India’s exports of polished diamonds suffered yet another big fall in September, down 22.9 per cent, according to the latest figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council).
That’s a marginally better performance than August, when year-on-year exports were down by 23.8 per cent. Between April and September total foreign sales fell 20.6 per cent (all figures in US dollars).
Actual monthly sales tell a different story from year-on-year decreases. Total foreign sales for September were $1.29bn, compared to $1.04bn in August and $908m in July.
Across the whole gems and jewelry industry in India, gross exports were $2.54bn, down 15.9 per cent year-on-year (compared to 22.9 per cent for polished diamonds).
Exports of polished lab growns – still a tiny minority of all diamond sales – were down 16.5 per cent to $111m.
G7 countries could oblige companies to affirm that their imported polished diamonds are not of Russian provenance, according to the US’s top sanctions official.
Leaders of the bloc will meet at a summit in mid-May and are looking to have a plan in place by then, according to a member alert the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) released Tuesday summarizing remarks by Ambassador James O’Brien, who heads the US’s Office of Sanctions Coordination.
“There could be a required declaration that finished diamonds imported to the US and other G7 markets were not originally mined in Russia or other kinds of restrictions that apply to polished diamonds,” O’Brien said, according to the note. “The aim is to ensure this is phased in at a time and flow that will accommodate the work of the industry.”
O’Brien made his comments at last week’s annual JVC luncheon, where he was the guest speaker. The summary contained a mix of direct and paraphrased quotes, wrote JVC president and general counsel Tiffany Stevens.
The G7 includes the US, as well as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. The European Union is known as its “eighth member.”
Alrosa, in which the Kremlin holds a stake, “is deeply rooted to the power structure within Russia, and our government wants to make sure its revenue is not available for them to raid,” O’Brien explained. The state is seeking sources of funds to keep the war in Ukraine going, he added.
Important issues to tackle include how long to wait for Russian diamonds that are currently in the market to exit the system, the sizes of stones to which sanctions would apply, and how enforcement will work, the ambassador pointed out. “Having thoughts on these questions that can contribute to a framework in time for the mid-May meeting is a goal of the US government,” he said.
He also said that the US wanted to make sure Burma — also known as Myanmar — didn’t help Russia. The Asian country has been subject to various US sanctions since a military takeover in 2021.
“Russia is going to its allies and asking them to give back military equipment,” the official said, according to the JVC summary. “Burma supports Russia, so the government also wants to make sure Burma is restricted in its sources of revenue, so it doesn’t help Russia as well. This includes ensuring the regime does not earn money from the sale of rubies and other gemstones.”
Israel’s exports of polished diamond have shown positive growth over the past 11 months, a statement issued by Israeli Economic Ministry revealed yesterday.
According to the statement, the net rough diamond imports reached about $1.68 billion, recording an eight per cent decline compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the net rough diamond exports reached $1.46 billion during the same period, recording a 9.5 per cent decline compared to the same period last year.
Last month, net Israeli exports of rough diamonds to the UAE reached about $10.7 million – about 14 per cent of the total Israeli exports of rough diamonds in November.
Israel imported rough diamond worth $25.7 million from the UAE – 21 per cent of the total Israeli imports of rough diamond.
Israel recently began exporting diamonds to Bahrain and the Ministry of Economy and Industry expects this market to grow next year.
The global diamond industry has faced massive interruptions as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine. US sanctions on Russia, the world’s third largest diamond exporter, includes diamond trade.
HB Antwerp has acquired the manufacturing facility of Belgian large-stone specialist AMC Diamonds, gaining 13 employees alongside the company’s machinery and technology.
“With this acquisition, HB Antwerp confirms its ambition to bring the diamond-polishing process back to Antwerp in its entirety by combining the typical Antwerp savoir faire with the latest techniques in the field of laser technology, blockchain and [artificial intelligence],” a spokesperson for HB said.
Two-thirds of HB’s workforce now comprises technicians such as diamond polishers, software engineers and mechanical engineers, the company explained. It plans to carry out more recruitment in the coming months, HB added.
AMC, a De Beers sightholder, will maintain this status, and still has manufacturing facilities, a spokesperson for the company noted.
HB, which diamantaire Oded Mansori cofounded, partnered with Louis Vuitton earlier this year to buy the 1,758-carat Sewelô diamond from Lucara Diamond Corp. It also agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s rough over 10.8 carats through the end of 2020.
It since hired Boaz Lev from Malca-Amit as operations director and one of its managing partners, and hired former Antwerp World Diamond Centre spokesperson Margaux Donckier as director of communications and external affairs.
HB Antwerp has acquired the manufacturing facility of Belgian large-stone specialist AMC Diamonds, gaining 13 employees alongside the company’s machinery and technology.
“With this acquisition, HB Antwerp confirms its ambition to bring the diamond-polishing process back to Antwerp in its entirety by combining the typical Antwerp savoir faire with the latest techniques in the field of laser technology, blockchain and [artificial intelligence],” a spokesperson for HB said.
Two-thirds of HB’s workforce now comprises technicians such as diamond polishers, software engineers and mechanical engineers, the company explained. It plans to carry out more recruitment in the coming months, HB added.
AMC, a De Beers sightholder, will maintain this status, and still has manufacturing facilities, a spokesperson for the company noted.
HB, which diamantaire Oded Mansori cofounded, partnered with Louis Vuitton earlier this year to buy the 1,758-carat Sewelô diamond from Lucara Diamond Corp. It also agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s rough over 10.8 carats through the end of 2020.
It since hired Boaz Lev from Malca-Amit as operations director and one of its managing partners, and hired former Antwerp World Diamond Centre spokesperson Margaux Donckier as director of communications and external affairs.
The Indian government has granted diamond companies extra time to ship polished goods back to the country without incurring customs duty.
At present, reimports are subject to the 7.5% levy once the diamonds have been outside India for three months. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the deadline by a further three months for all parcels for which the cutoff date was previously between February 1 and July 31, it said Friday.
The country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) had been lobbying for the change after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the return of goods companies had sent overseas for grading and other services.
“The latest notification on the extension of three months on reimport of certified diamonds is a great respite for our exporters,” said GJEPC chairman Colin Shah.
Last week, the council urged the government to reduce customs duty on polished to 2.5%, arguing that the move would boost India’s status as a hub for trading and distribution of diamonds.
The Indian government has granted diamond companies extra time to ship polished goods back to the country without incurring customs duty.
At present, reimports are subject to the 7.5% levy once the diamonds have been outside India for three months. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the deadline by a further three months for all parcels for which the cutoff date was previously between February 1 and July 31, it said Friday.
The country’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) had been lobbying for the change after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the return of goods companies had sent overseas for grading and other services.
“The latest notification on the extension of three months on reimport of certified diamonds is a great respite for our exporters,” said GJEPC chairman Colin Shah.
Last week, the council urged the government to reduce customs duty on polished to 2.5%, arguing that the move would boost India’s status as a hub for trading and distribution of diamonds.
Import of rough diamonds fell 15.54% in the first 10 months of this financial year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Industry executives anticipate a further fall of 10-15% in February and March, as manufacturers are not keen to build up inventory in the wake of coronavirus outbreak which has affected demand in the major markets of Hong Kong, mainland China and the Far East.
Meanwhile, Russia’s diamond miner Alrosa has granted flexibility
to India’s authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds to buy 55% of the contracted volume so that their inventory does not pile up. “The US-China trade war has impacted exports, which in turn has brought down imports of rough diamonds.
Slow demand in the world market has resulted in piling up inventories in FY20,” Colin Shah, vice-chairman, GJEPC, told ET. “Manufacturers wanted to clear their inventories first, before fres ..
fresh stocking. During the Christmas and New Year, there was good demand from the US and Europe and we were able to offload quite a substantial portion of our inventories.”
International agency Rapaport said in its recent report that the recent influx of rough diamonds in the market, coupled with the weakened outlook for China, had raised concerns that the trade would return to an oversupply of rough diamonds.
De Beers reported a 9% year-on-year increase in sales to $545
million in January, owing to firmer prices on select boxes of commercial-quality diamonds.
It said that mining companies were holding large quantities of rough diamonds which they could not sell in 2019. Production of rough diamonds is projected to decrease about 6% this year, although mining companies have enough inventory to offset the decline.
Import of rough diamonds fell 15.54% in the first 10 months of this financial year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Industry executives anticipate a further fall of 10-15% in February and March, as manufacturers are not keen to build up inventory in the wake of coronavirus outbreak which has affected demand in the major markets of Hong Kong, mainland China and the Far East.
Meanwhile, Russia’s diamond miner Alrosa has granted flexibility
to India’s authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds to buy 55% of the contracted volume so that their inventory does not pile up. “The US-China trade war has impacted exports, which in turn has brought down imports of rough diamonds.
Slow demand in the world market has resulted in piling up inventories in FY20,” Colin Shah, vice-chairman, GJEPC, told ET. “Manufacturers wanted to clear their inventories first, before fres ..
fresh stocking. During the Christmas and New Year, there was good demand from the US and Europe and we were able to offload quite a substantial portion of our inventories.”
International agency Rapaport said in its recent report that the recent influx of rough diamonds in the market, coupled with the weakened outlook for China, had raised concerns that the trade would return to an oversupply of rough diamonds.
De Beers reported a 9% year-on-year increase in sales to $545
million in January, owing to firmer prices on select boxes of commercial-quality diamonds.
It said that mining companies were holding large quantities of rough diamonds which they could not sell in 2019. Production of rough diamonds is projected to decrease about 6% this year, although mining companies have enough inventory to offset the decline.
