Bain & Company’s sixth annual report on the global diamond jewelry market shows that diamond jewelry retail sales grew 3% in 2015, IDEX Online reports. Currency depreciation last year, as well as slower demand in China, contributed to a decline in global revenue of about 2% in US dollar terms, the report said.
Revenues in the cutting and polishing subsector declined by about 2% in 2015 due to the slowdown in global diamond jewelry demand, which increased retailers’ inventories. This scenario forced the midstream segment to reduce rough diamond purchase volumes and unload inventory surpluses accumulated in 2013 and 2014. Combined with the demand slowdown, the move contributed to a decline in polished-stone prices of about 10% in 2015.
“In 2015, the diamond jewelry and midstream segments showed relative stability, but the same cannot be said for rough diamond producers, which experienced a double-digit revenue decline”, said Olya Linde, a Bain partner and lead author of the report. “Although demand for rough diamonds has rebounded so far in 2016, the holiday season will determine the retail and midstream segments’ full-year performance”.
