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Demand for diamonds plummets but bright spot is affluent investors

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Covid-19 has forced miners to cancel or delay sales, with major diamond shows scrapped due to health and travel restrictions

Employees work at a diamond jewellery manufacturing factory in Mumbai, India, August 7 2020. Picture: REUTERS/HEMANSHI KAMANI

. The few sales that have taken place showed rough diamond prices down between 15% and 27%s. With temporary mine closures at risk of becoming permanent, diamond miners are seeking ways to extract more value from their stones. The lone bright spot has been steady demand for large, high-quality diamonds from affluent investors, according to financiers and sales data.

“What has happened in the second quarter, I have never seen in my life,” De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said. “There was no really properly functioning rough market.” Indian imports of rough diamonds plunged from $1.5bn in February to just $1m in April, data from the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council shows.

Lucara Diamond Corp, which mines in Botswana, struck a deal in July with Antwerp manufacturer HB Group under which the miner's diamonds larger than 10.8 carats are sold for a portion of the estimated polished price.

 

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