Market quiet during seasonal slowdown ahead of Passover holiday. Steady demand for round, 1 and 2 ct., D-H, SI1-SI2 diamonds. Russia sanctions creating concerns. De Beers sells $445M of rough in Apr. (-18% YOY, +3% from Mar.), boosted by sanctions. Okavango Apr. auction grosses $35M. Petra fiscal 3Q sales -1.5% YOY to $66M. India Mar. polished exports -27% YOY to $1.2B, rough imports -16% to $1.4B. Gold price +10% since Mar. 18 to $2,368/ounce. LVMH 1Q watch and jewelry sales -5% to $2.6B. Chow Tai Fook fiscal 4Q retail sales +12% as young Chinese consumers invest in gold. Watch Martin Rapaport webinar on source certification here. THE RAPAPORT PRICE LIST WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED NEXT WEEK DUE TO PASSOVER.

It’s important to distinguish between wholesale and retail lab-grown diamond prices and to consider how changes to these impact profits for jewelers and their suppliers.

As synthetics gain ground in jewelry collections and the minds of consumers, Rapaport Magazine takes a look at some of the latest developments in this product category.

What is the Rapaport team reading? Our editors and reporters sat down to pick content from around the web that’s helped expand their knowledge of the diamond and jewelry industry this week.