The wholesale diamond market was slow in January. This is seasonal and somewhat expected, however in January retailers generally replenish their inventories and prepare for Valentine’s Day, and this happened only to a limited extent. The world’s largest jewelry retailers reported a decline in diamond jewelry sales in December, so the issue may be goods being off loaded back into the wholesale market.
A very new organization, the China Diamond & Gem Exchange (MDGE) was established in 2018 in Macau as an international diamond and gem trading center. It was established against the backdrop of the growing diamond trade in China and a desire to attract a wider audience of traders to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area by creating a recognized exchange for diamond and gem trading in Macau.
The diamond industry has been suffering for a good number of years now, and we have discussed the declines, pains, and challenges many times in the past. In those articles, we looked deeply into the midstream of the diamond pipeline, specifically at diamond manufacturers and traders. Sadly, they are not acting in disconnect from others in the pipeline, and the pain of manufacturers is felt in other places as well.
The United States Jewelry Council (USJC) was formed with the goal of representing the US jewelry trade on issues related to responsible and sustainable sourcing on the national and international levels.
Last week we published our monthly report on the Mercury Diamond Global Tracker™ (MDGT™) for December, showing that prices of most round diamond size ranges between 0.30 carats to 2 carats rose during the last few months of the year. At the same time, our index, which covers a very wide range of goods has declined. It seems puzzling, but it really hides a sad truth about demand for polished diamonds around the world, mainly in the US and China, the two largest consumer markets.