Dealers reported a difficult but stable rough market as De Beers’ November sight closed with a value of $455 million — 4% lower than the same period a year ago.
The rough market improved slightly from the October sight, which was the smallest sale of the year as Indian manufacturing slowed for Diwali. However, sightholders still noted weak profitability on De Beers goods during November, with premiums on the secondary market close to zero.
Most boxes of diamonds from last week’s sight commanded prices on the dealer market that did not cover the costs of doing deals, explained Dudu Harari of diamond broker Bluedax in a report on the sight.
Due to resources dwindling Beers’ joint ventures will close four diamond mines by 2022.
Namdeb is a DeBeers project with the government of Namibia, Will close the Elizabeth Bay mine at the end of 2018 followed by the Daberas deposit at the end of 2019 and Sendelingsdrif in 2020. The main asset Southern Coastal will close in 2022.
Production saw a shift to offshore assets this past year. For the first nine months of 2017, Debmarine’s production surged 22% to 1.1 million carats.
Subdued world economic growth will make the next few years challenging, mainly due to negative impacts forecast in exchange rates and other indices.
Sotheby’s Auctioneers announced the upcoming auction of the Raj Pink diamond.
Weighing 37.30 carats the Pink diamond is the largest Fancy Intense Pink Diamond, according to Sotheby’s.
The Pink Diamond will feature at the auction house’s Magnificent Jewels in Geneva next month, and is estimated to fetch $20 million to $30 million USD.
The Original Rough Diamond was studied for over a year before the master cutter finished the polished Raj Pink Modified Cushion Brilliant cut
Geologists have discovered what they refer to as young diamonds, after analyzing a number of rough diamonds.
It now appears the creation of rough diamonds, may have occurred later in the Earth’s history than was previously thought. Diamond requires extreme temperatures and pressures to form. Geologists though these conditions only existed in the early formation of Earth.
Small impurities in the diamonds could indicate the conditions in which they are formed. So 26 diamonds donated by the De Beers Group where analyzed by a research team in Amsterdam.
Sm-Nd isotope techniques are used by researchers to analyzed the sampled garnet inclusions, Which are a common mineral found in Earth’s mantle and sometimes within the diamonds.
The scientists discovered two sets of diamonds, one of Archaean age 2.95 billion years old thought to be the original source of the diamonds. And then surprisingly the other of Proterozoic age 1.15 billion years old.
There are a number of ways to verify that your diamond matches the diamond certificate it is purchased with. If you purchased a diamond that is laser inscribed, ask your jeweller to show you the laser inscription under magnification. This way, you will always be able to identify the diamond as your own.
DCLA also performs a verification service, for both DCLA certified diamonds and for diamonds certified by other internationally recognised laboratories. Bring or send your diamond, together with the diamond grading certificate, to the DCLA laboratory and the diamond will be conclusively matched against the certificate. DCLA can then cold laser inscribe the diamond with either the diamond grading certificate number, or with a personalised message.
Ask the jeweller if the diamond certificate comes from an independent diamond laboratory or if it produced by a diamond merchant or retailer, then do your research. Make sure the certificate is issued by the DCLA or another highly respected diamond grading laboratory; DCLA is the only diamond grading laboratory worldwide to offer a full-replacement Diamond Grading Guarantee.
Petra Diamonds announced that it had recovered a 138.57-carat, Type IIa, D-colour diamond at its historic Cullinan mine near Pretoria in South Africa. The company said the diamond would be offered for sale in Johannesburg later this month.
The Blue Moon Diamond has been sold for a record US$48.26m at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
The sale price is a record per carat and for total value for any gemstone.
Blue Moon Diamond has no inclusions and has been officially declared flawless.
The 29.62-carat diamond was found at the Cullinan Mine in South Africa in January last year, blue diamonds make up only 0.1% of diamonds unearthed at the mine.
It was then cut and polished in New York, a process which took six months and eventually produced the 12.03 carat vivid blue gem.
De Beers which produces thirty percent of world rough diamonds has cut prices by 10 percent for the sight.
This comes after two reductions in its annual production output by 15 percent failed to slow slump in prices of rough.
Rough diamond prices have dropped 14 percent in some categories and are in their fifth consecutive quarterly loss, which is the longest in a decade.
De Beers cut the size of the sight to $250 million and reduced the prices by 9 percent, according to sight holders.
De Beers has also contributed tens of millions to a jewellery advertising campaign. Its advertising campaign will promote diamond jewellery in the U.S. and to Chinese consumers.
De Beers’s the world’s largest rough producer felt the pain, when only $300 million of the $450 million estimated sight was taken up by their sightholders. This leaves 30 percent of the rough on offer on the table.
Anglo has previously counted on diamond revenues to offset a collapse in the price of other metals and minerals it mines. Anglo may cut the company’s dividend for the first time since 2009 according to analysts.
This is an indication of turmoil in the $80 billion diamond industry as traders, cutters and polishers suffer from a poor liquidity and weaker demand for jewellery.
Producers in India, where 90 percent of rough diamonds are cut and polished, may halt imports over the supply glut.
Update: Report sightholders may have refused 35%-50% at July sight which may be as low as $200M.
