Provisional data released by Anglo American shows that the value of rough diamonds sold by De Beers dropped to $505 million during the 7th cycle of 2018. In the 6th cycle, De Beers sold $533 million worth of rough.
De Beers’ CEO Bruce Cleaver confirmed an earlier report in Bloomberg saying that the miner allowed diamond buyers at its sight to pass over lower-quality stones: “De Beers provided Sightholders with the opportunity to re-phase the allocation of some smaller, lower value rough diamonds”, he said and added that “demand remains stable ahead of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair”.
According to the same report in Bloomberg, prices for cheaper diamonds have fallen in recent years, as the market has been affected by several factors: too much supply, lower profit margins in major cutting centers, the depreciation of the Indian rupee and new competition from synthetic brands.