More than 130 watches and $270,000 in cash were seized from Jacobsens Jewellery store on Thursday 19 July, in a joint operation involving local police, AFP, Australian Border Force and NSW Fair Trading.

Strike Force Donwy officers executed a search warrant on the property to crack down on the fraudulent sale of luxury watches. According to NSW Police, the operation targets counterfeit items and illegally imported items evading tax.

One of Jacobsens business owners, Gabby Saffo told Nine News the day after the raid that his business, in partnership with former bikie Mark Judge, was “completely legitimate”.

Saffo said he was unable to calculate how many watches were seized during the search warrant: “They took a lot of watches. You’ll have to ask them how many,” he said.

The store sold watches within its Watch Exchange, where pre-owned luxury watches were held on consignment before they were sold for commission.

The seizure came after a 43-year-old man was arrested earlier in July for allegedly purchasing a Rolex watch “fraudulently” from the store. According to NSW Police, he was charged with dishonesty obtaining property by deception, possession of identity information to commit an indictable offence and dealing with property proceeds of crime.

The man appeared at Waverly Local Court on Wednesday 6 June where he was refused bail to reappear at Parramatta Drug Court on Wednesday 29 August.

Investigations are continuing.

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Diamond Jewellers owner Dale Edward Mooney will remain in house detention as he finds a way to repay more than NZ$90,000 (AU$82,310) following multiple sales of fake diamond jewellery spanning six years, New Zealand Times reported.

The Hamilton jeweller faced court last month for defrauding a number of customers and leaving one couple more than NZ$60,000 (AU$55,000) out of pocket when he swapped authentic diamonds for a cubic zirconia.

One customer reportedly said she paid NZ$60,000 towards a piece of jewellery that Mooney told her was worth NZ$92,500 (AU$84,600). It was subsequently valued at NZ$4,000 (AU$3,660).

Other cases included a victim who purchased a ring from Mooney for a discounted price at NZ$6,500 (AU$5,945), originally offered at NZ$7,995 (AU$7,310). The New Plymouth woman later found out the ring was only valued at NZ$4,400 (AU$4,040).

Mooney’s jewellery business was well recognised in the community prior to the revelation of his charges. The 43-year-old’s business won the 2014 Business Of The Year in the Hamilton Central Business Association Awards.

Mooney was found guilty of theft and fraud charges at Manukau District Court in June, and was ordered to pay NZ$90,436 (AU$82,715) in reparations to his victims, however none have reported the retrieval of any compensation.

DE Mooney and Company Ltd was placed into liquidation with liquidators currently seeking more than $300,000 for creditors. Mooney has moved back to Manurewa, Auckland, where he is serving his home sentence.

The officer in charge of the case, Hamilton Police Constable Jason Bishop, said anyone who had bought a ring from Diamond Jewellers, formerly based at 509B Victoria Street, and was concerned about its authenticity, should get a valuation.
Anyone with any concerns regarding their jewellery purchases has been asked to contact Hamilton Police.

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Platinum jewellery accounted for 70 per cent of platinum demand in China, with 12 million pieces sold each year and India is on track to contribute 500,000 ounces for jewellery manufacturing by 2023, according to PGI in its maiden report.

Platinum jewellery is shifting to a consumer-centric business model in China, and in India demand for platinum in the jewellery sector is accelerating at the fastest rate.

According to the 2018 first quarter report by PGI, platinum outperforms all other categories in India with robust growth for platinum retail sales reported among partners at 25 per cent, outperforming gold and diamond jewellery.

Unlike in the US, Japan and Europe, 80 per cent of China’s platinum jewellery is unbranded, and as such, PGI CEO Huw Daniel is working with the industry to ensure it meets consumers’ expectations.

“We are seeing that consumer preferences are changing very fast and the industry cannot rely on outdated designs and homogenous products in a day and age where design-driven branded collections hold more value,” Daniel was quoted as saying.

“We have seen some great successful stories, demonstrating such changes not only meet the evolving needs of Chinese jewellery consumers, but also deliver real economic benefits to our partners, with a growing share of platinum business in their product portfolio.”

Not only have consumer demands shifted, but demand in the market has increased. Significant increase in the demand for platinum jewellery in China has made the sector the second biggest ounce contributor for the metal, accounting for 35 per cent of total demand at 2.5 million ounces of yearly fabrication.

“We’re seeing a lot of growth in the market. Obviously, the platinum price is really helping us in many of our markets where we’re competing against 18-carat gold,” Daniel told Mining Weekly Online in an exclusive interview.

“We’ve been very fortunate in the support that the platinum mining industry continues to give to PGI, bearing in mind the current context of the industry.”

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The ‘Argyle Alpha’ diamond is the largest gemstone for sale in the 34-year history of the Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, and will be previewed in Sydney before travelling to Hong Kong then New York, with bids closing in October.

Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said he was “delighted” to showcase the diamond, along with 62 other rare pink, red and violet diamonds, totalling 51.48 carats, this year.

“Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine is the world’s only source of these highly coveted pink, red and violet diamonds, and we expect considerable interest in this year’s collection. The combination of strong demand and extremely limited world supply continues to support significant value appreciation for Argyle pink diamonds,” he said.

Mondial Pink Diamond Atelier owner, Michael Neuman, took one client through a preview of the tender and said it was the “most extraordinary” collection he had witnessed in his 20 plus years of tender viewings.

“The immediate reaction to the preview was, ‘wow, these stones are so big’,” he said.

“There were two record-breaking diamonds, which was pretty amazing. I can’t remember the last time I saw a 2-carat round argyle stone in the tender, but this year showcased both that, and the two record-breakers.” Neuman said the closure of Argyle Mine, set for 2021, would intensify the bidding process.

“There will be heavy bidding for all of the stones because this will probably be the second or third-last opportunity for people to buy a tender stone. Certainly, because of the extraordinary characteristics of some of the diamonds there, it will be serious bidding,” he said.

Argyle Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson told ABC News that only a handful of collectors from around the globe would have an opportunity to bid on the tender, and this year’s sale is anticipated to be “fiercely competitive” as the finite nature of pink diamonds becomes more apparent to bidders.

“There’s growing awareness now that they’re just not rare but they’re very finite — I can feel already this is going to be a very competitive year. With the mine closing by 2021 we’ve only got two or three tenders to go,” she said.

The Argyle Alpha will be joined by other record-breaking gemstones, including the Argyle Muse. At over 2 carats, the Muse is the largest purplish-red diamond offered at the tender.

“These stones are less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the mine’s production; they are extraordinarily rare,” she said.

“It’s really remarkable that this mine, virtually the sole world source of pink diamonds, keeps giving us these super-special gems.”

Argyle Mine has a good start to the year with Rio Tinto experiencing 7 per cent increase in diamond production year on year in the second quarter of 2018, driven by the mine’s increase in output.

According to a company statement, production came to 4.6 million carats for the three months ending 30 June, with Argyle yielding 3.5 million carats at an increase of 8 per cent over the same period last year.

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The man entered the Nambour store on Monday 16 July around 3:45pm and asked to view a gold chain on sale. The offender fled the store with the gold chain after the female shop assistant handed him the chain.

The woman chased him into a nearby automotive store where the pair wrestled over the chain, which the man held onto as he jumped into a red Toyota Camry parked nearby.

Two men who witnessed the altercation ran to the car in an attempt to complete a citizens’ arrest.However, the offender threatened the pair, claiming he had a gun, before speeding off. One of the witnesses was treated in hospital for a possible fractured arm while the other man and the woman received treatment for minor injuries.

Meanwhile, a New Zealand jewellery store was also robbed, this time at knifepoint, on Tuesday 17 July.

The Somerville jeweller was held up about 2:45pm. Detective Inspector Fa’amanuia Va’aelua told the New Zealand Times that a shop assistant was threatened during the robbery.

“Three males entered the store armed with knives. They threatened a store worker, smashed glass counters and took off with items,” he said. “Thankfully nobody was injured during the incident, and police are now following positive lines of enquiry and are in the process of retrieving CCTV footage.”

Investigations are still continuing for both incidents.

In other robbery news

The mastermind behind the UK Hatton Garden jewellery heist has been released from prison.

Brian Reader left Belmarsh prison in London earlier this month after serving half of his seven-year sentence for his role in the multi-million dollar safety deposit box robbery.

The 79-year-old led a ring of thieves, most of whom were aged in their sixties  and seventies, to steal £14 million (AU$24.75 m) worth of jewellery and valuables from the safety deposit box centre back in 2015.

Reader will attend court once a date has been set to settle whether or not he will return to prison for the remainder of his sentence. The Kent man was originally supposed to return to jail after he failed to pay back his £6.5million (AU$11.49 m) confiscation order, which was due this month.

Former Flying Squad commander John O’Connor told The Sun: “He ruined people’s lives, and until he pays back that money, or tells the police what happened to it, he should stay in jail.”

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The awards ceremony, in its 13th year, will celebrate its first trip to Victoria as it heads to Melbourne this October.

The biennial awards will showcase the work of jewellers across six categories, which will be judged for uniqueness, innovation and originality, with a strict quality standard and criteria to meet the Guild’s benchmarks for diamond quality and craftsmanship.

Categories will cover solitaire, fancy colour, diamonds for every day, diamonds for men, red carpet and emerging talent fields. The winning entry for each category will then be in the running for the Supreme award, which will be showcased as the “pinnacle of Australian Jewellery Design excellence”.

Executive Officer of Diamond Guild Australia, Melissa James, said the awards had become one of the most highly regarded in the Australian jewellery industry since its establishment in 2005.

“We are thrilled to open entries for the 2018 Diamond Guild Australia Jewellery Awards and are looking forward to highlighting the very best in diamond and jewellery design innovation from retailers across Australia,” she said.

The award ceremony had an extended hiatus after its 2017 event was postponed to avoid conflicting jewellery events.
Entries for the awards close on 3 September before the gala, to be hosted on 16 October.

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