Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa will close its New York office by the end of April following the Russia-Ukraine conflict “and the subsequent sanctions on diamond imports,” IDEX Online reports.
Alrosa opened its New York office in 2006, ceased business in 2016 and then re-opened in 2018. Through its NYC office, Alrosa sells rough diamonds at auction “and increases sales of its polished goods direct to the US market.”
In related news, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has clarified that “US sanctions on importing rough diamonds from Russia do not apply to stones mined there but cut and polished elsewhere,” IDEX Online reports. While the ban covers “unworked or simply sawn, cleaved or bruted” diamonds, or what is generally referred to as rough diamonds,, it does not extend to gems polished in other countries.”
