De Beers noted how strong the Vegas shows were, while Alrosa grappled with supply issues in August.Consumer demand for diamond jewelry remains high and continues to fuel upstream sales of rough, the latest results from De Beers Group and Alrosa show.
De Beers Group expressed cautious optimism about the coming months, noting the potential risk the ongoing pandemic poses, while Alrosa said it faced supply issues in August, needing more rough than it had available to sell.
For De Beers, sightholder and auction sales for the seventh sales cycle of the year (Aug. 23-Sept. 7) totaled $515 million, essentially flat over the sixth sales cycle’s revised total of $514 million, and up 54 percent compared with a year ago ($334 million).
When compared with roughly the same period in 2019, pre-pandemic but a difficult year for the diamond industry, De Beers’ sales are up 78 percent, $515 million vs. $287 million.
De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said demand for rough diamonds remains solid due to continued strength in diamond jewelry sales in its two key markets, the United States and China.
“The midstream’s optimism for the remainder of the year was also evident at the recent JCK Las Vegas trade show, which was a success despite being held under challenging circumstances,” he said.
“As we now head towards a traditionally slower period for rough diamond sales, we remain cognizant of the risks to economic recovery from the global pandemic.”
Alrosa’s sales slowed in August as it grappled with supply issues.
Sales of rough and polished diamonds totaled $306 million in the month, $297 million in rough and $10 million in polished.
Photo © ALROSA.
