This year’s honorees include a Midwest retailer and two multi-store independents, one in New York and the other in New England.
Alrosa Sees Q1 Revenue Fall 17%
But rough diamond sales were up compared to Q4, as dealers in India recovered from the effects of the demonetization policy.

Moscow--Revenue fell 17 percent and net profit dropped by more than half in the first quarter for Alrosa, the Moscow-based diamond miner reported last week.
Revenue totaled $1.50 billion (84.8 billion rubles) in the first quarter, down 17 percent year-over-year but up 38 percent from the previous quarter.
In a company statement, newly appointed Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov said Indian demand for rough diamonds improved in the first quarter after taking a hit in Q4 2016 due to that country’s demonetization policy.
Net profit was $400 million, down 55 percent year-over-year but up 37 percent from the previous quarter.
The company said its margins were negatively impacted by the appreciation of the Russian ruble and the type of goods it sold in the first quarter.
While Alrosa sold more rough diamonds in carat terms in the first quarter--with sales of gem-quality rough diamonds totaling 11.1 million carats, up 25 percent year-over-year and 71 percent from the fourth quarter--the sales mix was dominated by smaller, lower-value stones.
Production reached 8.9 million carats, down 6 percent from 9.5 million in the fourth quarter 2016 but up 9 percent year-over-year.
A few days after releasing its first quarter results, Alrosa reported that it recovered a 60.32-carat rough diamond from the Gornoye alluvial deposit, located near the town of Mirny in far eastern Russia.
It is an octahedron crystal described as “transparent with yellow hue,” and it’s estimated to be worth about $175,000, the company said.
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