken by a 8.61-carat orangy-yellow rough diamond, as it was transformed into a stunning 4.06-carat emerald cut.(The Diamond Industry)
September 1, 2004... There are few things in this life more elusive than the color in a fancy colored diamond. Woe to the cutter who doesn't understand the optics that rule the placement of Facets. With white diamonds, what you see is pretty much what you...

Publicly traded vertically integrated: because its shares are traded on the American Stock Exchange, Lazare Kaplan International is arguably the most well known of America's diamond companies. It is also among the most vertically integrated.(Diamond Jewelry)
September 1, 2004... Vertical integration is a buzzword in the diamond and jewelry industries today. But few companies can boast of actually having achieved this coveted status to the extent that Lazare Kaplan International has. But that is not the only...

The dream team: two of the auction community's leading lights set up an appointment-only Precious gems and jewelry business, with a swanky Rockefeller Center address.(Diamond Jewelry)
September 1, 2004... Imagine having a contact in the jewelry business with a background in securing the most prestigious estates for sale at auction. Now add in a partner with a pedigree so patrician it belies the fact that Americans never have royal titles. The...

North American diamonds: a government's perspective.(Diamond Mining)
September 1, 2004... Dave Ramsay, a member of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Canada's Northwest Territories, delivered an overview of the development of the North American diamond mining industry at July's Rough Diamond Seminar, which was organized by the...

DDC members enjoy success at jewelry shows.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... The participation of DDC members at the summer Jewelers of America show at New York's Javits Convention Center was reported to be greatly successful this past July. According to DDC president Jacob Banda, the DDC's special pavilion at the...

Sponsors vie for events at World Diamond Congress.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... The World Diamond Congress is holding its biannual meeting October 17-20 at New York's elegant Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue. Representatives from countries with important diamond interests from around the world are sponsoring key...

DDC president attends Namibian factory opening.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... Jacob Banda, the president of the Diamond Dealers Club, was among a select group of guests invited in July by the Israeli diamantaire, Lev Leviev, to fly on a chartered jet from Tel Aviv to Windhoek, the capital of Nambia, for the opening by...

DDC president meets with democratic hopeful.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... There is a longstanding tradition every election season for candidates, at the city, state and national level, to seek backing in the New York Diamond District, and particular among members off the Diamond Dealers Club. This year is no...

Joint drives brings in new Indian members.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... The DDC has held a successful membership drive that brought in close to 50 new members, in cooperation with the Indian Diamond and Colorstone Assocation. The new members have been welcomed as regular DDC members with all rights and...

A 21st century diamantaire.(DDC Facets)
September 1, 2004... The essence of computerization may be found any day at a table on the Left-hand side of the trading floor of the Diamonds Dealers Club. There, Naftoli Rubin of Gemcash sets up his totally computerized office by plugging into the DDC's own...