Russia’s Alrosa inks diamond supply deal with TiffanyNovember 28, 2012 - 18:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa has signed a long-term deal with Tiffany & Co. on the supply of rough diamonds for the US jewelry giant, Alrosa said on Wednesday, November 28, according to RIA Novosti. The deal was signed with Laurelton Diamonds, Tiffany’s Belgian subsidiary. “For Alrosa it is a priority to enter into direct long-term contracts with major companies involved in the manufacture of final products – polished diamonds and jewelry. And we are pleased that the number of our regular customers is now joined by such a global brand with a long history, as Tiffany,” Alrosa CEO Fyodor Andreyev said at the signing ceremony. Laurelton Diamonds is purchasing rough diamonds for further cutting and subsequent transfer to Tiffany. It has its own diamond-cutting facilities in Belgium, Vietnam, Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. “In recent years, Laurelton was on repeated occasions among Alrosa’s buyers of rough diamonds under one-off contracts. The signing of a long-term agreement will make our partnership permanent and serve to increase the supply of diamonds to Tiffany,” Andreyev added. The Kommersant business paper reported on Wednesday morning Alrosa was close to signing a three-year contract with Tiffany & Co., which may buy rough diamonds in Russia worth at least $60 million a year. Two weeks ago, Alrosa signed a two-year deal to supply rough diamonds to China’s Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. The deal is estimated at $100 million a year. Alrosa accounts for 25 percent of global diamond production in terms of value. In 2011 the company’s diamond output totaled 34.6 million carats, while rough diamond sales reached $4.45 billion. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |