ALBANIA Domain name .al Domain .al for sale

The Diamond Mining Corporation, a joint venture between Zimbabwe and Pure Diam of Dubai, reportedly asked the government for additional diamond concessions in the Marange since the lifespan of its current operations was only expected to be four years at the present rate of production.

The Zimbabwe Standard reported that the Diamond Mining Corp.’s deputy general manager, Gilliam Sithole, told Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently that the company produced 611,585 carats of rough diamonds so far. Sithole added that even with an average grade of 1.34 carats per tonne of ore processed, the amount was  “generally lower than the grades” obtained in the region.

“In order to improve on the return of investment of Diamond Mining Corp., the government should consider allocating a concession with diamondiferous conglomerates, which have been known to carry a grade averaging plus or minus 6 carat per tonne,” he was quoted saying.

Pure Diam has reportedly contributed $35 million towards developing its Marange concession in partnership with the Zimbabwe Mining & Development Corporation (ZMDC), which is under sanctions by the U.S. and E.U.  Production from the concession is being sold to the global diamond market. This production may not be purchased by entities based in the U.S. or E.U.

Rio Tinto said it recovered Australia’s largest rough pink diamond, a 12.76-carat stone, at its Argyle open pit mine in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The diamond, to be named the “Argyle Pink Jubilee,” is a light pink diamond and similar in color to the Williamson Pink that Queen Elizabeth received as a wedding gift and which was set in a brooch for her coronation.

“A diamond of this calibre is unprecedented – it has taken 26 years of Argyle production to unearth this stone and we may never see one like this again,” said Argyle Pink Diamonds’ manager, Josephine Johnson.

The diamond will be cut and polished in Perth by Richard How Kim Kam. He has  worked for Argyle for the past 25 years and spent the past two months assessing this pink diamond. He estimated that it will take 10 days to cut and polish it as a single stone.

“I’m going to take it very carefully. I know the world will be watching,” he said

Once the diamond has been cut, a team of international experts will grade it. Subsequently, it will be showcased and sold as part of the Argyle Pink Diamonds tender later this year.

Large pink diamonds generally go to museums, are gifted to royalty or end up at auction houses. Rio Tinto noted that Christie’s has only auctioned 18 polished pink diamonds over 10 carats in its 244 year history.

Anjolee launched a new bridal line, the SR36, featuring princess cut diamond rings in both elegant and classic settings. The SR36 series is available in 10, 14 and 18-karat white and yellow gold and platinum prong settings.

The line’s “Princess Allure Diamond Bridal Set” features a diamond wedding set with 23 princess cut diamonds. The center diamond in the engagement ring is offered in five sizes including 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, and 1.50 carat sizes.

Another diamond engagement design from the collection, the ring with 10 side stones, and offers customization options.  The rings in the series can also be personalized by alternating diamonds and gemstones.

In Unity Marketing’s latest “Luxury Tracking” survey, which the research group conducted in January 2012, jewelry brand Pandora emerged as the second-ranked luxury jewelry brand, trailing only  Tiffany & Co.   Nonetheless,  Unity’s president Pam Danziger, said that many jewelry designers felt no impact from  Pandora’s growing popularity and market reach.

“They may want to put their ears a little closer to the ground,” Danziger said, “because Pandora is gaining on them and is poised to be a game-changer in the luxury jewelry industry.”

Unity Marketing found that Pandora’s  design-your-own jewelry approach gives customers the ability to become part of the creation experience.  And each additional charm added to the piece over time can represent new moments and memories in that person’s life.

Pandora’s approach dovetails nicely with the current economic climate and luxury consumer behavior in two ways, according to Unity Marketing. First, luxury consumers consistently report valuing “experience” over physical possessions when they make a purchase, so the Pandora brand fits that desire to commemorate a special experience.  Secondly, the unique nature of the pieces means that it is highly unlikely an affluent consumer will see her jewelry expression on the arm of another, concluded Danziger.

“This is critical in this time of increasing class warfare and backlash against the rich, when an identifiable piece of luxury jewelry that obviously comes from an expensive brand may make a tone-deaf statement in a climate of continued economic uncertainty,” she added.

Pandora jewelry allows the personality of the wearer to be more important than the branding message, showing that it indeed the company understands its target consumers. Every luxury brand must do the same in order to be “truly competitive in a world in which being an identifiably affluent-oriented brand can be as much a liability as a benefit,” according to Unity Marketing.