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
Market share for synthetic diamonds up, millennials ‘duped’ to snub natural stones
13 february 2018
Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) chairperson Peter Meeus led a panel discussion at the just ended Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on how the diamond industry will adapt to millennials and synthetics. Synthetic diamond manufacturers had embarked on an aggressive marketing strategy, which was helping them increase their global market share. Experts believe that about 3 percent of global consumption of diamonds was man-made with facilities in the Far East, Russia and China said to be producing “enormous” amounts of smaller size CVD and HPHT diamonds. Meeus, citing the Diamond Intelligence Briefs, said the total annual production of synthetics was between 8 million and 10 million carats, with gem qualities of about 4.5 million carats. This was compared with the total annual production of natural diamonds set at 124 million carats, with gem qualities of between 85 million and 90 million carats. The Diamond Producers Association jolted into action last year as it launched the “Real is Rare” marketing campaign to fend off the threat of lab-grown diamonds as there was an emphasis on the rarity and enduring value of natural diamonds.
Diamond Jewellery: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
12 february 2018
In Europe, the use of polished diamonds as studs in the jewellery started between the 13th and 14th centuries. The diamonds were first brought to Rome via the Great Silk Route. Then they were delivered to Venice that quickly won the fame of the first diamond capital of Europe. At the end of the 14th century, diamond traders paved the way to Paris and Brugge, and later on, to Antwerp that subsequently became the world diamond capital. Today, the US are the world’s largest jewellery market with its 45% share of the global demand. The second largest market is China absorbing 16% of the world demand and is destined to rise in this country due to the steadily growing consumer appetite of the middle class with its increasing number and improving welfare. The experts expect that India, in its turn, making 8% of the market, will keep on increasing the jewellery trade volumes from one year to another that has already started growing due to the gradual adaptation of the population to the new financial situation after the demonetization of the Indian rupee.
Diamond jewellery and the Indian consumer
05 february 2018
It is believed that diamonds were first discovered in India, going by the stone being mentioned in mythologies as well. The love for diamond jewellery in the country has been recorded since ages and still continues showing no sign of abating... If you compare the demand for diamond jewellery from even in the recent past to the present, one can notice a huge change across the country. In the past century, diamond jewellery was owned by the royals, wealthy elites. But, only the top quality, flawless, big stones were in demand. Nothing else found buyers in the bygone days ...
But not anymore, as diamond and jewellery production has also undergone immense change with sophisticated technology, offering the consumers different sizes, cuts, quality, etc., as per their choice.
Second-Tier Companies in the Global Diamond Production - Mountain Province Diamonds
29 january 2018
Canada is among the largest diamond producers in the world and ranks third by value. According to the Kimberley Process data, 13 mn carats were recovered in the country in 2016 for about $1.4 bn. The average price per one carat was $107.18. Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. is a major partner (49%) of De Beers Canada in the diamond production at the Gahcho Kué mine in the North-West Territories, Canada.
Is blockchain the future of diamond and gemstones transparency?
22 january 2018
In little more than a year, blockchain technology appears to have stormed into the consciousness of the diamond trade. It was in November 2016 that the concept was first raised at a global diamond industry meeting – at the Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process in Dubai. Although a lengthy explanation was provided, the response from participants was fairly lukewarm. Recent developments, however, have put the technology which aims to provide complete transactional transparency, firmly on the map. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and De Beers have announced they are discussing a potential collaboration in De Beers’ recently announced blockchain platform.
The illusion of economy
15 january 2018
When it comes to synthetic diamonds, the first thing that the man in the street hears is the assertion that "they are real, but much cheaper." The question what in this case is to be considered "real" is rather ambiguous and rather lies in the field of personal preferences. However, the arising material benefit can be assessed in terms of absolutely real amounts on one’s bank account. The more so, because the price remains the major factor when people come to a decision to make a purchase, as shown by the survey conducted by Stax Inc., a global strategy consultancy (https://medium.com/stax-insights/consumer-decision-making-criteria-and-the-importance-of-price-1783d5589a8e) among 40,000+ respondents. And if the older generation is still confidently making their choice in favor of natural diamonds, the millenniums are not so unequivocal. The idea of ecological and moral purity of the product (no child labor or ruined nature or blood money) in addition to the "tasty" price has found a considerable response. Indeed, isn’t it really nice to make a contribution to the salvation of the world, and even save at the same time? However, it is unlikely that at least one single manufacturer of lab-grown diamonds will want to tell the buyer about how many small (and not so) nuances are hidden behind such an attractive advertising policy and what the real and not imaginary difference in the cost of jewelry graced with natural and synthetic diamonds is.
World Diamond Centres
09 january 2018
The countries that are leading in the global diamond production, cutting&polishing and trading are widely viewed as the world diamond centres. Diamond mining countries, cutting&polishing centres and rough and polished diamond trade hubs are among them.
How Beriya and Mikoyan saved the senior management of the diamond mine
04 january 2018
The diamond industry of the USSR and the Russian Federation has a relatively short history, but it has become overgrown with fantastic legends that greatly distort the essence of events and motives of the people who took part in it. One of these fairytales is the story about the letter written by M. F. Shestopalov to I. V. Stalin in July 1946. Here is the typical quotation from a geological (!) journal: “In summer 1946, M. F. Shestopalov, a seasoned geologist, wrote a letter to I. V. Stalin about the need to make the diamond prospecting more intensive. He was invited to Moscow to make a report. After the report, I. V. Stalin called the ministers in charge of this field to account and said: “You say that we should curtail the diamond prospecting but an ordinary engineer knows where diamonds can be found!” For about twenty years, this tall tale has been circling around the pages of journals, monographies and theses being added by surprising ‘details’, and many authors are serious when stating that Shestopalov's letter had given an impulse for the development of both the diamond geology and the diamond industry on the whole, and even was a reason and the basis for the landmark Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 1978-832ss dated September 07, 1946 “On the Development of the National Diamond Industry”.
Is there enough regulation by authorities of lab-grown diamonds?
25 december 2017
The issue of man-made, lab-grown, or synthetic diamonds is continuing to gather pace. Production capacity is continuously expanding, the volume of such stones is growing every year – and is now estimated at 2-3 percent of global output with several million carats being sold – and the quality and size of the stones is rising.
Lab-grown diamonds and millennials
18 december 2017
The sensibilities of the millennials have undergone a drastic transformation in recent times across countries. For them, the wedding is for one day, but they have a whole life to take care of it financially. So, it really does not matter to them whether the ring has an expensive mined diamond or some other stone. To be exact, some of them don't even see a need for a ring. The price is what matters most and has to be reasonable for millennials. Besides, it’s not about investment anymore, but the design and the eventual look of the ring. While many jewellers across continents are convinced that lab-grown diamonds are the future, debates rage among many others who persist that mined diamonds (or the real diamonds) will survive the onslaught of artificial diamonds, as they have the many years of love and admiration for the gem to fall back on. Of late, millennials have been the focus and their opinion has been of great importance as they are the jewellery buyers of today and the near future. In the natural versus lab-grown diamonds debate, one may come across arguments that synthetic pieces are more sustainable than mined counterparts given the many plus points of lab-grown diamonds that go with the sensibilities of youngsters when it comes to choosing mined diamonds vs lab-grown diamonds.
