London Diamond Bourse President Freddy Shalteel Hager was a central figure in the diamond industry for many years. Born in October 1948, in post-war Britain, his start was humble. He graduated from University College London in 1972 with a degree in economics and moved to Israel to learn the diamond business. At first, he was not sure he really wanted to work with diamonds, but after he learned how to sort and grade small diamonds, he changed his mind.
Demand is falling and dragging prices down with it, leading to a decline in trade. That is the central theme of the recent past. Miners, countries and traders are all reporting a decline in activity. A worrying trend throughout the diamond pipeline.
George Robert Crowningshield may not be a household name to many in the diamond industry, however he is responsible for a number of important discoveries that impact nearly everyone in the trade. Key among them were techniques in detecting diamond fraud. He was also instrumental in establishing what are known as the 4Cs.
Polished diamond prices declined sharply in September, eroding all the gains made during the year. The Mercury Diamond Global Tracker™ averaged 111.74 in September 2018, down 1.85% over August. This is the deepest monthly price decline since May 2015, when prices plunged more than 4%. Polished diamond trade was very limited during the month due to a series of Jewish and Hindu holidays.
We have written about the Jonker diamond and some of its history a number of times. Yet parts of the story of this diamond were virtually never discussed. The 726-carat Jonker Diamond was reportedly found in South Africa on January 17, 1934 by Johannes Jacobus Jonker. One of the biggest rough diamonds ever discovered, it was originally sold for £75,000.
