Despite increasing air travel restrictions, De Beers has announced it will go ahead with its third Sight of the year, scheduled for March 30 to April 3 in Gaborone, Botswana.
According to IDEX Online, there is a travel ban on flights from 18 high-risk countries, among them China, India and Belgium, to Botswana. Therefore, many of the 80 De Beers Sightholders “will struggle to attend and may send representatives or buy blind at the sight”.
De Beers commented: “As the situation around the globe continues to evolve rapidly, we have been meeting with customers to understand their requirements. While this is an extraordinary situation and COVID-19 has had an impact, our customers continue to express some demand for rough diamonds and have communicated their desire for the Sight to proceed. We are therefore focused on standing with our customers, meeting their requirements and proceeding with Sight 3”.
