The Rapaport Group has announced dates for a series of auctions and tenders in 2007. The Rapaport Certified Diamond Auctions will be held: Oct. 23-25, Nov. 14-15, and Dec. 12-13.

All diamonds offered in the auctions will be Rapaport selected, certified and guaranteed. The diamonds will be Round, 1.01 ct. and larger, D-K colors, IF-VS2 clarity, with Excellent to Very Good cut Gemological Institute of America grading reports and will meet strict RapSpec1 standards.

Auction bidding and registration is online at www.diamonds.net/auction and restricted to the jewelry trade, authorized financial institutions, and investors. Auction prices will be made public and used to develop a Rapaport Investment Diamond Index that will form the basis of a diamond futures contract.

A number of innovations are being introduced in the October auction. For the first time, reserve prices will be disclosed in the auction catalog, providing bidders with greater transparency and minimum price levels. Also, diamonds can now be offered for sale globally without having to be sent first to New York. Rapaport offices in New York, Antwerp, Ramat Gan and Mumbai will now take delivery of diamonds for the auction. The diamonds will be sent to New York or other destinations after they are sold.

The Rapaport Group is also holding a number of diamond tenders before the year’s end. They include an Antwerp Rough Diamond Tender Oct. 15-18. There will also be a New York Fine Polished Diamond Tender Nov. 5-8, featuring a broad range of fine cut polished diamonds, including GIA graded diamonds sent in by appraisers on behalf of consumers. Finally from Dec. 3-6, the quarterly Rapaport Pawn Shop tender will take place offering over 15,000 carats of polished diamonds direct from pawn shops. All tender sales are based on physical inspection of diamonds that are sold “as-is” without Rapaport quality guarantees other than compliance with the Kimberley Process, U.S. Patriot Act and all other legal requirements.

“Everyone in the trade is invited to sell or buy diamonds through our worldwide auction and tender markets. A key strategic goal of the Rapaport Group is to provide increased opportunity for diamond trading as we create diamond markets with greater price transparency, improved standards and fair access to all,” said Martin Rapaport, chairman of the Rapaport Group.

Additional information about the Rapaport Auctions is available at the auction website www.diamonds.net/auction, via email auctions@diamonds.net or by calling +1-702-893-9400. Or contact the Rapaport trading desks.

JCK