And it’s expected to stay that way for the remainder of 2021.
Consumer demand for diamond jewelry is continuing into the summer months, the latest results from the two largest diamond mining companies show.
Between July 12 and 27, De Beers Group’s sixth sales cycle of 2021, rough diamond sales totaled $510 million.
As is the case for most year-over-year comparisons in 2021, comps don’t paint an accurate picture of the market. De Beers’ total in its latest round of rough sales is nearly five times what the company sold at this time last year, $116 million.
Compared with 2019—when sights were their normal week-long duration and the market was in a slump, causing De Beers to allow clients to defer purchases—2021 Cycle 6 sales are up 104 percent, $510 million compared with $250 million.
Strong demand for diamond jewelry in the United States and China continues to fuel rough demand, and De Beers remains optimistic for the remainder of 2021, though it notes that COVID is not over.
CEO Bruce Cleaver said: “With the ongoing strength in consumer sales of diamond jewelry, the outlook remains positive for the second half of the year, subject to the risks that the pandemic continues to present across the globe.”
Alrosa Deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev also noted that jewelry demand remained robust in July, following a first half of the year in which, according to Alrosa data, it rose an average of 35 percent in the U.S. compared with the first half of 2019 (pre-COVID).
