Nosiphiwo Mzamo: South Africa’s State Diamond Trader to buy diamonds from other African countries

South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) is set to buy diamonds from other African countries starting with Botswana. SDT’s chief executive Nosiphiwo Mzamo told Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa at the country’s inaugural diamond show, which...

10 february 2025

Edahn Golan: Halo effect from lab-grown diamonds driving high demand for large, 2-carat natural stones in the U.S.

Edahn Golan, owner of the eponymous Edahn Golan Diamond Research and Data, told Rough & Polished's Mathew Nyaungwa in an exclusive interview that their research found a halo effect from lab-grown diamonds. He said the trend among lab-grown diamond...

27 january 2025

Paul Zimnisky: We will see a modest recovery in natural diamond demand and prices in 2025

According to Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant based in the New York metro area, the natural diamond industry will see a modest recovery in demand and prices this year. Zimnisky said a moderate recovery would...

13 january 2025

African Diamond Council makes traceability its top priority, wants KP to embrace Authentia.io

The African Diamond Council (ADC) has made traceability its foremost priority and has been contributing to a traceability solution called Authentia.io for the last three and a half years, which is now ready to globally satisfy the traceability...

16 december 2024

Gaetano Cavalieri: CIBJO leading the jewelry industry on critical issues

One of the gem and jewellery industry’s most well-known and respected personalities, Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, has been the president of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), for the past 23 years. CIBJO is the oldest international organisation...

09 december 2024

WPIC: Platinum market to face record deficit

08 september 2023

Platinum will register a 2.2% bigger supply deficit than previously expected for 2023 at a record 1 mn troy ounces, driven by strong demand and flat supply, the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) said on September 6, 2023.

According to WPIC's quarterly report, the demand for platinum is on track to grow 27% to 8.2 mn troy ounces in 2023. Incidentally, platinum is currently used in catalytic converters to reduce harmful emissions from vehicle exhaust systems among other applications from jewellery to glassmaking.

Rising vehicle production, with the use of more metal per vehicle and substitution by automakers of palladium for cheaper platinum, is helping to drive demand.

Supply, meanwhile, is expected to remain at last year’s 7.2 mn ounces, partly owing to ongoing electricity shortages in major producer South Africa.

That will leave the market undersupplied by 1 mn troy ounces this year, which three months earlier predicted a deficit of 983,000 ounces. The WPIC expects automotive and industrial consumption to underpin total demand growth for platinum in 2024 and the availability of above-ground stocks to decline.

By the end of 2023, above-ground stocks will represent only five months of annual demand, with most of these stocks held in China and not readily able to be exported to meet global shortfalls, increasing concerns over metal availability. In the second quarter, the platinum market was undersupplied by 348,000 ounces to chalk up consecutive quarters of deficit for the first time since the second half of 2020.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished