It is not surprising that during these difficult times diamond companies compete hard against each other to stay in the game.
However we should not lose sight of the fact that a more silent but nonetheless serious competition may be coming from outside the diamond industry, namely other luxury items such as watches, handbags and electronics.
The Cushion-shaped diamond has been popular for several centuries. According to some accounts, it was the most popular diamond shape in the 19th century. A classic shape for a diamond, Cushions are squarish diamonds with rounded corners. Its large facets give it a look that resembles the shape of a cushion, hence the source of its name.
The diamond market predicament, which began late last year and developed into a full-blown crisis in the past few months, is continuing to evolve in a somewhat predictable way. There are positive aspects to this, such as we saw in the De Beers Sight last week. The diamond miner has reduced production and prices in response to the drop in demand. Sightholders have also decreased their requests for goods. Will this rational behavior prevail?
The Marquise is an elongated diamond shape with a large top surface. As such, it is a great choice when size is a leading factor in choosing a diamond shape.
Looking at other industries, there appears to be various ways to address the challenges of excess fragmentation in parts of the diamond sector as highlighted previously.