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
Self-Hypnosis
22 may 2017
When I was a novice journalist 15 years ago, my first editor told me, "Under any circumstances, never disclose the inner workings to the reader, do not tell him what you want from him - let him get to everything by himself." It seems to me, it's time to move away from this strategy and show all the cards in advance. I want everyone to feel a bit uneasy after reading this article.
Are banks diamantaires' best friends?
15 may 2017
Indian banks have supported the Indian gem and jewellery industry over the years, so much so that today the sector has grown to become a world leader. However, in recent times due to many unfortunate incidents of defaults resulting in NPAs, banks have become wary and tightfisted in financing the industry. With margins reducing and end product prices becoming more volatile, it is not surprising that banks have restrained themselves from lending to the gem and jewellery sector.
Synthetic diamonds are the future of newest technologies
10 may 2017
Over the last years, production of gem-quality synthetic diamonds in Russia and abroad has been on the fast track. According to analysts, synthetic diamond output by 2035 will match that of natural diamonds. Already now, there is a need to have special machines to detect lab grown diamonds due to their mixing with natural diamonds. De Beers and ALROSA have developed detection methods and machines to identify synthetic diamonds.
Sustainable development aiming to secure future production
02 may 2017
Mining, whether of diamonds or any minerals, is obviously not sustainable. Companies dig huge holes, remove ore, and take it somewhere else. Eventually, the hole runs out of diamonds. That is clearly not sustainable nor a fair way of operating. As a result, sustainable development has become a hot topic in recent years, with diamond companies engaging in a range of projects aimed at showing consumers that they care for the environment and the people who live near their mining projects.
The virtual miner - investigation
28 april 2017
ATTENTION! This journalistic investigation is directly related to the interview given to Rough&Polished by World of Diamonds, and we strongly recommend reading both texts to have a complete impression. An opportunity to conduct journalistic investigation is a rare stroke of luck in the work of any journalist. People engaged in illegal activities usually behave very carefully, and to detect them is a big problem. Nevertheless, sometimes even scammers make a blunder. As a rule, they are let down either by greed and thirst for glory, or by pathological confidence in the stupidity of others. Today we will show you just such a case.
A diamond surprise - Russia comes to know it has a brand-new diamond mine, Tarskaya
28 april 2017
The World of Diamonds Group of Companies says on its website that it was established in 2001 and has a diversified holding in the industry. “With over a decade of expertise and involvement in five continents, the Group provides fine jewelry, rough and polished diamonds to prominent diamantaires around the world,” the company says, adding that with a full ownership in the Tarskaya diamond mine it has joint interests in several other diamond mines globally. Recently, World of Diamonds asked Rough&Polished to do a story on their operations and we settled on an interview by e-mail with Mr. Boris Voronov, the Group’s Chairman, Managing Director & CEO. It’s all below, as is. And above, there is a commentary to this interview.
The place for a new monopoly
24 april 2017
Have you noticed that a significant part of analytical articles published lately contain this phrase, "... Since the time the diamond monopoly of De Beers ended..."? Time and again, experts recall this, regretfully mulling over the decline in consumer demand, the recurring downturns in the market, the volatility of prices, and the need for generic marketing. Since the last week was not rich in events, we decided to have a little distraction and indulge in fantasies. Actually, if we all recognize that the diamond market was much more stable and predictable under monopolistic control, why not bring it back?
Never-ending problem of choice between high output and high price
17 april 2017
It looks like a diamond market has finally recovered after the market dive in 2014-15. The diamond producers report about high sales in Q1, but the rough prices finally show the growth after a full year of being flat (according to various estimates, it was from 0.9% to 3% for three months). Now, when everything is all right, the industry faces the most important and complicated task – to keep the existing balance. It is important because the market risks to enter a ‘tailspin’ again if the balance is not kept. It is complicated because over the last 5 years, the industry went through two such ‘tailspins’ which means that it could not cope with this task well enough.
Thailand, a leading high-quality gem and jewelry manufacturing center
10 april 2017
Will the increasing importance of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc on the global economic stage enable Thailand to further cement its role as a vital diamond, gemstone and jewelry center and one that connects and provides services to the region while also serving as a bridge connecting it to the wider world? The ASEAN grouping includes Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand serves as a jewelry trading center, and being part of the ASEAN bloc allows it to re enforce its position vis-à-vis regional diamond and jewelry powers such as China and India.
Diamonds for many and diamonds for some
03 april 2017
Last week, the main highlight discussed by the mass media was the jewelry brand bought out by De Beers. Only idle minds missed the opportunity to write about it, but most of all I was surprised by the statements of some industry experts about the “difference in the chosen business strategies.” All this cropped up as if inviting to assess how differently the market is viewed by stakeholders: while some diamond miners are deliberately choosing a “resource-centric” approach and confine themselves to extracting and selling raw minerals, De Beers is choosing its own strategy for building a strong brand, including its projection to retail. However, a “chosen development strategy” means that a company had a chance to choose the most cost-effective alternative out of several possible options. If there is nothing to choose from, this is no longer a strategy, it is just adaptation to existing conditions. Let's face it: "strategy" has nothing to do with this.
