De Beers

By Thomas Biesheuvel
August 30, 2020, 8:00 AM GMT+2

• De Beers, Alrosa price cuts trigger $500 million buying spree
• Factories restarting to cut and polish the rough stones

For the past six months, the global diamond hubs in Antwerp, Belgium, and Mumbai have been at a standstill, with cutting and polishing factories closed and trading floors shuttered. Now, a capitulation on prices by the biggest miners is sparking the industry back to life.

After refusing to budge on diamond prices during much of the pandemic, De Beers and Russian rival Alrosa PJSC decided last week they saw enough signs of recovering demand and seized the opportunity, cutting some prices by almost 10%. The impact was instant, as rough diamond buyers snapped up about half a billion dollars in uncut gems, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

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The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the diamond world.

By Thomas Biesheuvel
June 7, 2020, 6:00 AM GMT+2

In one of the world’s biggest diamond vaults, hidden inside a nondescript office compound on the dusty outskirts of Botswana’s capital, the precious stones just keep piling up.

Owner De Beers, which mines and auctions most of its gems in the southern African nation, has barely sold any rough diamonds since February. Neither has Russian rival Alrosa PJSC. Now, as the coronavirus restrictions that froze the global industry for months begin to lift, the unsold diamonds present a dilemma: how to reduce billions of dollars’ worth of stocks without undermining the nascent recovery.

The pandemic has devastated the diamond world. Jewelry stores closed their doors, India’s cutting and polishing artisans were forced to stay home and De Beers had to cancel its March sale because buyers couldn’t travel to view the merchandise.

De Beers and Alrosa have moved to defend their market. The miners refused to cut prices, instead allowing buyers unprecedented freedom to renege on contracts to buy stones. They’ve also reduced production in an effort to control stock levels. Yet the diamonds keep piling up.

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