De Beers said the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions) for the sixth and seventh sales cycles of 2020 were $116 million and $320 million respectively.
| Cycle 7 2020 (provisional) | Cycle 6 2020 (actual) | Cycle 7 2019 (actual) | |
| Sales value ($m) | 320 | 116 | 287 |
De Beers noted that the normal week-long Sight events extended towards near-continuous sales (19th August – 10th September) as it continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe.
As a result, the provisional rough diamond sales figure quoted for Cycle 7 represents the expected sales value for the period, and remains subject to adjustment based on final completed sales, De Beers noted.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Diamond markets showed some continued improvement throughout August and into September as Covid-19 restrictions continued to ease in various locations, and manufacturers focused on meeting retail demand for polished diamonds, particularly in certain product areas.
“Overall industry sentiment has become more positive as jewellers in the key US and Chinese consumer markets gained confidence ahead of the important year-end holiday season, supported by strong bridal diamond jewellery demand across markets. Accordingly, we saw a recovery in rough diamond demand in the seventh sales cycle of the year, reflecting these retail trends, following several months of minimal manufacturing activity and disrupted demand patterns in all major markets. It’s clear that the recovery is at an early stage and we expect that it will take some time to get back to pre-Covid-19 levels of demand.”
Caption: Rough diamonds used for the Talisman collection, De Beers Jewellers, NYC.
Photo courtesy De Beers