Some facts about diamonds:

1. 130 million carats are mined every year.
2. They are the hardest known natural material.
3. The word diamond comes from the ancient Greek word for "invincible" or "untamed".
4. About half of all diamonds come from central and southern Africa.
5. Other major diamond producing companies include Canada, India, Russia, Brazil and Australia.
6. A blue diamond sold for about $8 million last year.

The following are some of the major diamond mining companies and jewelry retailers.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp (HWD) is involved in the mining and marketing of diamonds and in retailing fine jewelry and watches. This Toronto-based company was founded in 1980. It owns almost half of the Diavik Diamond Mine located in the Northwest Territories in Canada. The stock has a P/E of 17, a PEG of 1.19 and pays a yield of 0.7%.

Mountain Province Diamonds (MDM) is a Toronto-based natural resource property exploration and development company that mines for diamonds. The company recently reported a loss of a penny a share.

Anglo American PLC (AAUK), which trades on Nasdaq, is a miner of platinum, gold, diamonds, coal and industrial minerals. The stock has a P/E of 12, a PEG of 0.44 and pays a yield of 2.6%, with a market cap of $88 billion.

Rio Tinto (RTP) is a company that mines for everything from iron ore to aluminum to copper to diamonds to coal to talc. Although it's based in London, it has operations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This stock has a P/E ratio of 22, a PEG of 0.59 and a yield of 1.3%.

BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) and BHP Billiton PLC (BBL) represent the world's largest mining company in iron ore, diamonds, manganese, coal, copper, nickel, petroleum and bauxite. The Australian BHP Billiton Limited and the British BHP Billiton Plc trade separately with separate shareholders, but they operate as one business with the same boards of directors and one management organization. The P/E is 19, the PEG is 2.02 and the yield is 1.3%.

Signet Group (SIG) operates H. Samuel The Jeweler, Ernest Jones, The Diamond and Watch Specialist, and Leslie Davis retailers in the U.K. and Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, and other retailers in the U.S. The stock has a P/E of 12, a PEG of 0.94 and a yield of 4.8%.

Zale Corp (ZLC) is a jewelry retailer that has six brands: Zales Jewelers , Zales Outlet , Gordon's Jewelers , Bailey Banks & Biddle , Peoples Jewellers and Mappins Jewellers. The stock has a P/E of 33.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF), founded in 1837, is one of the top jewelry companies in the world, with more than 60 U.S. stores and more than 100 international locations. The metric carat as a weight standard for gems was developed by a Tiffany gemologist. The New York City flagship store is home to the 128-carat Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond. The stock has a P/E of 19, a PEG of 1.2 and a yield of 1.4%.

Blue Nile (NILE), founded in 1999, is a leading Web-based retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, and the largest online retailer of certified diamonds. The stock has a P/E of 44 and a PEG of 2.02.


By Stockerblog.com
Author does not own any of the above.