Under the new, 14th sanction package of the European Union against Russia, the European Commission has clarified its stance on the so-called grandfathered diamonds and prolonged the deadline for further tightening of import controls.
According to the document published by the EU and reviewed by Rough&Polished, the ban on diamond imports will not apply to stones that were located or manufactured in the EU or in a third country (other than Russia) before the restrictions took place.
It also allows temporary imports or exports of jewellery, for example for trade fairs or repairs.
Another major point of the new sanctions package in relation to diamonds is the prolongation of the so-called “sunrise period,” after which the full traceability scheme for imports of rough and polished natural diamonds will become mandatory, for six months until March 1, 2025. Earlier, the scheme was supposed to take effect from September this year.
The European Commission has ruled that the ban on jewellery incorporating Russian diamonds processed in third countries other than Russia should be postponed “until the Council decides to activate the ban in the light of action taken within the G7 to pursue that measure.”
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
