The US Treasury has imposed sanctions against nearly 300 Russian entities in its latest round, including a company specializing in the export of rough and polished diamonds.
The new series of restrictions the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has applied marks the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is also in response to the death of opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny, the Treasury said last week.
OFAC has targeted Almazyuvelirexport, Russia’s state-owned exporter of rough and polished diamonds and precious metals. The company was designated for “operating, or having operated, in the metals and mining sector of the Russian Federation economy,” it added.
Other companies that were banned included financial institutions, the defense industry, companies “providing backdoor support for Russia’s war machine,” and those connected to Navalny’s imprisonment.
The G7’s sanctions on Russian-mined polished diamonds, set to go into effect March 1, will have a six-month “sunrise period” to let the industry adjust to the new rules, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Botswana.
The ban will initially apply to polished diamonds at least one carat in weight, then expand in September to a half-carat and larger.
To verify the diamond’s provenance, the G7 will establish a new certification system based in Belgium. From March through August, G7 certification will be recommended; as of Sept. 1, it will be required.
G7 leaders committed in February, May and December 2023 to work collectively to reduce the revenue Russia uses to finance its illegal war against Ukraine that is derived from its diamond trade. The December G7 statement included the following language: We will introduce import restrictions on non-industrial diamonds, mined, processed, or produced in Russia, by January 1, 2024, followed by further phased restrictions on the import of Russian diamonds processed in third countries targeting March 1, 2024. To further the effectiveness of these measures, those G7 members who are major importers of rough diamonds will establish a robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds within the G7 by September 1, 2024, and we will continue to consult with partners, including producing and manufacturing countries on its design and implementation. We will continue consultations among G7 members and with other partners including producing countries as well as manufacturing countries for comprehensive controls for diamonds produced and processed in third countries on measures for traceability. Russia is the world’s largest rough diamond producer by volume and a significant global diamond exporter (> US $3.8 billion in exports in 2022). Its state-owned diamond mining conglomerate, Alrosa, accounts for 95% of Russian diamond production and is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume and second largest by value. Approach
A “direct ban” on Russian imports (direct flows of non-industrial diamond goods exported directly from Russia to a G7 country) is in place by all G7 members as of January 1, 2024. Specific measures and timelines are being developed to prevent indirect flows of non-industrial diamonds mined in or (for certain G7 partners) transited through Russia. This includes diamonds which are exported, processed and/or polished, in a third country and afterwards imported by a G7 member. To avoid unintended negative consequences and undue burden on other diamond industry stakeholders, the G7 is consulting key partners, including producing and manufacturing countries, as well as industry, on proposed controls and traceability measures for diamonds produced and processed in third countries. This consultation will continue with virtual meetings and possible future in-person visits. Through phased-in implementation, the indirect ban of Russian diamonds from G7 markets is expected to begin on March 1, 2024, with the banning of non-industrial natural diamonds mined in Russia sized 1.0 carat and larger. The G7 is targeting September 1, 2024 to extend the indirect ban to all non-industrial natural diamonds mined in Russia sized 0.5 carats and larger. To further the effectiveness of these measures, the December G7 statement indicates that those G7 members who are major importers of rough diamonds will establish a robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism, detailed further below. This is envisaged to be fully operational by September 1, 2024. From March 1, 2024, it will be encouraged to identify all non-Russian diamonds above one carat entering a G7 country through this traceability mechanism. During a “sunrise period” from March 1, 2024 to August 31, 2024 documentary supply chain evidence will also be accepted by G7 countries, ahead of full operationalization of the traceability mechanism. Further details will be made available ahead of March 1st. From September 1, 2024, use of the traceability mechanism will be required for import into the G7, for diamonds sized 0.5 carats and larger. In this context, traceability will be expected to begin at the point of the first export, rather than the mine-site, though we encourage mine-level traceability where possible.
Options are being considered with respect to how to treat existing stocks of diamonds (grandfathered diamonds) and jewelry. A G7 technical working group, led by the European Commission, has been established to continue consultations and provide recommendations on the way forward. Governments and industry stakeholders are encouraged to engage with the technical group, with the understanding that ultimate decisions concerning the import requirements for G7 countries are taken consistent with respective national systems. Traceability mechanism detail
To ensure the provenance of diamonds entering G7 countries, a certified traceability mechanism known as “G7 Certification” will be recommended as of March 1, 2024, and required as of September 1, 2024. G7 Certification will verify and certify the provenance of rough diamonds from the point of first export through the use of a central import hub in Belgium during the period when the traceability mechanism system is tested. Thereafter, other credible options to the single node can be considered. Diamonds will then carry this verification throughout the supply chain, including through polishing, processing and manufacturing. This will enable stones to be checked at the point of import into the G7, ensuring their non-Russian provenance. G7 Certification will work by using and expanding on existing tracing technologies and controls. Diamond producers and manufacturers, throughout the supply chain, will need to incorporate validated traceability solutions into their operations. The G7 will determine and communicate standards that solution(s) will need to meet to qualify for G7 Certification. These third-party traceability solutions will then communicate key data points, including provenance information, with a secure, independent Distributed Ledger. To ensure the system is viable and credible, this information will be complemented by a physical check on rough diamonds, in Belgium. This check provides the G7 certificate, based on a high level of assurance, which will be carried onwards through the supply chain. This approach is needed to ensure that verification and certification is completed in a node where no Russian diamonds can be present given legal requirements that have been put in place. Belgium is developing the details for the way this system will function. The G7 will coordinate with Belgium during this phase to ensure the system is functional and presents minimal additional costs and delays. As noted, once this system is in place, tested, and perfected, the G7 will consider additional options and approaches beyond the central G7 import hub in Belgium. We expect to implement mitigating measures for beneficiation (polishing in the mining country). Export of the polished, beneficiated goods to the G7 countries may be direct if appropriate measures are put in place to ensure non-contamination of Russian diamonds. This system will provide traders, manufacturers, retailers and ultimately customers with the highest assurances of the non-Russian provenance of their diamonds in accordance with the G7 measures. Greater data intelligence and controls will also significantly enhance the overall levels of traceability in the diamond industry.
Geologists from ETH Zurich and the University of Melbourne have established a link between diamond occurrence and the mineral olivine.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the scientists explain that their method will simplify the detection of diamond deposits. The process relies on the chemical composition of kimberlites, which occur only on very old continental blocks that have remained geologically unchanged for billions of years, predominantly in Canada, South America, central and southern Africa, Australia and Siberia.
According to the study’s lead author, Andrea Giuliani, olivine is a mineral that makes up around half of kimberlite rock and consists of varying proportions of magnesium and iron. The more iron olivine contains, the less magnesium it has and vice versa.
“In rock samples where the olivine was very rich in iron, there were no diamonds or only very few,” Giuliani, who has been studying the formation and occurrence of the gemstones since 2015, said in a media statement. “We started to collect more samples and data, and we always got the same result.”
His investigations ultimately confirmed that olivine’s iron-to-magnesium ratio is directly related to the diamond content of the kimberlite. Giuliani and his team took these findings back to De Beers, who had provided them with the kimberlite samples. The company was interested and provided the scientific study with financial support and asked the researchers not to publish the results for the time being.
A slow, repetitive process In 2019, Giuliani moved from Melbourne to ETH Zurich and, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, began to look for explanations for the connection between olivine’s magnesium and iron content and the presence of diamonds.
With his new colleagues, he examined how the process of metasomatism, which takes place in the earth’s interior, affects diamonds. In metasomatism, hot liquids and melts attack the rock. The minerals present in the rock react with the substances dissolved in the fluids to form other minerals.
The geologists analyzed kimberlite samples that contained olivines with a high iron content—and hence no diamonds. They discovered that olivine becomes richer in iron in the places where melt penetrates the lithospheric mantle and changes the composition of mantle rocks significantly. And it is precisely in this layer, at a depth of around 150 kilometres, that diamonds are present.
The infiltration of the melt that makes olivine richer in iron destroys diamonds. If, on the other hand, no or only a small amount of melt from underlying layers penetrates the lithospheric mantle and thus no metasomatism takes place, the olivine contains more magnesium—and the diamonds are preserved.
“Our study shows that diamonds remain intact only when kimberlites entrain mantle fragments on their way up that haven’t extensively interacted with previous melt,” Giuliani said.
A key point is that kimberlites don’t normally reach the earth’s surface in one go. Rather, they begin to rise as a liquid mass, pick up fragments of the mantle on the way, cool down and then get stuck. In the next wave, more melt swells up from the depths, entrains components of the cooled mantle, rises higher, cools, and gets stuck. This process can happen multiple times.
“It’s a real stop-and-go process of melting, ascent and solidification. And that has a destructive effect on diamonds,” Giuliani noted. If, on the other hand, conditions prevail that allow kimberlites to rise directly to the surface, then this is ideal for the preservation of the gemstones.
De Beers is already using olivine analysis Olivine analysis is as reliable as previous prospecting methods, which are mainly based on the minerals clinopyroxene and garnet. However, the new method is easier and faster: it takes only a few analyses to get an idea of whether a given kimberlite field has diamonds or not.
“The great thing about this new method is not only that it’s simpler, but also that it finally allows us to understand why the previous methods worked,” Giuliani said. “De Beers is already using this new method.”
The diamond industry is bracing for significant change in 2024.
New sanctions on Russia will fast-track the adoption of traceability programs across the supply chain. Should they wish to sell those diamonds into the Group of Seven (G7) countries, companies will have to prove their goods were sourced from non-Russian production.
On December 6, the G7 — comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — announced its latest sanctions, aimed at “limiting Russia’s ability to fund its illegal war,” the joint statement read.
Diamonds featured prominently in this round of measures, perhaps because the group had delayed a policy decision on how to handle Russia’s diamond supply until then — nearly two years after the war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
Initial sanctions targeted Russia’s oil and gas industry as well as restricting its banking system and the transfer of funds, while touching on diamonds in an ambiguous way.
Still, diamonds contribute to Russia’s government revenue and therefore to the war effort, causing the sector to be entangled in the sanctions discussion.
The Russian Federation owns a 33% stake in mining company Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume. The company generated rough sales of $4 billion from 45.5 million carats in 2021, the last prewar publication of its earnings.
“The goal of this effort remains centered on reducing revenue that Russia earns from diamonds, which fuels Moscow’s war machine against Ukraine,” the European Commission (EC) stressed in a separate statement, which provided additional details about the sanctions.
Sanctions in place The sanctions will replace existing measures some countries implemented earlier.
The US banned imports of diamonds from Russia in March 2022, but left a loophole allowing for polished stones transformed from Russian rough in third countries. The European Union delayed implementing any restrictions out of concern such measures would place Belgium at a disadvantage in its competition with Dubai — as well as Mumbai and Tel Aviv — for market share as the premier rough-trading center. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and Israel have not implemented any restrictions on Russian-origin diamonds, though they export goods to those countries with a ban in place.
An EU-only import ban would not have been efficient, the EC added in its explainer. “It would have meant the death of Antwerp,” said an official who requested anonymity. “What is on the table is the survival of Antwerp.”
Consequently, the EU has been the driving force for a fully coordinated approach and timeline within the G7, the European Commission emphasized.
That effort sees the group phase in various levels of diamond sanctions.
The first stage, which took effect on January 1, banned direct imports of diamonds from Russia. On March 1, the sanctions will be extended to diamonds above 1 carat that were sourced from Russian rough but polished in a third country, addressing the loophole that existed in the original US sanctions. Finally, beginning September 1, the restrictions will include lab-grown diamonds, jewelry, and watches containing diamonds above 0.50 carats.
Traceability component The big challenge lies in how to verify that a diamond is not of Russian origin. To that end, the group will establish a “robust traceability-based verification and certification mechanism for rough diamonds,” which will be mandatory from September 1, the EC said in its statement. A pilot program for the system will begin on March 1, it added.
The idea is to create a digital twin of the real diamond in its rough state and to issue a certificate of the diamond’s origin, the commission explained. It is unclear whether that certificate will be a physical printout — as customs officials are used to — or only digital, noted another European official.
The identifying information and certificate will be entered into a stand-alone blockchain-based ledger, which will be inter-operational with several existing solutions facilitating the traceability mechanism, an EC spokesperson explained in an email.
In other words, there will be a centralized blockchain that will be fed with information from traceability service providers.
“This allows the diamond to be traced through the production process and can be presented at the time of importation of the finished diamond,” the spokesperson said.
The commission did not clarify by press time the criteria service providers will have to meet to contribute to the G7 system, or what information will be uploaded to the centralized ledger. Companies with diamond-related traceability programs include De Beers’ Tracr, Everledger, iTraceiT, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and Sarine Technologies.
Industry concerns The certification of goods registered on the ledger will be done in Belgium, with some exceptions being considered, an official noted.
As the only producer country among the G7 nations, Canada may be given the option to certify its own production, the official said. It is also understood that rough earmarked for beneficiation — polishing in the country of mined origin — will be exempt from passing through Belgium to be G7-certified.
De Beers is waiting for clarification on several points, most importantly whether its practice of mixing supply from its mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and South Africa — known as aggregation — will be affected.
“We await clarity on how the new import requirements will be implemented in practice and will urge a sensible and practical approach to implementation that recognizes the fundamental importance of aggregation in delivering value for diamond businesses and producer countries, as well as the significance of beneficiation,” a company spokesperson said.
De Beers’ assortments will still have to be certified in Belgium, but it will be an exception in that these goods will be the only “mixed origin” ones that will be allowed, the official noted.
Yoram Dvash, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), urged the G7 to include other centers in the registration process.
It is possible to create “a more efficient and effective mechanism” by allowing other major rough diamond centers such as Dubai, Mumbai, and Tel Aviv, as well as producing countries, to conduct the inspection and registration of goods, Dvash stressed in a statement immediately following the G7 announcement.
The Industry’s Russia Crisis: Formulating Sanctions
Ready for volume Among the concerns expressed have been whether Antwerp can handle the large volumes that are expected to accompany the new mechanism. One representative estimated the system would not result in higher volumes than those with which the Antwerp Diamond Office has dealt in the past. That official referenced 2021 as a comparative base, when Belgium imported 68.1 million carats of rough valued at EUR 6.49 billion ($7.1 billion), and exports reached 90.7 million carats worth EUR 7.48 billion ($8.18 billion), according to data the National Bank of Belgium published.
Before the war in Ukraine, Belgium was the largest buyer of Russian rough, importing 27.1 million carats worth EUR 1.57 billion ($1.72 billion) in 2021 — 24% of its total rough imports by value and 40% by volume (see graph). Excluding the Russian goods will mean Antwerp won’t see a significant spike compared to 2021, the official noted. Belgium’s imports of rough from Russia declined 19% in 2022 and have slumped 76% year on year to just EUR 285.1 million ($311.7 million) in the first nine months of 2023, the National Bank of Belgium data showed.
The bigger question is whether the traceability programs can handle such volumes. To date, adoption within the trade has been minimal and largely driven by retail jewelry brands that require thorough source verification.
“We continue to accelerate development of Tracr and engage with the wider industry as we await further details so that Tracr can support the industry’s needs as best as possible,” a De Beers spokesperson said. “However, we also acknowledge that even Tracr, the world’s most advanced diamond traceability platform, does not yet have the breadth of coverage that would be required to meet the G7 objectives in the stated time frames.”
Sarine recently unveiled its Autoscan Plus system, which it claims can scan 1,000 stones per hour for its Diamond Journey traceability program. Autoscan Plus was built for scale and developed as a smaller, cheaper solution, Sarine CEO David Block said.
Extra cost The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the local trade body that incorporates both government and industry elements and oversees operations of the Diamond Office, is reportedly expanding its capabilities to handle the extra volume.
Still, many in the trade are skeptical whether the industry is ready to implement a digital traceability solution at such a scale. “The government fell for false promises regarding how to work and implement the system,” said one dealer. “Even if it is possible, it will be expensive.”
Early critics of the system have expressed concern about the additional cost of certification and of potential double shipping to Belgium.
“Having only one point for registration and inspection will impose additional costs of time and money to the diamond trade,” the WFDB said. It will lengthen the cycle of trading and getting goods to market, added another dealer.
Vipul Shah, chairman of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), expects the move will impact the cost of raw materials for local manufacturers. “We are coordinating with the World Diamond Council [WDC] to mitigate such disruption and cost impact,” he said in an email.
Members of the trade cautioned that the cost of certification may even make Russian goods more attractive, while the market bifurcates to a two-tier system.
De Beers said it wants to understand how risks such as the creation of a potential supply bottle neck and additional costs will be managed if the G7 intends to limit the points of admission of rough diamonds into G7 nations. “We advocate for a solution that facilitates the trade of our diamonds into G7 countries, rather than restricting them,” the De Beers spokesperson stressed.
The EC responded that the cost for certification is expected to be negligible, “especially considering the price of diamonds,” according to its spokesperson. “The fee will be cost-bearing, not designed to generate profits.”
As for the double shipping, officials expect the goods will simply pass through Belgium as the main gateway — instead of other centers — before being sent for manufacturing. The extra shipping cost will likely apply for rough designated for tender sale in other rough-diamond locations such as Dubai and Tel Aviv.
Demand for Diamond Traceability Spikes
Artisanal and cottage industry
While the registration of rough will be overseen by the AWDC at the Diamond Office, it is a government-led mechanism, Rapaport understands. That means that it would be required at the point of export, which is significant when dealing with the artisanal mining sector.
So, if the artisanal miner sells his goods to a buyer in the location of mining, it will be up to the buyer to send the goods to Belgium for registration, an official explained.
Trade bodies, along with De Beers, echoed the WDC’s mantra that “no one should be left behind,” expressing concern that artisanal miners will be at a disadvantage under the new system.
“If such a solution is intended to be fully technological, this would be to the detriment of African producers, artisanal miners and the wider industry, with significant risk of unintended consequences,” the De Beers spokesperson added.
Artisanal and small-scale miners, who typically don’t have access to technology, should be able to send their rough into any cutting center to be registered and certified, trade members wrote in a draft letter being prepared for presentation to the G7, which Rapaport saw.
Similarly, the Indian industry is urging the G7 to take into consideration the interests of small and medium enterprises for whom the adoption of technology to track their polished diamonds might be out of reach at this stage. These marginal diamond units support millions of livelihoods, the GJEPC’s Shah stressed.
EU officials expect the program may even help formalize the artisanal mining sector and motivate investment in that segment — such as among G7 government bodies with an interest to make the traceability mechanism work.
Time to engage
But the system will require extensive engagement with the trade in the next few months to make it work. The industry has many questions and concerns, as communications from the WFDB, GJEPC, De Beers and others revealed. Some queries, such as what to do with existing inventory in the market, require urgent attention.
“I call upon the G7 countries to engage with the industry organizations in order to reach a more equitable and balanced mechanism,” Dvash stressed.
The G7 pledged to continue consultations among its members and with other partners, including producing countries as well as manufacturing countries, “for comprehensive controls for diamonds produced and processed in third countries on measures for traceability.”
It would be surprising if such discussions led to a complete overhaul of the planned system, as the industry might desire. As one trader admitted, the G7 is intent on its implementation, while the US and the EU will use the banks to enforce the sanctions — blocking payments within the pipeline in cases of noncompliance.
The governments charged with developing and implementing the system appear confident they’ve reached the optimal solution.
“This strengthened approach will provide certainty to our citizens and consumers that they are not purchasing Russian diamonds,” the EC spokesperson stressed. “It will also deliver stronger transparency to producers, including in countries with artisanal production. This will positively impact both earnings from diamonds and producers’ story and brand throughout the supply chain.”
It will take a lot of convincing for the trade to adopt such sentiment fully before the traceability pilot program goes into effect on March 1. It seems, at this stage, they’ll have little choice.
The European Union on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia’s state-run diamond giant Alrosa and its CEO as part of a ban on imports of the precious stones over the Ukraine war.
The EU in December agreed to prohibit diamonds exported from Russia as it tightens sanctions to further sap the Kremlin’s coffers.
The 27-nation bloc added Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond mining company, and its chief executive Pavel Marinychev to a blacklist subject to a visa ban and asset freeze in the EU.
The EU said the company — which accounts for 90% of Russia’s diamond production — “constitutes an important part of an economic sector that is providing substantial revenue to the government.”
Russia’s diamond exports totaled around $4 billion in 2022.
The EU’s ban went into force on Jan. 1, targeting natural and synthetic diamonds exported from Russia.
A prohibition on Russian diamonds processed in third countries will be phased in by September.
The EU ban came after months of painstaking negotiations with G7 countries to set up a system to trace Russian diamonds.
Belgium, which is home to the world’s largest diamond trading hub, insisted the system needed to be put in place to make any embargo effective.
The EU has so far imposed 12 rounds of sanctions on Moscow since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
India has urged the Group of Seven (G7) countries to delay an incoming ban on Russian diamonds because the rules to trace the origins of gems remain unclear, two sources aware of the matter said.
India, home to 90% of the world’s diamond cutting and polishing industry, is critical to the implementation of the ban.
New Delhi has also sought more clarity in its talks with G7 leaders, said the sources, who did not wish to be identified because they are not authorised to talk to the media.
Earlier this month, G7 nations announced a direct ban on Russian diamonds starting Jan. 1, followed by phased-in restrictions on indirect imports of Russian gems from around March 1. A new system to trace the origin of the gems will be introduced in September.
Russia is the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds by volume. New restrictions on the trade of Russian gems are part of the bloc’s broader measures designed to limit Moscow’s revenues that aid and fund its invasion of Ukraine.
“The timeline to start restrictions on indirect imports from Russia in three-four months is impractical, as the rules on how the origin for a gem will be traced are not clear,” one of the sources said.
India has also expressed its reservations over G7’s new “traceability-based verification and certification” system, which may require sharing of data about Indian businesses, the first source said.
Some data might be sensitive and businesses might not be comfortable with sharing such information, he said.
The federal trade ministry, which is involved in talks with G7 on proposed restrictions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India mostly processes smaller Russian diamonds, and that’s why the country expects minimal trade disruption, a government official said earlier this month.
Still, the proposed ban would impact the diamond supply chain, industry officials say.
India’s diamond sector already faces weaker demand. The country’s polished diamond exports fell 29% to $10 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year that began in April.
It exported polished diamonds worth more than $22 billion last fiscal year that ended on March 31. The industry, based mainly in the western state of Gujarat, employs millions of people across small and medium firms.
Petra Diamonds’ rough prices started to bounce back at its latest tender, indicating the market has “likely bottomed,” it said Thursday.
The company’s third trading session brought in $67.9 million from the sale of 519,397 carats, at an average price of $131 per carat. Prices were 19% higher on a like-for-like basis — comparing similar categories of diamonds — than at the fiscal year’s second tender, which ended in October.
Last week, the miner reported early results from the tender of $58.7 million from 462,794 carats, at an average price of $127 per carat. During the remainder of the tender, it sold an additional 56,600 carats for $9.3 million. That comprised 25,200 carats from the Cullinan and Finsch mines in South Africa, which yielded $3.1 million, and 31,400 carats from the Williamson mine in Tanzania, bringing in $6.2 million.
Total rough-diamond revenue for the first fiscal half, which included three tenders, came to $187.8 million, down 7% year on year, the company noted. Like-for-like prices for the six months fell 13% compared to the equivalent three tenders the year before.
India saw a slump in polished-diamond exports but an increase in rough imports in October as global demand remained slow and manufacturers brought goods into the country ahead of a two-month shipment freeze.
Polished exports fell 33% year on year to $1.26 billion, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported earlier this month. Inbound rough shipments rose 9% to $1.02 billion despite a two-month voluntary pause on imports aimed at reducing inventories. The policy came into effect on October 15.
A decline in rough prices ahead of the optional freeze and the Diwali holiday created an opportunity for Indian companies to buy, added GJEPC chairman Vipul Shah.
About the data: India, the world’s largest diamond-cutting center, is a net importer of rough and a net exporter of polished. As such, net polished exports — representing polished exports minus polished imports — will usually be a positive number. Net rough imports — calculated as rough imports minus rough exports — will also generally be in surplus. The net diamond account is total rough and polished exports minus total imports. It is India’s diamond trade balance, and shows the added value the nation creates by manufacturing rough into polished.
A 3.06-carat pink diamond ring will be the star of an upcoming jewelry sale at Heritage Auctions, where it is set to fetch as much as $300,000.
The modified marquise-shaped, fancy-pink stone, surrounded by 0.55 carats of full-cut diamonds, will lead the December 4 Holiday Fine Jewelry Signature Auction in Dallas, Texas, Heritage said Monday.
Other standout items include pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tiffany & Co., and diamond earrings created in 1950 by Parisian jeweler Jean Schlumberger. One of the more interesting lots is an enamel and 18-karat gold helicopter by Pierno Frascarolo & Co.
Here are some of the other top items:
A ring by designer David Webb features a pear-shaped, 18.65-carat Ceylon purple sapphire, 9.35 carats of full-cut diamonds and a turquoise cabochon, estimated at up to $80,000.An emerald-cut, 4.62-carat, H-color, VS1-clarity diamond ring is expected to fetch up to $75,000 at the auction.This ring is set with a cut-cornered rectangular-cut, 5.57-carat, fancy-intense-yellow, VS1-clarity diamond center stone, flanked by tapered bullet-shaped white diamonds and rectangular-shaped emeralds. It carries a presale price range of $50,000 to $75,000.Heritage will offer this cushion-shaped, 19.51-carat sapphire and diamond ring for $50,000 to $70,000.
Ahmed bin Sulayem, who this week was elected to take charge of the Kimberley Process, a multilateral body tasked with cleaning up the diamond trade, said any proposed scheme “must take into account African diamond producing nations” such as Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa.
But the Emirati warned that a Belgian proposal to put restrictions on the international trade of diamonds, which the G7 is considering adopting, “falls well short of this important goal”.
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell last week said the bloc was set to move ahead with a ban on Russian diamonds after securing sufficient backing from the G7 group of developed nations.
The diamond dispute is only the latest rift between Europe and African capitals. A ministerial meeting set for next week has been postponed after officials decided there was little chance that the two sides would agree on a joint communiqué containing language regarding Israel’s war against Hamas and Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to three people briefed on the discussions.
