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
ALROSA Investor Day 2016: Long live publicity!
04 may 2016
The Investor Day is an annual event, during which an investment community has an opportunity to get acquainted with detailed operating results produced by an issuer of interest, inquire outlooks and ask questions directly to the company’s management. It should be noted that this refers to large and public companies. Only a corporation matching these two qualities will be in demand by investors and properly covered by analysts. In Russia, such companies have not yet moved into the category of “rapidly vanishing species,” but after a series of delistings (Polyus Gold, Uralkali) the public status, implying common management and disclosure standards, is becoming ever more valuable. No wonder that during the “ALROSA Investor Day 2016” analysts were vividly interested in the diamond miner’s privatization prospects, which are shrouded in the mist of uncertainties, providing a not so pleasant news background exactly from the point of view of publicity. In addition, during its Investor Day ALROSA presented a moderately optimistic forecast for the situation in the diamond market and pleased the audience with a prospect for higher dividends. Once again, the company confirmed the permanence of its strategy to refrain from businesses unrelated to diamond mining and dispose of non-core assets. On the other hand, the current market wariness generated new targets for capital investments.
You win some, you lose some
25 april 2016
The month of March began with the Union Budget 2016-17 being a damp squib as many areas in the gem & jewellery sector have not been addressed, including the 1% excise duty levy on jewellery. The Indian gem & jewellery industry was unhappy as many key issues that were put before the government was completely ignored. Some of the positives was the Inclusion of Separate HS Code (Harmonised Systems Code) for Lab grown diamonds and a separate one for the Natural Diamonds; Special Notified Zone (SNZ); proposal to reduce the rate of Corporate Tax from 30% to 25% and others were welcomed by the industry. Trading in the diamond market was rather slow during the month, with overseas demand not showing much promise. The demand from the Indian domestic market was also slow as the jewelers strike continued across the country. While there was steady demand from US, demand from Far East and Europe continued to be slow. Indian cutting & polishing centres improved their manufacturing levels, which indicated the increase in rough imports last month. Jewellery demand was also slow from overseas markets.
Indian jewellery sector in doldrums, no solution in sight
18 april 2016
It all began on 29 Feb 2016, when the Indian government proposed a 1% excise levy on gold jewellery in the Union Budget 2016. The Indian jewellery sector was up in arms, and the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) called for a nationwide bandh from March 1st, 2016, prompting jewellers across the country to go on indefinite strike. But after 21 days of indefinite strike the excise duty was rolled back. The aftermath is threatening to hit the jewellery industry hard as jewellery companies’ shares plunge after the government proposed the 1% excise duty, but losses to the industry have mounted to $ mn in the past more than a month.
The diamond market is keeping balance
11 april 2016
Trading on the world diamond market is slowing down after a very successful first quarter. However, this slowdown is not a reason for pessimism. It only means that the diamond market has finally found a point of balance, giving the entire industry a hope for a stable year.
Women Not Waiting Anymore And Buying Their Own Jewelry
04 april 2016
From the United States to Europe and Asia, growing numbers of women are deciding that they are not going to wait to receive jewelry from partners and husbands and are increasingly buying their own jewelry. Women today are more financially independent than ever before, and they also trust their own taste rather than that of their partner or spouse. And they also want jewelry that suits their business attire. In addition, they are buying themselves jewelry as tangible evidence of their career success.
Excessive risks of midstream
28 march 2016
It is premature to speak about full recovery in the diamond market, since the problem of low margins in diamond manufacturing has not been solved and there is no reason to expect growth in jewelry demand in China. The main role in revitalizing the market in January and February, according to the unanimous opinion of all experts, was played by the midstream - diamond traders and diamond manufacturers, - but excessive transfer of risks into this segment on the backdrop of incomplete health in other parts of the diamond pipeline may provoke a situation of oversaturated market, as was the case in 2015.
The Indian gem and jewellery industry plods on…
21 march 2016
The Indian diamond industry started off on a good note in the month of February with the most coveted Show Signature IIJS 2016. At curtains, there was a sense of contentment and confidence among the industry players for the revival of the Indian gem and jewellery industry, which has been hit adversely due to global slowdown. The exhibitors not only expressed satisfaction at the well-organized show; but were happy at the many business enquiries that they received during the 4-day event. Despite the current slowdown in the market, the exhibitors expressed satisfaction at the visitors’ footfall, which was much more than they anticipated.
'Generation Z' Already Pushing Millennials Out of Marketers' Focus
14 march 2016
Despite the diamond jewelry industry – along with many others – still being obsessed with the so-called millennials, young people born from around 1980 to 2000, marketers are already turning their attention to the so-called 'Generation Z'. That is the generation born from approximately 2000 onwards which is emerging as the next big thing for market researchers, cultural observers and business trend forecasters. With the oldest members of this group not yet even out of high school, these teens are set to become the dominant youth shopping influencers of tomorrow. With billions of dollars in spending power, they hold great promise for American marketers who can find the key to unlocking their spending desires.
India’s luxury jewellery market on a growing spree
09 march 2016
Going by a recent study by ASSOCHAM and YES Bank, the facts sound extremely encouraging for the Indian luxury market where scores of global players have penetrated in the last few years. Despite economic slowdown, the Indian luxury market grew 25% till 2015 and touched $15 billion. In year 2014, India’s market for global luxury brands was just about $8.5 billion, which indicates that this bullish outlook will continue in the luxury sector. The study said that the categories with high growth rates in 2015 such as luxury jewellery and personal care, electronics, SUV cars and fine dining are expected to grow by 30-35 per cent over the next three years. This augurs well for the gem & jewellery industry, which can utilize the opportunities that arise in this sector.
Israel International Diamond Week Sees Plenty of Activity – Will Business Follow?
29 february 2016
The sixth International Diamond Week in Israel took part in the rough trading hall of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) from February 14 to 18, with hundreds of Israeli diamond dealers and buyers from overseas taking part. The latest edition of the buyers' week, which is held twice a year, was noticeably quieter than previous shows. "It's no surprise," said one Israeli diamantaire. "It's more or less as we expected. We did not think there were going to be big amounts of trading. It really reflects the state of the business globally. Everyone is very cautious and there is no stocking of goods. We know people will only buy what they need for immediate needs."
