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
Pros and cons of “export maneuver” by ALROSA
18 august 2014
Over the past few years, ALROSA has done much to reduce dependence on the volatility of the diamond market, but the main risk facing the miner now is not at all related to a fall in prices for precious stones. Investors are concerned about the possibility that this government-owned Russian company will be submitted to sanctions by the European Union. Meanwhile, the more you explore the possibility of re-directing the supply of rough diamonds by ALROSA, the more question marks arise.
Southern Africa continues to dominate diamond mining
11 august 2014
The latest production and trade data published by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) has confirmed that southern Africa is still the world leader in diamond mining. Three countries from the region made it to the top five of global diamond producers by value.
How 3D-printing may change jewelry industry
04 august 2014
Three-dimensional printing is one of the most revolutionary inventions, which has been widely used in recent years. It is able to change the traditional jewelry industry in a dramatic way, and today we shall talk about the transformations awaiting us in the next five years.
Flexible destocking by ALROSA
28 july 2014
Following the sellout of nearly 5 million carats of rough in the first quarter of this year, ALROSA sold no more than 400,000 carats of diamonds from its stocks in the second quarter. Meanwhile, global prices for rough diamonds went up 2% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, which made it possible for ALROSA to have much higher sales. Why was it that ALROSA did not take advantage of the positive market conjuncture and refrained from boosting its destocking schedule?
Interesting times lie ahead for Angola’s diamond industry
21 july 2014
The Catoca diamond mine is currently the biggest kimberlite pipe in Angola producing more than half of Angola’s diamonds. The proven and probable diamond reserves of the mine are estimated at 130 million carats. However, despite its moves to boost output, Catoca might have recently felt challenged by Lucapa Diamond Company. The company said last month that its Lulo concession would likely dwarf Catoca as the country’s biggest diamond producer.
Panama Diamond “Channel”
14 july 2014
The increasing intensity of conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine makes it particularly interesting to cast a look at the latest significant innovation in the logistics of the diamond market, which is the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE). This project is progressing quite well and quite possibly may become one of the main beneficiaries in the difficult situation in which the market may be put through the efforts of politicians.
Côte d’Ivoire open for business again, as the UN Security Council Lifts Diamond Sanctions
07 july 2014
With an historical decision on April 29, 2013 the UN Security Council unanimously voted in favour of lifting the embargo on rough diamond export in Côte d’Ivoire. This decision was largely anticipated during the last Kimberley Process plenary in Johannesburg. In the final communiqué KP members recognised that Côte d'Ivoire has been finally fulfilling the KPCS minimum requirements, a condition the UN deemed necessary for re-evaluating the sanction regime.
De Beers has set about to discipline sightholders
30 june 2014
Just as the diamond mining environment is getting more complicated, diamond producers are forced to make more efforts to maximize profits. The most direct way to that goal is to change their distribution policies.
Namibia diamond sales: De Beers step aside, it’s now our time!
23 june 2014
The success story of Botswana, which has a 15 percent stake in De Beers, could have encouraged the Namibians to consider setting up a company to sell its diamonds outside the De Beers framework. The question that many will be asking is whether De Beers will agree to such an arrangement that will reduce stones sold by its diamond trading company.
The next biggest consumer of diamond jewellery is...
16 june 2014
For decades, the USA, with consumption at around 40% of global sales by value, remained the world’s biggest consumer market for diamond jewellery. But, with changing economic scenarios, life styles and fashion, the developing centres like China and India are catching up and how!
