The Diamond Bourse of Canada, a first for the country, will be fully operational by the end of the month in Toronto, bourse officials announced earlier this week.

Expect a strong diamond industry presence at BaselWorld this year that includes the unveiling of a new responsibility-focused ad campaign from the Israeli Diamond Institute (IDI) Group of Companies and Rapaport Group Chairman Martin Rapaport's presentation on diamond opportunities and his fair trade conference. 

The Rapaport Group is now providing diamond import services to mainland China, a market many consider to be the future of consumer demand for diamonds.

Blue Nile aims to capture as much as 15 percent of the multi-billion dollar U.S. engagement ring market, and is also looking toward international expansion, company executives said during an investor conference held earlier this week.

The Kimberley Process (KP) has designated a monitor to address allegations of serious KP violations in the diamond-producing nation of Zimbabwe and to bring that country back into compliance, according to a media release issued today.

This year, the Israeli diamond industry is bringing its largest contingent ever to the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, scheduled for March 5 to 9.

Petra Diamonds Ltd. announced today that a 507-carat piece of rough unearthed at its Cullinan mine in September sold for $35.3 million, the highest sale price on record ever achieved for a rough diamond.

After a difficult year, predicting that 2010 is going to be an improvement for the diamond industry isn't saying much. But it may come as a relief to some retailers who have been sitting on piles of diamond hoops and bangles.

The De Beers Group announced Wednesday that David Noko, managing director of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM), the group's South African mining entity, will step down after eight years with the company, including four years as its managing director.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, which had previously only approved the use of the word "synthetic" in reference to diamonds created in a lab, has now expanded the number of terms it deems acceptable to use in reference to the stones.