Current Affairs

Royal Mint to sell gold bars into pensions for first time

The Royal Mint, which supplies all of the UK’s coinage, is to offer investors the chance to own gold bars within their pensions for the first time. The plans will see the Royal Mint offer private individuals and pension scheme providers access to buy and manage gold held within their…

Read More »

Swimwear model jailed for murder of Bristol jeweller

An ex-swimwear model has been jailed for 15 years for murdering her ex-boyfriend – a millionaire and jewellery store owner – in Spain. Mayka Kukucova shot Andrew Bush three times in 2014 at his Spanish villa near Marbella on the Costa del Sol after arriving with his Russian girlfriend Maria…

Read More »

De Beers and Namibia sign long-term sales agreement

The Government of the Republic of Namibia and the De Beers Group of Companies has signed a 10-year sales agreement. The agreement – the longest-ever signed between the two partners – will include the sorting, valuing and sales of Namdeb Holdings’ diamonds. Namibia will see a significant increase in rough…

Read More »

Leicester jewellers creates £225,000 Premier League trophy ring

Leicester-based Lumbers Jewellers has created a one-of-a-kind Premier League trophy ring, following the shock title triumph from underdogs Leicester City. The handcrafted ring – featuring a brilliant-cut diamond in excess of 5.01-carats and certificated as G colour and VS clarity – has been designed to represent the Premier League trophy.…

Read More »

Lucara sells rough diamond for record-breaking £43.5m

Diamond production firm Lucara has announced it has achieved the highest price ever achieved for the sale of a rough diamond. The 812.77-carat type IIa rough diamond, which was recovered from the Karowe mine in Botswana in november last year, has been sold by the company for $63m (£43.5m). As…

Read More »

Petra Diamonds revenue soars 25% in Q3 results

Petra Diamonds has announced its revenue rose 25% to $120.5m (£82.9m) in the third quarter (Q3) of the 2016 financial year, when compared with the same period in 2015. In its latest trading update for the period from 1 January to 31 March, Petra said its revenue was pushed up…

Read More »

Bizarre ‘talking diamond’ alarms miners

A rough diamond with bizarre auditory qualities has been uncovered in a mine in Botswana. The 4.23-carat gemstone, which was found by miners working in Jwaneng diamond mine last night, reportedly began issuing a ‘gargling’ sound shortly after it was dusted off. It is thought the type IIa D-colour stone…

Read More »

GIA predicts more synthetic diamonds to be introduced to the industry

Research published by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has predicted a “significant” rise in the number of high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) synthetic diamonds to enter the market. The announcement follows a visit in early March 2016, where researchers visited a diamond factory in China and obtained 50 crystals ranging from…

Read More »

Petra Diamonds sells ‘exceptional pink’ diamond for £10.7m

Petra Diamonds has announced the sale of an ‘exceptional pink’ diamond for $15m (£10.7m). The diamond, which was recovered from the firm’s Williamson mine in Tanzania and weighs 32.33-carats, was purchased by Golden Yellow Diamonds on behalf of M.A. Anavi Diamond Group, a leading diamond manufacturer and specialist in large…

Read More »

Zero-hours contracts rise to record level

The number of workers on zero-hours contracts has increased by more than 100,000 over the past 12 months. The Office for National Statistics said the figure had breached 801,000 – the highest since records began. The figure represents 2.5% of the UK workforce, up from 2.3% in the same period…

Read More »