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
Plentiful year for LVMH
25 april 2011
The year 2010 proved the ability of the watch and jewelry brands belonging to LVMH to maintain a steady and organic growth, win a significant share in the market and greatly improve cost-efficiency, all of which demonstrated the effectiveness of the corporation’s strategy based on clearly defined priorities for each brand.
From Catoca to Fukushima
18 april 2011
On the background of abundant optimistic forecasts promising a cloud-free "Diamond Decade" one of the largest diamantaires gets rid of his major mining asset - Lev Leviev is selling his stake (18%) in Sociedad Minera de Catoca to China Sonangol, a Chinese oil company. According to some reports, the deal is valued at $400-$450 million.
Prospects for Russian diamond industry in new realities of global diamond business
11 april 2011
The past economic crisis of 2008-2009 has drastically changed the relationships established between diamond mining, diamond cutting and sales companies existed before the recession. The sharp decline in demand for rough and polished diamonds occurred in 2009 led to a significant decline in production, and the proportions between diamond businesses dramatically changed.
March market report
04 april 2011
You may spend a whole lot of time trying to come up with a suitable title and introductory paragraph for a March market report. However, you won’t be able to outdo Chaim Even-Zohar, who published an article titled "The Rough Market: A Nice Place to Commit Suicide" at the end of the last month. What was happening to diamond prices in March would be more appropriately called a hike, not just growth. Or at the very least, a rapid acceleration. And while consumers continue to buy up everything they see their optimism is gradually replaced by puzzlement and wariness.
If the Japanese turn averse to buy luxury will it hit the jewelry industry?
28 march 2011
After the tragedy in Japan, caused by a 9-point earthquake and tsunami on the 11th of March 2011, the global industry of jewelry and precious metals is attempting to assess the situation and make a decision on further action in the new environment.
If introduced, concepts of gem "preparation" and "enhancement" will open our eyes to real market
21 march 2011
The ultimate goal of Russia is to abandon the economy based on producing raw materials and move towards revival of processing industries. But during the two decades of economic collapse in the manufacturing economy, technology has changed worldwide. So, today high-quality collection samples of precious stones are not any more viewed as raw materials, but as products, and more often than not as high-tech products. And enhanced stones are also products, not rough gems. However, being considered as "products," prepared and enhanced gems should no longer be subject to limitations in their turnover since the turnover of products is not restricted.
Amazon.com is on war path to win jewelry buyers over
14 march 2011
Just a couple of years ago, Amazon.com did not practice jewelry sales online. However, in 2010 the company gave the green light for jewelry retailers to place their virtual showcases on its marketplace. Today, Amazon has also turned into a marketing tool to track purchasing trends and buyer behavior, including those in the jewelry trade.
ALROSA’s subsidiaries after parent company goes public
09 march 2011
ALROSA’s subsidiaries - OAO ALROSA-Nyurba (where the parent company has a stake of 87.57%) and OAO Almazy Anabara (100%) – are recovering their pre-crisis performance on the backdrop of increasing demand and rising prices.
February market report
02 march 2011
The January lull was not long. Seeing the significant gap between supply and demand, diamond producers, one after another, started to raise their prices for rough. Once again, we see the emergence of a "seller's market": amid shortage, buyers snap up everything there is, and even on the secondary market boxes are sold at a premium. Nobody feels reassured by diamond miners’ promises of an imminent increase in output.
Terminological muddle
28 february 2011
Despite all the reforms that have taken place in the former Soviet Union, the precious metals and gems market in Russia is still governed by severe "Homo Sovieticus" mentality. And the reigning bacchanalia in terminology used in all sorts of regulatory documents in force in the jewelry industry in this country does not appear to be the least threat to business. Let us examine some current terminology relating to the circulation of gems. What kind of gems? This is just the point to be clarified. For this purpose let us consider what terms are used in this area by various legal documents.
