The De Beers May sight closed with an estimated value of $470 million as the mining company reduced its rough diamond prices by an average of 3 percent. Sightholders noted that prices for many boxes fell by even more as the quality of the assortments declined in many categories.
Sightholders said that rough prices are close to the bottom but that manufacturers are still struggling to achieve sustainable profit margins. “I think De Beers is trying, but their prices have still have not reached the value of the goods when they are turned into polished diamonds,” a sightholder told Rapaport News.
He added that he would consider the market healthy again once sightholders are able to sell De Beers boxes for cash at a 3 percent premium on the secondary market. This would reflect the actual total cost to sightholders of buying a De Beers box. Currently, De Beers boxes were trading on the secondary market at premiums below 3 percent and with credit terms that averaged 90 days.
