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...
12 october 2026
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
August market report
05 september 2011
Since the beginning of this year, prices for rough diamonds flew forward as a run-away train in some action movie. They were flying, as it seemed to many, without being based on any convincingly objective grounds. But everything comes to an end sometime. And now the locomotive dashing onward at full steam is slowly but surely turning into a subway train on a circular route. Looming ahead is a price correction.
Jewellers in the midst of holiday season
29 august 2011
Summer vacation seasons are usually most remunerating for jewelry manufacturers. When a strong wave of tourism covers all the most popular resorts around the world, global sales of luxury goods embark on a sharply upward trajectory. Demand for high-quality luxury goods is largely supported even by consumers in developing countries, which in turn stimulates the growth of globally renowned brands.
Blue Nile posts positive financial results for 2Q 2011, but its shares drop by 8.23% - what's the catch?
22 august 2011
Blue Nile, the largest online retailer of diamond and other jewelry, announced the results of the second quarter ended July 3, 2011. The company chalked up its net profit to $ 2.8 million, producing $0.19 of per share earnings. However, the overall stock market reaction to the company’s statement was lukewarm - its stock price plummeted by more than one dollar. Was it a paradox or a regular phenomenon?
The French connection
15 august 2011
The appointment of Philippe Mellier as Chief Executive Officer of De Beers continues to be a highlight in the diamond industry, where many feel a flavor of intrigue in this non-trivial personnel decision.
From blood diamonds to conflict gold: the U.S. adopts Dodd-Frank Act
08 august 2011
In July 2011, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010, started to be implemented. The jewelry industry is in the first line of those affected by Dodd-Frank most directly.
July market report
01 august 2011
Once in early July, I was taken aback by a phone call. "Can you imagine,” said the voice on the phone excitedly, “ALROSA has raised prices by 20 percent! Just imagine: 20 percent up in one go! It's such a big one-time price hike that it looks even indecent!" Alas, these are the current realities of the market: if you do not increase prices every month but a couple of times in a quarter, the price growth will be in double digits. Prices for rough diamonds continue to go hog-wild and so far there is no end to this trend seen anywhere.
The June world of jewels
25 july 2011
It seems that all Hollywood stars are competing to prove who has more diamonds. However, in terms of this rivalry Laurence Graff remarked: "Americans are no longer willing to spend so much on a stone, while the Chinese interest in diamonds, especially colored ones, is growing." The British diamond tycoon is not the only one who got a sense of the growing Asian market.
Luxury goods industry embraced by mergers and acquisitions
18 july 2011
Since early this year the global industry of premium products saw an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions. According to observers, the wave of these strategic mergers is driven by the desire of owners of large luxury brands to conquer countries with growing economies, especially China.
JCK Las Vegas 2011 - a view of the jewelry industry
11 july 2011
The JCK exhibition held on June 3-6 in Las Vegas was obviously one of the largest trade shows, which gave birth to new jewelry brands and introduced new collections of famous jewelers. In fact, most of the exhibitors here tried to present new product lines, since in their view this exhibition was a "springboard into the new season."
June market report
04 july 2011
Signs of rough prices getting more stable which emerged last month are now acknowledged by many market players. However, higher prices registered at the June sight held by De Beers are not very encouraging. Experts recognize that rough shortage will be felt by the market for about 10 years pushing prices up, but still they hope that their growth will not be always so rapid.
