Sourcing

De Beers’s Rough Diamond Sales Slow in 7th Cycle

SourcingSep 07, 2017

De Beers’s Rough Diamond Sales Slow in 7th Cycle

The diamond miner and marketer reported sales of $505 million, down from $639 million in the same period last year.

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De Beers sold a total of $505 million in rough diamonds to both sightholders and via its auction sales arm in its seventh sales cycle of the year. That is down 21 percent when compared with the same period last year.

Gaborone, Botswana--The earlier Diwali holiday resulted in lower revenue for De Beers in its latest sales cycle, the diamond miner and marketer said this week.

De Beers reported that its sightholder and auction sales totaled $505 million in the seventh sales cycle of the year, ended Sept. 4. That is down 21 percent from $639 million in the same period last year.

The company also revised its figure for the sixth sales cycle upward, from $572 million to $576 million.

De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said the slowdown in sales was expected, as some of the midstream demand usually seen in the period fell into the sixth sales cycle this year because Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is earlier this year.

He said the diamond industry’s manufacturers are adopting a “watchful” approach as fall begins and they prepare for the first big trade show of the season, the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair in mid-September.

Here’s a look a De Beers’s rough diamond sales so far this year.

                          2016          2017           First sales cycle                   $545 million                   $729 million                       Second $617 million $553 million Third $666 million $586 million Fourth $636 million $522 million Fifth $564 million $530 million Sixth $528 million $576 million Seventh $639 million   $505 million Eighth $494 million Ninth $476 million Tenth $422 million     
Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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