Diamond Industry’s Famous Hungry Crocodile Doesn't Cut It

(bloomberg.com) - The diamond industry’s most famous chart is the hungry crocodile, the ancient reptile’s jaws wide open, reflecting both a predicted shortage of gems and the inevitable price rises that will come with it. Not only has this chart, which has been an industry staple for more than a decade and promoted by big miners like BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and De Beers, never materialized, it oversimplifies the fact that the industry’s 15,000 different categories of diamonds are performing in very different ways. That divergent trend has accelerated in the past year. Recently, a mine producing lower quality stones was shut due to a dip in prices, while top producer De Beers has been forced to offer unprecedented concessions to its customers. Both events show the chart is less relevant today than ever before.