The De Beers July sight closed with an estimated value of $200 million with the amount of goods left on the table estimated to have exceeded 65 percent of the initial sight value. De Beers reportedly kept overall diamond prices and assortment quality stable.
The size of this year’s July sight is the lowest amount for De Beers sixth sight of the year going at least as far back as the global financial crisis in 2009 according to Rapaport News estimates. Sightholder sentiment similarly reached a nadir not seen since the financial crisis at the turn of the previous decade.
Manufacturers stated that polishing rough diamonds at current rough and polished prices is unprofitable. Several sizable polished manufacturers told Rapaport News that the added value that sightholder status afforded their businesses no longer justified the level of losses they were incurring on De Beers boxes.
“The prices for De Beers boxes and rough diamond sold by the other major miners have lost all touch with the reality in the market,” said an Israeli sightholder. He added that, on average, the prices for rough diamond sold at tenders by small and medium-size mining companies were 15 percent to 20 percent cheaper than the rough sold at long-term contract sales by the major miners.
