Russian diamond miner Alrosa has sold 132 lots, weighing more than 1 700 ct during its digital auction in August.
As part of the auction, clients were able to view and evaluate 2 300 ct of rough diamonds across 172 lots.
The digital twin technology used for its auction, enables buyers to make well-informed buying decisions remotely based on the comprehensive data on the offered product line, says Alrosa.
“The results of the digital auction show that the market participants have adapted to work in a new reality. During the August auction of special-size rough diamonds, we sold more than three-quarters of the auctioned lots by units, as well as by weight,” Alrosa deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev comments.
Agureev says this result is good evidence of the recovery of the demand for the high-quality rough diamonds and demonstrates that the miner’s new sales channel “is gradually [being] accepted by the market”.
Alrosa started to pilot online sales of rough diamonds in the autumn of 2019 and has, from March, offered its clients the option of buying rough diamonds at online auctions and tenders without on-site reviews owing to Covid-19-related pandemic restrictions.
Traditional offline auctions for special-size rough diamonds resumed in May, with the goods displayed at the company’s trading offices in Belgium and Israel.