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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
Bain Report 2016: On the battle of moderate optimism against common sense
23 january 2017
Looking at the same glass, the optimist views it as half full and the pessimist as half empty. This saying always comes to my mind whenever I read Bain’s annual forecasts for the diamond market. "For the next three years, the supply of rough diamonds is expected to maintain a tight balance with demand. We expect demand for rough diamonds to recover from the recent downturn and return to a long-term growth trajectory of about 2 % to 5 % per year on average, relying on strong fundamentals in the US and the continued growth of the middle class in China and India," Bain predicts. The forecast for global rough diamond production is not questioned - it is based on production targets of mining companies, which are usually set for decades and not subject to major corrections. However, it is a much more baffling affair when it comes to predicting demand. Demand for steel, for example, is calculated proceeding from global targets for construction and machinery production. It is possible to figure out demand for gold with a certain degree of accuracy: at least half of this metal is used not for jewelry, but as an investment asset or a means of saving money. Demand for platinum group metals can be estimated even more precisely: half of these metals are used in the industry, cleaning, for example, exhaust gases in your car. But how to predict demand for diamonds, which are not suitable for anything other than jewelry? Buying a diamond always involves emotions, be it a finally matured decision to connect one’s life with another person or a sudden whim to buy a new piece of jewelry for one’s collection. How to predict emotions and measure them in money, if the coffee grounds and tarot cards are not yet officially recognized forecasting tools?
Mid-size manufacturers claiming growing role in global production
16 january 2017
As the global diamond producing club has become increasing fractured, an interesting phenomenon has emerged of a large number of small and medium-size diamond producers with the investment capacity to develop new mines. In an industry once dominated by De Beers which, until around 20 years ago, accounted for 80 percent of global supply, the change is all the more intriguing. Today, De Beers itself says it is responsible for only around 35-38% of global supply. Meanwhile, number two producer, Russia's Alrosa, accounts for more than 25%. As a result, smaller miners are playing a growing role. These include, for example, Petra Diamonds, which has emerged and developed after acquiring several of De Beers’ former mines. The grand master of the diamond industry decided around a decade ago that it needed the cash available from the sale of some of its old mines. In addition, it came to the conclusion that it did not regard the investment of tens, and perhaps hundreds, of millions of dollars in the operations as a wise investment strategy.
Positive outlook for rough diamond trade, if not India's demonetization
09 january 2017
AWDC and Bain & Company noted in their 2016 global diamond report that rough-diamond revenues declined by 24 percent in 2015 as the midstream segment sold down accumulated inventories. The report noted that manufacturers reacted to softening demand by reducing production, increasing inventories and cutting rough-diamond prices. Rough-diamond prices also fell by 15 percent in late 2015 and remained largely static in 2016’s first half. The diamond industry had suffered the “ripple effect” from the mild decline in consumer demand for diamond jewelry that started in 2014 in Greater China. The slowdown led to a notable drop in demand for polished and rough diamonds, which in turn led to price decreases for polished and rough diamonds of 12 percent and 23 percent, respectively, since May 2014 and of 8 percent and 15 percent, respectively, since the beginning of 2015.
US shopping malls: do they have a future?
04 january 2017
Undoubtedly one of the most influential American impacts on consumerism worldwide has been the shopping mall. But the US retail industry is facing serious issues, particularly in the light of growing Internet-based sales. Is the decline in the mall 'experience' yet another repercussion of the financial crisis of 2008 and the huge recession that followed and which turned many US consumers into necessity-based shoppers? That is the conclusion of many analysts who believe that the desire to spend a day or even just an afternoon impulse shopping at the mall has become a thing of the past for many consumers who, if they do continue going to malls, have cut back their willingness to spend hours wandering around.
Zim’s Marange: diamonds that never sparkled
26 december 2016
A Belgian diamond expert Filip van Laere, who advised Harare on ensuring compliance with the Kimberley Process (KP) said in September 2010 that diamond output from Marange fields were expected to reach 40 million carats by 2013, helping the country generate about $2 billion in revenue per year. "Zimbabwe has been propelled to the number one spot as the world's most important player and it will be number three in value,” he was quoted as saying at the time by Reuters. Van Laere even richly said that Zimbabwe could outshine leading diamond producers like Russia, Botswana and South Africa. However, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe said recently that diamond mining in the country had ‘failed’.
Will India regain its lost glory as a diamond producer?
19 december 2016
Given the magnitude of raw material required, would India ever become self-sufficient with regards to its rough diamonds requirement, if diamonds were mined within the country? Never, and the thought would be preposterous, as the cutting and polishing sector in the country seems to be growing by the day. It would be inevitable for the country to import/buy rough diamonds from multiple producers. But, producing diamonds from local mines will definitely ease the shortage situation as well as give some solace to rough buyers in terms of price, which is currently eating into their profits.
Ethical jewelers seen as doing 'the right thing’
12 december 2016
The American bridal jewelry industry is worth around $12.5 billion, and the engagement ring industry on its own is valued at about $7.7 billion. These two parts of the market are by far the most important and are very much the bedrock of retail jewelry sales. The average cost of engagement rings is estimated at anywhere from $3,000-$6,000. Given the ever-increasing popularity of ethically produced goods, it comes as no surprise that the bridal market should also be one where consumers are searching for a ring with a difference.
Grib Diamonds is not forever
05 december 2016
From that very moment, when LUKOIL announced a few years ago, that it started developing the Verkhotina area, it was clear for market players that this was a temporary affair. The similarities between oil and diamond production end on the word "production" - in reality, these are quite different operations. And diamond sales have never been considered a job for tenderfoots, as the diamond market is too specific and too dependent on emotions. At the end of last week, this affair saw its outcome, and Archangelskgeoldobycha (AGD), a company, which is part of the LUKOIL Group and engaged in the development of the V. P. Grib Diamond Field, turned to have a new owner. The main question now is what will happen to the Grib diamond pipe, the world’s eighth-largest in terms of diamond output?
Once a victim, can Ivanka Trump help ferret out synthetic diamonds?
28 november 2016
With Ivanka Trump’s global profile having grown since her father’s poll victory in the United States, there is no doubt that she can be a strong voice against the presentation of synthetic diamonds as natural stones.
Ongoing Exploration Locks in Canada As World's Third-Largest Rough Diamond Producer
21 november 2016
While the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme confirmed that Russia and Botswana were, respectively, the world's top diamond producers in 2015, it also confirmed that Canada continues to strengthen its position as the world's third-largest producer. And as diamond mines deplete and no large new operations are discovered, Canadian firms are competing to make up the shortfall.
