Rapaport Sees Opportunity for Dealers Amid Turmoil

(diamonds.net) - In 2100, the diamond industry will look vastly different from its current makeup, Martin Rapaport assured diamantaires at the recent Antwerp Rough Diamond Days event. Most notably, it will be less influenced by the mining companies as demand dynamics increasingly impact the market, the chairman of the Rapaport Group noted. “Market power is shifting from supply to demand,” Rapaport explained at the November 21 event, which coincided with the Antwerpsche Diamantkring bourse’s 90th anniversary. “In the next 90 years, diamond-mining companies will not have market power. They probably won’t even exist, as diamond mining will be very limited.” When rough supplies are reduced, and eventually eliminated from the open market, recycled diamonds, gems and jewelry will emerge as the primary source of supply, with elderly consumers selling and young ones buying. That will result in a more profitable diamond and jewelry trade, as “unconstrained free-market supply becomes available from motivated sellers,” Rapaport continued.