Escaping the ‘panic phase’: DMCC-commissioned study urges natural diamond industry to emulate Swiss watch revival

The natural diamond industry is currently facing a disruption that closely mirrors the existential threat the Swiss watch industry encountered during the 1970s quartz crisis. According to a new comparative study commissioned by the Dubai Multi Commodities...

26 october 2026

Diamond market crash is Africa’s opportunity, not its crisis – M'zée Fula Ngenge

Global natural diamond supply is forecast to fall below 95 million carats this year, the lowest since 1987. For Dr. M'zée Fula Ngenge, chairperson of the African Diamond Council (ADC), this is not a death knell but a clarion call. In an exclusive...

12 october 2026

Tracr passes 5 million rough diamonds milestone as De Beers expands provenance push

De Beers Group's blockchain-enabled traceability platform Tracr reached a significant milestone in 2025, with more than 5 million rough diamonds individually scanned and registered, up from 2.8 million cumulative registrations reported in 2024. The...

28 september 2026

South African diamonds head to Hong Kong: SDT partners with BRINKS for JGW 2026

South Africa’s State Diamond Trader (SDT) has confirmed the country's participation in Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong (JGW) 2026 through a partnership with BRINKS. SDT marketing and communication manager Tsholofelo Gopolang Tselapedi...

14 september 2026

David Benderly: PermaScribe seeks to put trust mark on diamond table, not just girdle

In this interview with Rough & Polished’s Mathew Nyaungwa, PhotoScribe Technologies president and chief executive David Benderly explains how PermaScribe differs technically from conventional laser inscription, its potential to strengthen security, and...

31 august 2026

AGD Diamonds output stable in 2025

03 march 2026

Russian mining company AGD Diamonds slightly increased diamond production at its Grib deposit in the Arkhangelsk Region in 2025.

Diamond production was up 1.5% to 4.16 million carats, compared to 4.1 million carats a year earlier. AGD mined 5.4 million tonnes of ore, a 20% increase compared to the planned 4.2 million tonnes.

"We expected to produce 3.9 million carats, but we exceeded the plan by 240,000 carats. Rough diamond production reached 4.16 million carats by the end of the year, which is [slightly] more than in 2024, and 6% above our plan," said AGD Diamonds CEO Mikhail Bakov.

"Looking at our position in the diamond market, our share in the Russian market has grown from 10% to 12%. And our global market share has also increased accordingly."

The company has also announced that its new information tracking system for precious stones is in the final stages of development. The system tracks precious stones at all stages - from arrival at the processing plant to final cleaning and evaluation.

AGD Diamonds is currently preparing to launch its own sorting facility, which will enable the full cycle of operations at a single site.

In 2026, the company plans to conduct geological exploration in the Arkhangelsk region at prospective diamond-bearing licenses, and will also continue searching for gold deposits.

Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished