Update - Calibrated Diamonds

Petra Diamonds Ld
31 January 2007

                             Petra Diamonds Limited



                          Update - Calibrated Diamonds





Petra Diamonds Limited ('Petra' or 'the Company' or 'the Group'), the AIM-quoted
and ASX-listed diamond group, announces the appointment of Mr Ken Axsel as
Managing Director of the Group's diamond cutting and polishing business,
Calibrated Diamonds Investment Holdings (Pty) Limited ('CDIH' or 'Calibrated
Diamonds').



Mr Axsel's experience in the global diamond industry spans 20 years. He joins
Petra from the leading global diamond bank ABN AMRO, where he served as Country
Head South Africa - International Diamond and Jewellery Group.  He started his
career as a geologist moving through the fields of mining engineering, mineral
economics as well as commercial and financial roles. Mr Axsel has also held the
positions of Deputy Executive Officer of the South African Diamond Board and
Director (Head of Mining) of ING Financial Markets.



Mr Axsel will work with Mr John Bond (Technical Director, CDIH), the founder of
Calibrated Diamonds, in taking the CDIH business forward. Mr Bond has been
involved in the cutting and polishing of diamonds for over 28 years and has been
involved in many of the technologies used in the global diamond industry. He was
instrumental in the development of technologies for the cutting of diamonds by
laser as well as techniques for the double and multiple side-sawing of rough
stones and has also been a recipient of some of South Africa's most prestigious
technology awards. The technologies he was instrumental in designing and which
are used at CDIH are among the most advanced diamond processing methods in the
world.



Petra acquired the entire issued share capital of CDIH in November 2006. CDIH is
focused on the cutting and polishing ('beneficiation') of rough diamonds,
utilising what Petra believes to be a unique process developed by CDIH and which
enables Petra to produce polished diamonds of a very high and consistent
standard. The acquisition of CDIH represents a significant step forward in
Petra's objective of growing its diamond revenues, as CDIH will provide Petra
with the potential to significantly enhance its overall revenues due to the
value added from the beneficiation of rough diamond production.



Johan Dippenaar, CEO of Petra Diamonds commented, 'Ken's appointment is an
important step for Petra as he, along with John Bond, will be driving the growth
and development of our beneficiation business, with the potential for
substantial value creation for the Company. His appointment also serves to
further increase the breadth of expertise in-house, as he brings to Petra a
wealth of diamond industry experience.  We are delighted to welcome people of
both Ken and John's calibre to the Petra team.'





For further information, please contact:


Cathy Malins / Annabel Leather                   Telephone: [phone]
Parkgreen Communications, London




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange