World Gold Council releases 30-year outlook on gold industry

The World Gold Council has launched a one-off essay collection titled ‘Gold 2048’, which analyses how the gold market is set to evolve over the next 30 years. Contributions from authors such as George Magnus, senior economist, Rick Lacaille, global chief investment officer of State Street Global Advisors, and Michelle…

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The Farnese Blue Diamond sold for $6.7m at auction

The Farnese Blue, a 6.16-carat pear-shaped dark grey-blue diamond which has passed through the hands of four European royal families, has been sold at auction for $6.7m (£4.9m) The diamond hit the public market for the first time in over 300 years and was sold after four minutes of bidding…

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Mystery surrounds ownership of 57,227 UK companies

Around 57,227 British companies are still not complying with new measures brought in to counter fraud and money laundering, according to big data and anti-money laundering (AML) firm Fortytwo Data. The businesses are not yet compliant with new regulations which states they must declare those people with significant control (PSCs)…

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Phillips auctions historic white gold Omega wristwatch

Watch auction house Phillips has achieved a new world record for the highest result achieved for an Omega timepiece sold at auction. The auction house sold a white gold Omega watch formerly owned by American singer Elvis Presley, for a final result of $1.8m (£1.3m). The wristwatch had been gifted…

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Carats.io raises $1.6 Million in first financing round

Carats.io, an Israeli blockchain startup in partnership with the Israel Diamond Exchange, has raised $1.6m (£1.1m) in its first funding round led by Net Capital Ventures, an Israeli venture capital fund. Carats.io is issuing the first digital coin backed by diamonds. The coin, Carat, which is 100% redeemable for diamonds,…

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Fancy colour diamond prices show stability

The Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF) has reported that fancy colour diamond prices showed stability in most categories in Q1 2018. The Fancy Color Diamond Index (FCDI) indicated an overall rise of 0.1% in Q1 2018 for fancy color diamonds across all sizes and saturations. Continuing their trend from 2017,…

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Retail consumer spending sees sharpest drop since 2012

Consumer spending has suffered its sharpest drop in six years, according to Visa’s latest consumer spending index. Spending in-store fell by 5.4% in April when compared to the same period last year, while overall consumer spending fell by 2%, matching March’s year-on-year figures. Online spending was also down by 0.1%.…

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Wet start to April dampens retail footfall

Footfall in April decreased by 3.3%, which is a significant decline compared to the 1.6% increase seen the previous year. New data from retail intelligence firm Springboard revealed that there has been no growth in footfall for any UK region for two consecutive months. Most regions saw a slower rate…

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De Beers successfully tracks first diamonds from mine to retail on blockchain

The De Beers Group has announced that it has successfully tracked 100 high-value diamonds along the value chain during the pilot of its industry blockchain platform. An immutable and secure digital trail was created for a selection of rough diamonds mined by De Beers as they moved from the mine,…

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Smartphone purchases account for 54% of UK retail transactions, study finds

Retail purchases made on smartphones have seen a 66% increase in Q1 of 2018 compared to Q4 2017 according to marketing technology company Criteo’s Global Commerce Review. The research also showed that mobile devices accounted for over half (54%) of retail transactions in the UK. Shopping apps are helping to…

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