De Beers will allow buyers to reject cheap diamonds
LONDON – De Beers is allowing its diamond buyers to refuse some lower-quality stones at its sale this week, according to people familiar with the situation.
It’s a rare move by De Beers, which is famous for requiring buyers to take what’s offered, and highlights the weak state of the low-end diamond market. The diamond miner made a similar gesture in 2016, when India’s move to ban high-value currency notes depressed demand.
Prices for cheaper stones, which are often small and low quality, have fallen in recent years. The market has been hurt by too much supply, lower profit margins in major cutting centers such as Surat, in India, and the depreciation of the Indian rupee. There’s also new competition from man-made gems, such as De Beers’s Lightbox brand.
The buyers, known in the industry as sightholders, will still have to purchase their quota of gems before the end of the year, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the sales are private. By delaying their purchases, buyers are hoping that demand will pick up during the gift-giving festival of Diwali, a Hindu celebration in early November.
De Beers, which is 85% owned by Anglo American, operates mines across Southern African and Canada. It sells diamonds at ten sales a year in Botswana to a select group of customers. The buyers are expected to specify the number and type of diamonds they want, and then carry out the purchases at a price set by De Beers. If they reject too many gems, they risk losing their place in the sales.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation