De Beers Raises Prices of Larger Diamonds

               Rough diamonds at De Beers

De Beers increased prices of goods above 2 carats at this week’s sight as shortages of rough coincided with strong polished demand.

Prices rose around 5%, and more in some categories, market insiders told Rapaport News on Monday. Near-gem items also saw significant increases, while prices for other stones under 2 carats were either stable or slightly up.

“They seem to have picked areas where they’ve seen room [for price growth], and they’ve just hiked the prices up,” a source in the rough sector said on condition of anonymity. “For the time being, the market is absorbing it.”

Rough trading has been strong in recent weeks because of reduced supply from the large miners and solid polished sales. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) for 1-carat diamonds has risen 2.5% since May 1.

Rough above 1 carat has been especially sought-after, with premiums on the secondary market rising while manufacturers look to fill inventory gaps. A backlog of grading submissions at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has exacerbated the situation.

The June sight value will be similar to last month’s $380 million as customers snap up the limited goods available at the sale, sources said. Proceeds were higher earlier in the year — peaking at $663 million in January — when manufacturers restocked after the holidays and De Beers had larger volumes available to sell.

“There’s a shortfall in goods,” an executive at an Indian sightholder said Monday. “They’re not able to serve everyone what they’re entitled to.”

Rough demand slumped during the 2020 coronavirus crisis as the global supply chain froze. De Beers chose to maintain prices until August, when it offered deep discounts to encourage sightholders to resume buying. It has since reversed those cuts, gradually bringing prices to above pre-pandemic levels in many categories.

The sight began on Monday and runs until Friday. De Beers was not available for comment at press time.

Source: DCLA

De Beers Raises Prices of Larger Diamonds

               Rough diamonds at De Beers

De Beers increased prices of goods above 2 carats at this week’s sight as shortages of rough coincided with strong polished demand.

Prices rose around 5%, and more in some categories, market insiders told Rapaport News on Monday. Near-gem items also saw significant increases, while prices for other stones under 2 carats were either stable or slightly up.

“They seem to have picked areas where they’ve seen room [for price growth], and they’ve just hiked the prices up,” a source in the rough sector said on condition of anonymity. “For the time being, the market is absorbing it.”

Rough trading has been strong in recent weeks because of reduced supply from the large miners and solid polished sales. The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) for 1-carat diamonds has risen 2.5% since May 1.

Rough above 1 carat has been especially sought-after, with premiums on the secondary market rising while manufacturers look to fill inventory gaps. A backlog of grading submissions at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has exacerbated the situation.

The June sight value will be similar to last month’s $380 million as customers snap up the limited goods available at the sale, sources said. Proceeds were higher earlier in the year — peaking at $663 million in January — when manufacturers restocked after the holidays and De Beers had larger volumes available to sell.

“There’s a shortfall in goods,” an executive at an Indian sightholder said Monday. “They’re not able to serve everyone what they’re entitled to.”

Rough demand slumped during the 2020 coronavirus crisis as the global supply chain froze. De Beers chose to maintain prices until August, when it offered deep discounts to encourage sightholders to resume buying. It has since reversed those cuts, gradually bringing prices to above pre-pandemic levels in many categories.

The sight began on Monday and runs until Friday. De Beers was not available for comment at press time.

Source: DCLA

Lucara Recovers 470 Carat Diamond from the Karowe Mine in Botswana

    470 carat diamond recovered from the                    Karowe Mine in Botswana

Lucara Diamond Corp. is pleased to announce the recovery of a 470 carat top light
brown clivage diamond from its 100% owned Karowe Diamond Mine located in Botswana.

The diamond, measuring 49x42x26mm, was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the
South Lobe. The 470 carat recovery forms a notable contribution to a series of top quality gem and clivage quality
diamond recoveries during a recent production run, including an additional 5 diamonds greater than 100 carats
(265ct, 183ct, 161ct, 116ct, 106ct) and 13 diamonds between 50 and 100 carats in weight.

The May production run, dominated by EM/PK(S) ore, produced diamonds greater than 10.8 carat in weight accounting for 12.7% weight percent of total production, exceeding resource expectations. Continued strong resource performance and recovery of large diamonds reinforces the significance of the EM/PK(S) as an important economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe.

The 470 carat diamond was recovered in the Coarse XRT circuit and represents the third +300 carat diamond
recovered to date in 2021. Year to date, Karowe has produced 10 diamonds greater than 100 carats including 6
diamonds greater than 200 carats, including the 341 carat (link to press release) and 378 carat (link to press release)
top white diamonds recovered in January 2021.

Source: DCLA

Lucara Recovers 470 Carat Diamond from the Karowe Mine in Botswana

    470 carat diamond recovered from the                    Karowe Mine in Botswana

Lucara Diamond Corp. is pleased to announce the recovery of a 470 carat top light
brown clivage diamond from its 100% owned Karowe Diamond Mine located in Botswana.

The diamond, measuring 49x42x26mm, was recovered from direct milling of ore sourced from the EM/PK(S) unit of the
South Lobe. The 470 carat recovery forms a notable contribution to a series of top quality gem and clivage quality
diamond recoveries during a recent production run, including an additional 5 diamonds greater than 100 carats
(265ct, 183ct, 161ct, 116ct, 106ct) and 13 diamonds between 50 and 100 carats in weight.

The May production run, dominated by EM/PK(S) ore, produced diamonds greater than 10.8 carat in weight accounting for 12.7% weight percent of total production, exceeding resource expectations. Continued strong resource performance and recovery of large diamonds reinforces the significance of the EM/PK(S) as an important economic driver for the proposed underground mine at Karowe.

The 470 carat diamond was recovered in the Coarse XRT circuit and represents the third +300 carat diamond
recovered to date in 2021. Year to date, Karowe has produced 10 diamonds greater than 100 carats including 6
diamonds greater than 200 carats, including the 341 carat (link to press release) and 378 carat (link to press release)
top white diamonds recovered in January 2021.

Source: DCLA

The Largest Diamond Ever Mined in North America up for Auction

 

     204.36-carat “Dancing Sun” fancy intense yellow                                        diamond

A 204.36 carat fancy yellow diamond hits the block at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on June 8 in New York City. The Dancing Sun, with an estimate of $3.5 million to $5.5 million, is the largest polished diamond ever mined in North America.

It was cut from a piece of rough weighing 552.74 carats. Six smaller diamonds were cut from the same rough, ranging from 14.52 to 1.06 carats, and are also included in the sale. All six are set into rings. The rough diamond came from the Diavik Diamond Mine, the second to open following the great Canadian diamond rush of the 1990s.

The previous record for the largest known gem quality rough ever mined in North America was the 187.66 carat Foxfire rough, also mined at Diavik. It was cut into several gems, including a pair of pear shapes weighing 37.87 and 36.80 carats, auctioned at Christie’s New York in December 2018 for $1.5 million.

Source; DCLA

The Largest Diamond Ever Mined in North America up for Auction

 

     204.36-carat “Dancing Sun” fancy intense yellow                                        diamond

A 204.36 carat fancy yellow diamond hits the block at the Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on June 8 in New York City. The Dancing Sun, with an estimate of $3.5 million to $5.5 million, is the largest polished diamond ever mined in North America.

It was cut from a piece of rough weighing 552.74 carats. Six smaller diamonds were cut from the same rough, ranging from 14.52 to 1.06 carats, and are also included in the sale. All six are set into rings. The rough diamond came from the Diavik Diamond Mine, the second to open following the great Canadian diamond rush of the 1990s.

The previous record for the largest known gem quality rough ever mined in North America was the 187.66 carat Foxfire rough, also mined at Diavik. It was cut into several gems, including a pair of pear shapes weighing 37.87 and 36.80 carats, auctioned at Christie’s New York in December 2018 for $1.5 million.

Source; DCLA

Petra puts “exceptional” 39-carat blue diamond up for sale

    39.34 carat blue diamond recovered by Petra                                         South Africa

South Africa’s Petra Diamonds has put a 39.34 carat Type IIb gem recovered at its iconic Cullinan mine in April up for sale, with viewings beginning June 15.

The company said the diamond of “exceptional quality” in terms of both its colour and clarity, will be showcased in Antwerp, Dubai, Hong Kong and New York.

Petra, which anticipates that the diamond will be sold via a special tender, said that biddings via its online platform will close on July 12.

While it didn’t set a price range for the stone, the miner said high-quality blue diamonds like the one for sale usually fetch the highest values.

Petra’s Blue Moon of Josephine diamond, cut from a 29 carat rough blue diamond, sold for $48.5 million in 2015.

The figure corresponds to a price of $4 million per carat, which remains the world record price per carat ever paid for a diamond.

Cullinan is known as the world’s most important source of blue diamonds, as well as being the birthplace of the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was cut to form the 530-carat Great Star of Africa. The operation also yielded the 317-carat Second Star of Africa. They are the two largest diamonds in the British Crown Jewels.

Source: DCLA