Mercury Polished Diamond Prices: Slight Price Declines in March

(ehudlaniado.com) - The polished diamond price increases that characterized the start of the year have largely ended. With few exceptions, prices of diamonds in all categories headed down in March, ending the positive run that began with the consumer rush in the US in late December. It continued throughout January and February, and ended on the back of the gem trade show in Hong Kong that fell below expectations. The March declines, if continued into April and May, will continue the trend of polished diamond price declines that started in mid-2014 and continued almost uninterrupted until December 2017. The direction that prices will take in the next couple of months is important, because it will signal one of two understandings of the consumer market: if the price declines in March are temporary and start rising again in April and May, we will know that the extended price decline hit rock bottom, and the diamond industry will have a good understanding of what consumers are willing to pay. If, however, prices continue to decline in the coming months, this would indicate that prices are still too high, and the diamond industry, from polished wholesalers to rough diamond miners, will continue to contract until the new price base is found.