De Beers Sales Down 18% Year-Over-Year
michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com
Rough diamond sales totaled $520 million in the fourth sales cycle of the year for De Beers, down from $636 million in the same period last year.
Gaborone, Botswana--Sales for diamond miner and marketer De Beers continue to fall short of last year’s total, figures released for the latest sales cycle of the year show.
The value of rough diamond sales, including both global sightholder sales and auction sales, totaled $520 million in the fourth sales cycle of the year, compared to $636 million in the same period last year.
De Beers revised its provisional figure for the third sales cycle, which was released last month, upward slightly, from $580 million to $586 million, but sales in that period still remain down 12 percent year-over-year.
De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver characterized demand for rough diamonds as “steady” despite the fact that the industry is entering what is typically a quieter season.
Here’s a look at De Beers’ rough diamond sales so far this year as compared with last year.
De Beers, which began allowing other companies to sell both rough and polished diamonds on its auction platform in November, recently announced another new sales initiative.
In June, the company will sell polished diamonds on that same auction platform that are cut from rough from its own mines by a third-party contractor.
The auction is scheduled for June 29; De Beers has not released any specifics about the number of carats on offer or the stones’ quality, only saying that there will be a “wide range” of diamonds that “reflects the full range of polished from our rough products.”
The diamonds will have grading reports from both the Gemological Institute of America and the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR), the lab that is owned by De Beers.
The value of rough diamond sales, including both global sightholder sales and auction sales, totaled $520 million in the fourth sales cycle of the year, compared to $636 million in the same period last year.
De Beers revised its provisional figure for the third sales cycle, which was released last month, upward slightly, from $580 million to $586 million, but sales in that period still remain down 12 percent year-over-year.
De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver characterized demand for rough diamonds as “steady” despite the fact that the industry is entering what is typically a quieter season.
Here’s a look at De Beers’ rough diamond sales so far this year as compared with last year.
| 2016 | 2017 | |
| First sales cycle | $545 million | $729 million |
| Second | $617 million | $553 million |
| Third | $666 million | $586 million |
| Fourth | $636 million | $520 million |
| Fifth | $564 million | |
| Sixth | $528 million | |
| Seventh | $639 million | |
| Eighth | $494 million | |
| Ninth | $476 million | |
| Tenth | $422 million |
De Beers, which began allowing other companies to sell both rough and polished diamonds on its auction platform in November, recently announced another new sales initiative.
In June, the company will sell polished diamonds on that same auction platform that are cut from rough from its own mines by a third-party contractor.
The auction is scheduled for June 29; De Beers has not released any specifics about the number of carats on offer or the stones’ quality, only saying that there will be a “wide range” of diamonds that “reflects the full range of polished from our rough products.”
The diamonds will have grading reports from both the Gemological Institute of America and the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR), the lab that is owned by De Beers.
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