A brilliant storyteller.
Showing posts with label diamond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diamond. Show all posts
Monday, September 04, 2023
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Initiatives In Art And Culture 13th Annual Gold + Diamond Conference
July 17-19, 2023. Bohemian National Hall, 321 E 73rd Street, New York, NY, USA. The event focuses on responsible practices in extraction, sourcing and related issues.
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Should You Buy A Moissanite Engagement Ring Instead Of A Diamond?
Consumers are the deciders provided they know the difference between a moissanite and a diamond. Moissanite is almost visually indistinguishable from a diamond.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Deep-Focus Earthquakes: The Heartbeat Of A Diamond Factory?
Probably. Diamond formation deep below the earth is a fascinating topic. We are getting new information about the origin of diamond with new research tools and technology. Diamonds and earthquakes are two of the most powerful tools we have to show the inner workings of our planet. Many thanks to Evan M.Smith for the insightful report. Must read.
Thursday, March 11, 2021
What Is A Diamond?
Take a look at CIBJO's new informational website for consumers.
Friday, December 25, 2020
Random Thoughts
You ask most people that have a diamond and they will have a story that comes with it, whether it's about a relationship with another person or personal achievement or a family member. That is unique. You don't get that with any other product. Nobody looks at a handbag that way.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Diamonds Are Not Forever. Diamond Dissolution
The surface features on a diamond can tell an interesting story of its geological history deep within Earth----both in the mantle rocks where diamonds grew and during their subsequent volcanic transport. Take a look at GIA's research on diamond dissolution.
Useful link:
https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2020-diamond-dissolution
Useful link:
https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2020-diamond-dissolution
Monday, February 11, 2019
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
GIA Symposium 2011
Advancing the science and business of gems. May 29 - 30, Carlsbad, California, U.S.A. http://www.gia.edu/symposium2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Architectural Jewelry Collection @ Hearts on Fire
Hearts On Fire's Architectural Collection, a selection of 17 different designs inspired by eight famous structures is breathtaking.
Go to http://www.heartsonfire.com/#/us/en-us/latest for further information.
Useful link:
www.heartsonfire.com
Go to http://www.heartsonfire.com/#/us/en-us/latest for further information.
Useful link:
www.heartsonfire.com
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Venkateswara Temple
The Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, in India is dedicated to Lord Vishnu as 'Venkateswara' (or Srinivasa) and attracts followers from a wide range of Hindu traditions. The temple is the world's richest in terms of the wealth of offerings (invaluable ornaments and precious jewels) and gifts given by visiting pilgrims. Gold and diamonds are the traditional choice (s) for offerings.
Useful link:
www.tirumala.org
A must-visit.
Useful link:
www.tirumala.org
A must-visit.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
India’s Gem Of A Challenge To Belgium & Israel
(via Times News Network) K G Narendranath writes:
A committee comprising the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the commerce ministry is working on a tax regime that will address the complex valuation issues peculiar to the $17.5-billion gems and jewellery industry that thrive on exports.
However, the exercise, which follows a Budget 2007 announcement, is likely to fall short of a complete shift to turnover-based taxation, as was mooted by the commerce ministry and the industry earlier. According to sources, what is being considered is a “simpler tax assessment scheme” which will factor in the reality that it is difficult to lay down standard input-output norms for this industry.
In the last Budget, the import duty on cut and polished diamonds was knocked off, with a view to giving a fillip to the efforts to make India a global diamond trading hub like Belgium and Israel. Currently, even as India’s diamond cutting and polishing abilities are doubtless the best in the world and cost of such processing is one-fifth of diamond-rich South Africa’s, the country’s huge dependence on imports for rough diamond is preventing it from becoming a trading hub.
Also, the present tax on income is onerous because of grossly fallible assessment. The Budget decision to let duty-free import of cut and polished stones has proved to be a shot in the arm for the sector. A shift to turnover-based tax is the next logical step, which would go a long way in developing India as a global diamond trading hub.
Countries which are serious players in diamonds have tax regimes compatible with this industry’s inherent disinclination to stick to standard value addition norms for tax purposes. It is globally appreciated that it is difficult to gauge value addition in diamonds. Dubai and China keep very low taxes on diamonds. Many other countries, including Belgium, which is the largest diamond trading hub with exports of $23 billion a year, have turnover tax instead of income tax on diamond businesses.
There are countries which tax diamond traders’ income based on presumptive valuation to avoid the rigorous and erroneous valuation that could stifle the industry. It is clear that turnover-based taxation addresses valuation issues better than income tax. As India’s policymakers envision the country becoming as global diamond trading hub, they don’t need to worry about a revenue drain. A sudden increase in the industry’s turnover (the sector is growing at a CAGR of 20% even now) would enhance tax revenue.
Even though global diamond companies like Rio Tinto and De Beers operate in India and are keen to tap India’s cheap and highly skilled processing ability, they still don’t augment their investments in great measure, as the country is yet to be a trading hub. Traditionally, the domestic industry has confined itself to processing of rough diamonds imported from Australia and SA into cuts and polished diamonds, and exporting these items to a large number of countries including the US and the EU. Cheaper imports of cut diamonds have now enabled greater product differentiation and augmented trade with or without major value addition.
More info @ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Indias_gem_of_a_challenge_to_Belgium__Israel/articleshow/2129877.cms
A committee comprising the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the commerce ministry is working on a tax regime that will address the complex valuation issues peculiar to the $17.5-billion gems and jewellery industry that thrive on exports.
However, the exercise, which follows a Budget 2007 announcement, is likely to fall short of a complete shift to turnover-based taxation, as was mooted by the commerce ministry and the industry earlier. According to sources, what is being considered is a “simpler tax assessment scheme” which will factor in the reality that it is difficult to lay down standard input-output norms for this industry.
In the last Budget, the import duty on cut and polished diamonds was knocked off, with a view to giving a fillip to the efforts to make India a global diamond trading hub like Belgium and Israel. Currently, even as India’s diamond cutting and polishing abilities are doubtless the best in the world and cost of such processing is one-fifth of diamond-rich South Africa’s, the country’s huge dependence on imports for rough diamond is preventing it from becoming a trading hub.
Also, the present tax on income is onerous because of grossly fallible assessment. The Budget decision to let duty-free import of cut and polished stones has proved to be a shot in the arm for the sector. A shift to turnover-based tax is the next logical step, which would go a long way in developing India as a global diamond trading hub.
Countries which are serious players in diamonds have tax regimes compatible with this industry’s inherent disinclination to stick to standard value addition norms for tax purposes. It is globally appreciated that it is difficult to gauge value addition in diamonds. Dubai and China keep very low taxes on diamonds. Many other countries, including Belgium, which is the largest diamond trading hub with exports of $23 billion a year, have turnover tax instead of income tax on diamond businesses.
There are countries which tax diamond traders’ income based on presumptive valuation to avoid the rigorous and erroneous valuation that could stifle the industry. It is clear that turnover-based taxation addresses valuation issues better than income tax. As India’s policymakers envision the country becoming as global diamond trading hub, they don’t need to worry about a revenue drain. A sudden increase in the industry’s turnover (the sector is growing at a CAGR of 20% even now) would enhance tax revenue.
Even though global diamond companies like Rio Tinto and De Beers operate in India and are keen to tap India’s cheap and highly skilled processing ability, they still don’t augment their investments in great measure, as the country is yet to be a trading hub. Traditionally, the domestic industry has confined itself to processing of rough diamonds imported from Australia and SA into cuts and polished diamonds, and exporting these items to a large number of countries including the US and the EU. Cheaper imports of cut diamonds have now enabled greater product differentiation and augmented trade with or without major value addition.
More info @ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Indias_gem_of_a_challenge_to_Belgium__Israel/articleshow/2129877.cms
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Predicting The Elusive Fourth C
Antwerp Facets (April 2007) writes:
A machine that will predict a diamond’s clarity has proven an elusive goal in the industry. Indeed, the difficulty in doing so left clarity as the only one of the 4C’s which could not be forecast by readily available technology.
An Antwerp company set up last year, however, believes it has created equipment that will give diamantaires the ultimate solution to diamond planning, since they will be able to see inclusions and their precise location.
Matrix Diamond Technology was established by Paul Van der Steen and Ziad Al-Ahmadi. Van der Steen, with 30 years of experience in the diamond manufacturing business, is responsible for the firm’s proprietary technology, while Al-Ahmadi, who has long experience in the cutting and manufacturing of stones, provides the hands-on diamond expertise.
Matrix Diamond Technology came about as the result of a relationship with a Russian company called Octanus. It involves a scanner that measures the outside geometry or topography of the diamond, and then enables the diamantaire, in Van der Steen’s words, ‘to look right into the stone and see what is inside. If you have the exact location of inclusions, this allows the full optimization of the rough stone so that the most highly efficient and high-yielding polished diamond can be produced. This is the ultimate dream, because this gives the diamantaire the map of the rough diamond. The only way currently to get a similar view is to polish little windows on the rough stone to look inside it. Our software shows you the best sawing plane, the best place to cut the diamond for optimal results. That’s why our slogan is ‘Ever dreamt of polishing the same stone twice.’
A built-in price list enables real time decisions on the best cuts and sizes by providing up-to-the minute prices. This means that the system can change the user’s original plans for how he planned to cut the stone. It shows how to cut the main stone and what type and size of satellite stones can be achieved. ‘The Matrix vision is that if you cannot get close enough commercially to the value of the diamond then you will not be able to compete in the market. We are bringing substantial added value,’ Van der Steen explained.
The system’s camera takes 800 shadow pictures as the basis for creating a 3-D model of the stone, and 200 images as the diamond is turned which allows the 3-D model to be placed on top of a picture of the rough. This allows the precise location of inclusions to be seen on the photograph of the diamond. ‘With a microscope you are not able to see as precisely where the inclusions are, but with our system you see its exact location,’ Van der Steen explained, adding that inclusions can be identified down to the level of VVS1.
Regarding the issue of increasing yields, he said there were three levels for achieving this, and thus improving margins. ‘The first one is key weights. There are certain situations where a small difference in weight equals a very large difference in price. Take two stones, one weighing 4.95 carats and the other 5.03 carats. That tiny difference in weight is very large in money terms. It is important to increase the key weights. If you have stones weighing 5.5 carats and 4.7 carats, our system finds solutions that allow for creating two stones of 5 carats each.’
Next, there is the problem associated with the classic approach to rough planning where a relatively large reserve is needed when sawing on the cutting plane for the main stone. This usually means the secondary stone is much smaller due to the need for a reserve. And then, after cutting, the reserve on the main stone is polished off which is clearly a waste of the rough. ‘Due to our precise capabilities, we reduce the reserve and save more of the diamond. Diamantaires want to raise their margins and these are classic ways to do so,’ Van den Steen said.
The third level relates to the optimizing of a stone being cut into two or more diamonds. ‘In the classic way, the main stone is cut, and only then one looks at the possibilities for the other stones. This optimization is important because in a 20 carat stone, for example, the satellite stones can be 3 carats each. Here, you can take an overview of the stone and see all the possibilities right from the beginning.’
Meanwhile, Al Ahmadi, the owner of United Cutting and Marketing, said Matrix is projecting itself to strategic partners such as serious rough suppliers. ‘All diamond companies want to add value to their stock. Miners, for example, are looking to add to their margins. I believe they are selling at a lower price than they could achieve if they knew more precisely what was in the diamond.’
He said the end game for Matrix is as a partner to a big brother and supplying them with high-tech equipment that has been unequivocally proven. ‘The system was born out of necessity since margins have become so small nowadays. A system like this would not have been developed 20 years ago because the margins then allowed all diamond firms, from sightholders to small and medium firms to manufacture and get away with healthy margins. Put simply: the business was easier then.’
Al Ahmadi said many diamantaires were barely making any profit. ‘We are offering solutions based on our knowledge of the industry. The miners supply their clients, but they do not know exactly what their clients are getting from the stones. With our system, we can tell them precisely what is in the stone. Sighholders, today more than ever, need results and our system helps them achieve that because we can eliminate mistakes. We are currently talking with two of the top 10 sightholders in the world about using our system. They are giving us diamonds to work on with them as partners.’
A machine that will predict a diamond’s clarity has proven an elusive goal in the industry. Indeed, the difficulty in doing so left clarity as the only one of the 4C’s which could not be forecast by readily available technology.
An Antwerp company set up last year, however, believes it has created equipment that will give diamantaires the ultimate solution to diamond planning, since they will be able to see inclusions and their precise location.
Matrix Diamond Technology was established by Paul Van der Steen and Ziad Al-Ahmadi. Van der Steen, with 30 years of experience in the diamond manufacturing business, is responsible for the firm’s proprietary technology, while Al-Ahmadi, who has long experience in the cutting and manufacturing of stones, provides the hands-on diamond expertise.
Matrix Diamond Technology came about as the result of a relationship with a Russian company called Octanus. It involves a scanner that measures the outside geometry or topography of the diamond, and then enables the diamantaire, in Van der Steen’s words, ‘to look right into the stone and see what is inside. If you have the exact location of inclusions, this allows the full optimization of the rough stone so that the most highly efficient and high-yielding polished diamond can be produced. This is the ultimate dream, because this gives the diamantaire the map of the rough diamond. The only way currently to get a similar view is to polish little windows on the rough stone to look inside it. Our software shows you the best sawing plane, the best place to cut the diamond for optimal results. That’s why our slogan is ‘Ever dreamt of polishing the same stone twice.’
A built-in price list enables real time decisions on the best cuts and sizes by providing up-to-the minute prices. This means that the system can change the user’s original plans for how he planned to cut the stone. It shows how to cut the main stone and what type and size of satellite stones can be achieved. ‘The Matrix vision is that if you cannot get close enough commercially to the value of the diamond then you will not be able to compete in the market. We are bringing substantial added value,’ Van der Steen explained.
The system’s camera takes 800 shadow pictures as the basis for creating a 3-D model of the stone, and 200 images as the diamond is turned which allows the 3-D model to be placed on top of a picture of the rough. This allows the precise location of inclusions to be seen on the photograph of the diamond. ‘With a microscope you are not able to see as precisely where the inclusions are, but with our system you see its exact location,’ Van der Steen explained, adding that inclusions can be identified down to the level of VVS1.
Regarding the issue of increasing yields, he said there were three levels for achieving this, and thus improving margins. ‘The first one is key weights. There are certain situations where a small difference in weight equals a very large difference in price. Take two stones, one weighing 4.95 carats and the other 5.03 carats. That tiny difference in weight is very large in money terms. It is important to increase the key weights. If you have stones weighing 5.5 carats and 4.7 carats, our system finds solutions that allow for creating two stones of 5 carats each.’
Next, there is the problem associated with the classic approach to rough planning where a relatively large reserve is needed when sawing on the cutting plane for the main stone. This usually means the secondary stone is much smaller due to the need for a reserve. And then, after cutting, the reserve on the main stone is polished off which is clearly a waste of the rough. ‘Due to our precise capabilities, we reduce the reserve and save more of the diamond. Diamantaires want to raise their margins and these are classic ways to do so,’ Van den Steen said.
The third level relates to the optimizing of a stone being cut into two or more diamonds. ‘In the classic way, the main stone is cut, and only then one looks at the possibilities for the other stones. This optimization is important because in a 20 carat stone, for example, the satellite stones can be 3 carats each. Here, you can take an overview of the stone and see all the possibilities right from the beginning.’
Meanwhile, Al Ahmadi, the owner of United Cutting and Marketing, said Matrix is projecting itself to strategic partners such as serious rough suppliers. ‘All diamond companies want to add value to their stock. Miners, for example, are looking to add to their margins. I believe they are selling at a lower price than they could achieve if they knew more precisely what was in the diamond.’
He said the end game for Matrix is as a partner to a big brother and supplying them with high-tech equipment that has been unequivocally proven. ‘The system was born out of necessity since margins have become so small nowadays. A system like this would not have been developed 20 years ago because the margins then allowed all diamond firms, from sightholders to small and medium firms to manufacture and get away with healthy margins. Put simply: the business was easier then.’
Al Ahmadi said many diamantaires were barely making any profit. ‘We are offering solutions based on our knowledge of the industry. The miners supply their clients, but they do not know exactly what their clients are getting from the stones. With our system, we can tell them precisely what is in the stone. Sighholders, today more than ever, need results and our system helps them achieve that because we can eliminate mistakes. We are currently talking with two of the top 10 sightholders in the world about using our system. They are giving us diamonds to work on with them as partners.’
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
New Diamond Newsletter
(via JCK) Diamond Finance describes itself as the only newsletter dedicated to finance and accounting in the diamond and jewelry industry. It includes an interview with HSBC's Jeff Pfeffer. Check out the first issue here (PDF).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)