Rough and polished, natural and mined, priced sight by sight. The diamond desk follows the pipeline end to end — producer sales in Gaborone, tenders in Antwerp and Dubai, manufacturing in Surat, memo programs in New York — and publishes the prices the trade actually deals at.
De Beers-style supply discipline is back: allocations trimmed, prices defended. Polished has stabilized after two brutal years — the question is whether midstream margins recover before credit patience runs out.
With lab-grown 1ct goods under $750, natural sellers have stopped competing on price and started competing on account of provenance, rarity and resale. Watch the marketing budgets, not the price lists.
Origin platforms are no longer CSR decoration — G7 rules and retailer mandates are making sourcing paperwork a condition of sale. Compliant goods are starting to command a measurable premium.
De Beers' ten-times-a-year allocation sale, where approved buyers — sightholders — purchase rough in pre-assembled boxes at prices set by the producer. Refusing a box has consequences; so does needing one.
Carat, color, clarity, cut set the grade — but the trade increasingly prices a fifth C: certainty of origin. Two identical stones can part ways on price over a paper trail.
Miners set rough prices, retailers set polished prices, and the cutters and traders in between absorb the difference. When both ends tighten at once, Surat and Antwerp bleed first — the industry's recurring crisis.
Goods consigned to retailers on memorandum — sold before they're paid for. Memo keeps counters full and balance sheets fragile; its terms are one of the best barometers of trade confidence.
The miner arrives in Gaborone prepared to cut official book prices or widen discounted deals — sightholders put the book 20–30% above market in sub-carat rough. A new sightholder contract takes effect against the backdrop of Anglo American's divestment.
Alrosa suspends Severalmaz mining for ~3 months from July 1; Storm Mountain puts Lesotho's Kao mine on care and maintenance (~750 workers); Petra's Finsch enters business rescue (~1,800 jobs).
From September 1, lab-grown jewelry tags must read 'synthetic' — the words 'diamond', grading terms, and descriptors like 'natural' or 'eco-friendly' are banned; weights in grams only.
Alrosa logs record May client viewings — double last year, busiest in eight years — with 2–10ct prices up 6–9% since January; TAGS Dubai tender clears 80%.
De Beers' US study: average natural-diamond spend up 25% to $4,063 vs 2023; 75% of value demand is non-bridal; Gen Z takes 23% of value demand vs 18% of population.
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