Diamond Shavings: Your Friday Web Roundup

And here is the week that was …
 

De Beers starting a lab.

- Forevermark release.

- Could branding hurt beneficiation?

Whitehall gets new CEO.  

- One note: I have to say that Whitehall is one of the strangest big companies I have ever covered. They always have contact names on the bottom of their releases, but those names never return my calls. So why bother then? And shouldn’t a big company (or their PR firm) be more responsive? Weird.

De Beers announces sightholder list.

- Chaim: Spira survives!

- One company’s knocked off.

- Wyndham: Gareth’s choices axed?

- “Winners and losers.”

- Sight report.

JVC: Class action deadline nears.

BHP going into tenders?

Botswana newspaper: Dump De Beers.

- Leviev banned from Dubai?

Charles and Covard (moissanite) cuts jobs, as sales slip 41%.

US: Retailers scale back expansion plans. 
- Asia: Luxury ownership expands. (via Smartbrief.)

Two dealers hit in Houston.

De Beers’ 1Q production down.

De Beers discovers treasure ship.  

Kentucky Derby horse named for diamond mine.

British pop star Leona Lewis, nervous about the source of her diamonds, starts fashion line. (Including diamonds?)

Russell Simmons likes “Blood Diamond Russ” nickname. To each their own.

Media Watch:

- Time magazine on Botswana and De Beers.
- LA Times on men’s jewelry.

- South African Times catches up with former Debswana director Louis Nchindo (now facing corruption charges.)

- Bloomberg on the new sightholder list.

- Hudson Valley newspaper on “guilt-free” jewelry. Thorough and accurate.

- And on the other hand: Another reference to “coltan diamonds.” Just kill me.

From the Blog:

Man Leaves Diamond Business to … Well –

De Beers Gets Into the Lab Business.

Have a great weekend …