De Beers� sightholder affiliate in fake jewellery row

KGK has opened a factory in Gaborone and will be announced as a new Botswana Sightholder next month
KGK has opened a factory in Gaborone and will be announced as a new Botswana Sightholder next month

The jewellery arm of a De Beers Sightholder group, KGK Diamond Group, has been dragged before a New York court on charges of selling fake jewellery, fake gemstones, undisclosed synthetic diamonds and overstated gold.

KGK Jewellery vehemently denies the accusations. KGK Diamond Group, which is one of the largest diamond manufacturers and Jewellers in the world, recently opened a factory in Botswana after being selected by De Beers as one of the new Botswana sightholders for the 2015-18 selling period.

According to court papers filed before the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Madison Avenue Diamonds, a retail jewellery company licensed by Ivanka Trump, the daughter of billionaire Donald Trump, to manufacture and market the Ivanka Trump Diamond Collection, is accusing KGK Jewellery of supplying fake jewellery to the retail company.

Editor's Comment
Micro-procurement maze demands urgent reform

Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...

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