Image credit: De Beers
Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as saying that De Beers had told some of its customers known as sightholders that they will lose their right to buy rough diamonds.
The diamond giant was reportedly interested in a smaller number of companies specializing in the 15 000 diamond categories, providing them with more pricing power and greater resilience to economic downturns.
It was not yet clear how many buyers had been culled, but they would be about 10, according to unnamed sources.
De Beers made price cuts in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc to the industry in the first half of the year.
The industry ended the year on a recovery path.
De Beers' current six-year contracts with sightholders expired at the end of 2020.
The diamond giant asked the sightholders to reapply within one of three categories – dealers, manufacturers and integrated retailers.
The buyers would know about their status, including how many diamonds they are entitled to buy, in the coming months.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
