National Jeweler online published this editorial recently. I thought it interesting enough to share in light of the economy and people not thinking that diamonds are selling during these times.
Obviously they are:
Moscow--The head of Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa told Bloomberg Television that diamond prices are climbing faster than expected and could create a price bubble, just as they did prior to the financial crisis in 2008.
In a recent interview, Fyodor Andreev said the Russian diamond miner increased its rough prices by 5 percent at the end of 2010, and prices are up another 10 percent just a few months into 2011. In total, rough prices are now 8 percent higher than they were before the economic crisis hit in the fall of 2008, he said. (Bolding mine as I think this is crucial!)
He told Bloomberg that continually climbing rough prices, which sometimes top prices of polished gems, are a “dangerous signal” that the market will see another price bubble.
News of rising rough diamond prices--as well as an increase in polished prices--have been creating a buzz in the industry for a few months due to increased demand from both emerging markets, such as China and India, and recovering markets, such as the United States.
Last month, IDEX Online reported that De Beers rough distribution arm, the Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) increased prices at least 4 to 8 percent at its latest sight. And earlier this month, IDEX Online reported that polished diamond prices had recovered to near pre-economic crisis levels.
2 comments:
Sorry im lost in here but i need a better understanding on this 18kGP stamp on a cross knecklas i have :( it has the look of wht gold, 5 yellow pointed oblong stones and a small center diamond but dont look as if it wore of and the stamp on the solid oval loop for the chain is a nice solid stamp. Is it junk? Lol plz help :/
Back in the 70's the Feds changed the rules on gold karatage. for many years the standard was + or - .50kt tolerance on gold without solder joints and up to 1 full karat on gold with solder joints. I.e. gold stamped 18kt could be as low as 17kt if it had solder joints and 17.5kt if no solder joints were present.
As the date for enforcement loomed wholesalers and manufacturers were looking for a way to distinguish the new from the old so they came up with the "Plumb gold" stamp such as 18ktP to indicate
It was tightened up to .10kt tolerance + or -. Thus 18ktP means that the gold in the piece is at least 17.9kt if there are no solder joints and can be as low as 1.5kts if there are solder joints. (Solder is a lower karat than the metal it is soldering so that it will melt before the item being soldered is.
Wink
Post a Comment