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...
Today
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
Positive signs as jewelry trade navigates critical holiday season
08 september 2025
The fourth quarter, which spans from October through December, is indisputably the most vital stretch of the year for the diamond and jewelry sector. This period, commonly known as the "holiday shopping season," is a powerful engine for a significant portion of the industry's annual revenue. It coincides with key gift-giving holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's Eve.
Global diamond mining: what is behind the success of Q2 and is there a chance to continue?
03 september 2025
Some diamond mining companies became operationally unprofitable in the first half of the year amid encouraging statements about rough diamond prices bottoming out. Headwinds for the diamond market in 2025 included the US tariffs. But this same factor could have become one of the reasons for the locally strong diamond industry’s performance in the second quarter that is usually weaker due to seasonality because cutters and polishers, fearing the tariffs announced in early April, rushed to purchase rough diamonds to have time to sell their polished goods before a rapid deterioration in trade relations with the United States. In case of ALROSA, the good results of the second quarter can also be explained by the Gokhran (State Precious Metals and Gems Repository) factor. Nevertheless, the nature of this success does not allow relying on a negative trend reversal; in order to do that, the suppliers who have reduced their rough diamond output by 15% from 2021 to 2024, to 100 mn carats, will need to make new diamond production cuts.
Palladium market: EV slowdown has not yet led to demand growth but there is hope for ‘defense-related’ drivers
12 august 2025
The palladium price, after reaching a yearly low of around $890 per ounce in early April, has risen markedly and soared to $1,330 by late July, following the platinum rally with some lag. The significant price growth has made reference to price forecasts made at the beginning of the year largely pointless (for example, the LBMA’s palladium consensus forecast for 2025 was estimated $991.45 per ounce), but the fundamental problems related to palladium with its price increase by over 35% from the beginning of the year have persisted.
Platinum prices rally after Anglo American's platinum divestment
04 august 2025
Anglo American completed the spin-off of its platinum unit last May, establishing the newly independent Valterra Platinum just as market conditions began favouring platinum group metals (PGMs). The diversified miner first indicated its plans to abandon Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) in May 2024, declaring that its portfolio and structure would be simpler without its platinum unit. Anglo had endured a prolonged period of depressed PGM prices that weighed on its financial performance.
Innovative miners pay close attention to air quality in their host regions
28 july 2025
In the past, the mining industry in general and metallurgical plants in particular were sources of air pollution in their host regions, in terms of both greenhouse gases and particulate matter (PM). However, thanks to technological advances and much stricter legislative requirements, the industry is beginning to change. In addition, companies often implement projects and initiatives to improve ecology and the quality of life of local communities by themselves, recognizing the importance of interaction with the population and environmental protection. The times when ecology was of little concern to mining companies are a thing of the past.
Platinum pulls ahead despite lack of fundamental support
14 july 2025
The price of platinum hovering around $900 to $1,000 per ounce for several year soared by over 30% in late May-June, to $1,400, for the first time since August 2014. Before that, the price remained within a narrow range despite such conflicting factors as the risks of a global economic slowdown due to retaliatory tariffs initiated by the USA, as well as import duties on vehicles announced by the USA and the shutdown of the large Tumela mine (Amandelbult complex, Valterra Platinum, former Anglo Platinum) due to flooding in February 2025.
In search of growth drivers, the diamond market is trying to rely on wealthy heirs
24 june 2025
During a crisis complicated not only by a prolonged price correction, but also by doubts about the basic foundations of demand, stakeholders need a positive picture of the future more than ever. Martin Rapaport tried to create it. Smart and responsible jewelers and dealers can become beneficiaries of two growing processes, he said during the Rapaport Breakfast at JCK 2025.
The coveted brownfield: Recipes for growth by pure-play copper producers
16 june 2025
While copper extraction technologies have improved in recent years, which allows to recover metal from lower grade ores efficiently, mines require expansion of concentrating facilities to be economically viable. Scaling up a project requires increased costs because capital intensity that was $4,000 to $5,000 per ton of copper for a new mine in 2000, rose to $20,000 to $30,000 for existing and new mines, according to the Antofagasta’s annual report.
Global diamond industry rebounds in 2024: Russia, Botswana lead in volume, but value declines
09 june 2025
The global diamond industry saw a resurgence in 2024, with approximately 118 million carats of rough diamonds mined worldwide, according to the latest Kimberley Process data.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Crisis in Our Industry
26 may 2025
De Beers had to abandon its decades-old ‘price-over-volume’ strategy in May, which raised particular concern among market stakeholders. According to sources from Bloomberg and Rapaport, De Beers gave discounts to a small number of its sightholders, having accumulated $2 bn worth of rough diamonds in its inventories. This move clearly does not bolster the broader market confidence and brings risks for rough diamond prices that have just stabilized. It is also an argument for the possible failure of the market recovery in 2025, despite encouraging price indicators, lower supply, and efforts to promote polished diamonds.
