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Diamond Update: Rough Sales And Polished Prices Both Up; New Price Data Info Available September 14, 2021 (0 comments)
Gaborone, Botswana and Tampa, FL—Both rough diamond sales and polished diamond prices are increasing.
De Beers Group last week announced the value of Cycle 7 of its rough diamond sales (August 23-September 7) rose by almost 33% over Cycle 7 last year. The preliminary value of Cycle 7 sales this year was $515 million, vs. $334 million last year. But the figure also represents little change from Cycle 6 2021, which recorded $514 million in sales.
Meanwhile, the Diamond Price List (DPL), the new independent, market-referenced price list for polished diamonds, has updated its prices for the first time since its launch in June. The list uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science algorithms to ensure transparency and objectivity.
For round diamonds, DPL’s update shows an average price increase of +2.5%. By size, the biggest increase is in 1.5 - 1.99 cts (+5.4%), followed by 2.0 - 2.99 cts (+4.3%) and 1.0 - 1.49 cts (+3.2%). For fancy shapes, this update sees an average price increase of +2.1%, with 0.70 - 0.89 ct stones leading the way at +3.4%, followed by 0.30 - 0.39 ct (+3.1%) and 0.50 - 0.69 ct (+2.9%). In general, for rounds and fancy shapes across all sizes, the largest price increases are seen in IJ colors; price increases are more consistent across all clarities, with +SI1 rising by slightly more than SI2-I1.
DPL says the increase in polished prices arrives against the backdrop of increasing rough diamond prices since the start of 2021, some constraints on mining, manufacturing, and polished diamond grading capacity during a period of strong consumer and trade demand for polished diamonds.
Bruce Cleaver, De Beers Group CEO, agreed. “Demand for rough diamonds is a result of robust demand for polished diamonds in our key markets of the US and China. The midstream’s optimism for the remainder of the year was also evident at the recent JCK Las Vegas trade show which was a success despite being held under challenging circumstances.” He cautioned that the pandemic still poses risks to the global economy.
“This first update to the DPL accurately reflects industry supply and demand for polished diamonds over the last three months,” says Tomer Gil Levi, CEO of The Diamond Price List. “It provides an authoritative benchmark to polished diamond traders in the critical period leading up to the end of the year and the all-important holiday retail season.”
Separately, IDEX Online (International Diamond Exchange Online) has announced it will make its database of diamond prices available to the industry and other interested parties for the first time. Through a partnership with One Creation Corp., specialists in data monetization, IDEX’s extensive diamond transaction data will be accessible via portal to banks, financial institutions, investors, retailers, diamond traders, and anyone else who needs a clear and accurate picture of the diamond market’s behavior.
IDEX has tracked the actual prices of certified polished diamonds sold in the global wholesale market over the last 20 years. Its vast archive holds tens of millions of data points gathered on every possible category of diamond. IDEX subscribers to the new service will be able to set any parameters they want and only subscribe to a specific set of data points, says the company. For example, the indexed price of round polished one-carat diamonds over the last 10 years.
For more information, email research@idexonline.com or call (212) 382-3528.