Rough diamonds are selling if their price is correct. The conversation amongst Sightholders this week is that De Beers’ pricing of last week’s sight boxes has been a disappointment. Sightholders refused around 25% of their allocated boxes.
Man-made Diamonds, lab-made Diamonds, lab grown diamonds, synthetic diamonds and many other names have been given to what many consider to be a threat to the diamond industry. When referring to the matter it is almost as if people are asking, “to be or not to be?” I say: to be and to thrive.
The diamond market is quieter than hoped-for at the moment. Sales of polished diamonds in the run-up to Thanksgiving in the US proved disappointing and this has led to a decline in polished prices.
I believe increased transparency could change the future of the diamond industry. There are two main types of transparency now needed - pricing transparency and operational transparency.
Sales of diamonds for Indian Diwali and Chinese Golden Week are down on last year’s results. We’re now seeing a clear shift in diamond buying power from China, South East Asia and India back to the US.