Exclusive
Diamond market crash is Africa’s opportunity, not its crisis – M'zée Fula Ngenge
Global natural diamond supply is forecast to fall below 95 million carats this year, the lowest since 1987. For Dr. M'zée Fula Ngenge, chairperson of the African Diamond Council (ADC), this is not a death knell but a clarion call. In an exclusive...
Yesterday
Tracr passes 5 million rough diamonds milestone as De Beers expands provenance push
De Beers Group's blockchain-enabled traceability platform Tracr reached a significant milestone in 2025, with more than 5 million rough diamonds individually scanned and registered, up from 2.8 million cumulative registrations reported in 2024. The...
28 september 2026
South African diamonds head to Hong Kong: SDT partners with BRINKS for JGW 2026
South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) has confirmed the country's participation in Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGW) 2026 through a partnership with BRINKS. SDT marketing and communication manager Tsholofelo Gopolang Tselapedi...
14 september 2026
David Benderly: PermaScribe seeks to put trust mark on diamond table, not just girdle
In this interview with Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa, PhotoScribe Technologies president and chief executive David Benderly explains how PermaScribe differs technically from conventional laser inscription, its potential to strengthen security, and...
31 august 2026
The great reset: Paul Zimnisky on supply catharsis, De Beers' bargain and the case for natural diamonds
The natural diamond industry is in the throes of its most profound reset in a generation. Supply is plunging to its lowest level since 1987 and De Beers—once valued at over $9 billion—is reportedly being sold for as little as $1 billion.
Lab-grown...
10 august 2026
“The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple” (Oscar Wilde). How Russia and Ukraine got to where we are today… but no one wants to talk about it.
20 december 2021
In January 1897, so the legend goes, William Randolph Hearst sent a cable to the artist Frederic Remington in Havana… “Please remain [in Cuba]. You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war!”. Well today in almost every paper you can see the satellite pictures of tens of thousands of Russian troops sitting on the border of Ukraine; pray to God we don’t get a full-on war, though in truth, young Ukrainian soldiers have been dying daily. There is an existing narrative about Russia’s duplicity, authoritarianism, bullying and military aggression… so the blame clearly lies with Russia. But here’s an important question… what if it’s not so clear cut; what if we are fixated on only our side of the story? What if we are so convinced of our own righteous position that we refuse to acknowledge that we may also be a major part of the problem. That for a twenty-year period, through looking at the world only through our eyes, through both arrogance and complacency, the West, at almost every turn, not only completely ignored Russia’s strategic interests but has steadily pushed Russia into a corner, and without condoning or supporting Russia’s actions in any way… that is a story that needs to be told, because it’s a big reason why we are where we are today.
World's largest diamond mines in the hard year 2020 and the promising year 2021
13 december 2021
The “pandemic” 2020 was so difficult both for the global diamond industry in general and for the rough and polished diamond sector in particular. During the year, many mines were forced to suspend their operations for reasons relating to the COVID-19 pandemic due to the outbreaks of COVID-19 in the mines, national lockdowns, and a decrease in demand for rough diamonds in the global market. The closure of the Argyle mine in Australia in November 2020 due to the depletion of its reserves was another significant move in the industry as it was one of the main and highly productive diamond mines in the world. In fact, this means that Australia left the rather short list of the diamond-producing countries, where only Russia, Canada, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, and the DRC remained. This review examines the existing operating diamond mines in the world in the context of their operation in 2020 and 2021, their diamond production, current state, and their development prospects.
Platinum in 2021: declining prices but stronger positions
06 december 2021
The beginning of this year promised bright prospects for platinum, as well as for many other industrial metals. In platinum’s key automotive industry, the demand has been booming driven by the increased production of heavy-duty vehicles and the introduction of tougher emission standards. It seemed that the supply failed to keep pace with the demand growth, especially after the February accident at Norilsk Nickel. The semiconductor shortage the auto industry faced during the year did not hit platinum as hard as it hit palladium, due to platinum’s lower dependence on the automotive industry (40% of demand is for platinum versus 80% for palladium). But since the simultaneous electrification of the transport industry threatens to undermine the position of platinum-group metals (PGM) as a necessary component to the autocatalyst manufacture, the market was very wary of the changes. Platinum corrected by about 25% by the end of October compared to its mid-February highs. Meanwhile, platinum is now a good investment opportunity, according to industry players, given the aging commercial vehicle fleet and the promising hydrogen economy.
Norilsk Nickel and Botswana: From dispute to dialogue
29 november 2021
Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) recently said that it settled its three-year dispute with the government of Botswana and BCL Group over the sale of its assets, which included a 50% stake in the Nkomati joint venture. The group was made up of BCL limited and Tati Nickel Mining Company. The Russian mining company said, without disclosing the amount, that it had received cash compensation. The parties, it said, agreed to waive all claims against each other in connection with the transaction.
China’s LGD industry is growing in leaps and bounds…
22 november 2021
The world over, interest in cheaper and more accessible alternatives to mined diamonds began much earlier than one would like to accept. While the others faded away as cheap alternatives, the Lab-grown Diamonds (LGDs) which is grown in a lab but sparkle, shine and chemically just like the natural diamond, caught the fancy of the young consumers in China, much like the rest of the world. As LGDs are cheaper, similar and more accessible they are a popular alternative to mined gems. As per available data, the consumer market for lab diamonds is only worth $150 mn, which is just about 2 per cent of the consumer market for all diamonds. But, industry predictions show it is expected to grow at 22 per cent each year and reach $14.9 bn by 2035, taking up about 5 per cent of the consumer market for all diamonds.
South Africa’s resources as the basis for the economic recovery and strengthening of its international position
15 november 2021
The Republic of South Africa (South Africa) is the world’s leader in terms of reserves and the production of many types of mineral resources. The diversity of mineral resources, as well as the heavy reliance of the world powers on some of them, make South Africa the subject of the continuing competition for access to its deposits and securing a reliable supply of raw materials. South Africa’s non-energy mineral reserves are estimated at $2.4 trillion to $3 trillion. This makes the country one of the richest non-oil powers in the world. For example, South Africa accounts for more than 90% of the global reserves of platinum group metals (PGMs), 80% of manganese, 72% of chromium, 32% of vanadium and 13% of gold. However, most of the resources were discovered using outdated exploration methods. This means that with the use of advanced technologies, there is a huge potential for discovering new deposits of world importance. The country’s mineral wealth is the basis of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. South Africa accounts for more than 59% of the world's production of platinum group metals, 30% of manganese ore, 25% of ferrochrome. South Africa’s mining industry provides about 78% of the global supply of primary chrome ore, 54% of aluminosilicates and almost 50% of manganese ore.
Two marketing strategies and a big jackpot
08 november 2021
In the industry discussions on the role and prospects of synthetic diamonds (SDs) and their advantages and disadvantages in comparison with natural diamonds (NDs), it is always emphasized that SDs comparable in characteristics are much cheaper (at least by 50%) than NDs. Of course, this is true, but paradoxically, it leads many analysts to opposite conclusions as some analysts believe that the existing (and increasing in the future) price difference will shift SDs into the fashion jewellery niche and the ND market will get rid of this problem; the other analysts, on the contrary, believe that a lower price (and therefore, a higher margin) will allow SDs to drive NDs out of the market in the small-size (up to 1 carat) segment.
Don’t we owe it to Millennials and Generation Z to tell them the truth about natural diamonds?
03 november 2021
15 years ago, civil rights activist Dr. Benjamin Chavis, one of the co-founders of the non-for-profit organisation Diamonds Do Good1, met with Nelson Mandela, and the great man personally asked the good doctor to help “to raise more awareness about the benefits to Africa that are derived from the good that diamonds do.2”. Funded by the natural diamond industry, Diamonds Do Good recently gave donations to the Flaviana Matata Foundation in Tanzania (set up by supermodel Flavia Matata to support education and empowerment for girls) as well as to Sentebale (set up by Prince Harry to support the wellbeing and mental health of young people afflicted with HIV in Lesotho and Botswana). It plays to a lot of the many good news stories about natural diamonds and for an industry that produces the ultimate luxury, it makes sense that Social Purpose and Sustainability are so often central to what they do. So why aren’t consumers hearing more about good news stories like Diamonds Do Good? To some extent, it’s the fault of our industry, which remains fixated with the 4 “C’s of Carat weight, Cut, Colour and Clarity, and has been slow to grasp the need to talk to today’s new consumers about the fifth “C”; Community. The good news is that there are some great stories to tell, because natural diamonds make a huge financial, environmental, and social contribution to almost all the countries in which they are found. But maybe these good news stories are being undercut by another, very worrying narrative. A narrative which is being peddled by a handful of lab-grown companies predominantly (but not exclusively) in the US, who publish inaccurate information, and/or through innuendo and misrepresentation denigrate the natural diamond story, tarring the whole industry with the same brush; (please see the second half of this article under the heading; “A lie will fly twice around the whole world while the truth is still getting its boots on” for examples).
Consumers now value sustainability when choosing diamonds - De Beers study
01 november 2021
De Beers recently released its 2021 diamond insight report, which highlighted that sustainability has risen to the top of many stakeholders’ priorities in the last few years and it was ranked by 30% of consumers as their most important consideration – above price and design – when choosing a diamond. De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said people expect more of businesses and brands than ever before when it comes to responding to societal and environmental challenges such as climate change, poverty and various forms of inequality. He said beyond consumers knowing that their purchase has caused no harm, people also want to know what a brand or product stands for, and how it has contributed to a better future for people and the planet. Based on a global study of more than 8,400 people across seven key consumer markets for diamonds, the report found that sustainability considerations were influencing consumer purchase decisions across all sectors.
How the Largest Jewelry Companies in the World are Marketing Lab-Grown Diamonds
25 october 2021
During a four-hour-long analyst event in September, the largest fashion-jeweler in the world, Pandora, provided an update on its recent foray into lab-grown diamonds. The line, branded as “Pandora Brilliance” is currently being tested exclusively in the company’s UK market, however, management said that a global rollout decision “will probably come towards the end of the year” as the company is still “learning how to maneuver in the space.”
