Rough diamond imports to India, home to the largest world's largest diamond cutting and polishing industry, have fallen for five consecutive months, according to figures from industry body the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The GPEPC's most recent figures show that from April through August (FY 2018), the value of rough diamond imports have declined by 7 percent to $7.16 billion from $7.69 billion a year earlier. In volume terms, imports are down 9% to 68.6 million carats from 75.3 million carats compared to the same period last year.

Russia's ALROSA, the world's largest diamond mining company, has commenced a rough diamond auction in New York, featuring 81 rare gem-quality 'specials' (diamonds larger then 10.8 carats) discovered in 2017-2018. The auction will include some of ALROSA's most unique recent recoveries, such as a transparent 98-ct diamond with a yellowish hue (pictured above) and a diamond weighing over 100 carats. Both stones were mined at the Yubileinaya pipe in Yakutia.

Lucapa Diamond Company today announced that a selection of large, premium-value Lulo diamonds will be the first Lulo production sold through new marketing channels being introduced as part of Angola’s diamond sector reforms, which represent a milestone for Angola's rough diamond trade. Additionally, Lucapa has exported its first parcel of ~2,500 carats of diamonds recovered from the Mothae kimberlite diamond mine in Lesotho to the global diamond trading centre of Antwerp, Belgium. 

Russian diamond miner ALROSA presented its first ever collection of large, fancy-colored polished diamonds at the Hong Kong Jewelry & Gem Fair, marking the initial stage of their new strategy to become the world leader in the production of colored polished diamonds. The collection showcased in Hong Kong is comprised of 250 diamonds of different shapes and hues, with the auction scheduled for September 19. "ALROSA polished branch now focuses on the processing of large and coloured diamonds and the subsequent sales," said Evgeny Agureev, Director of the United Selling Organization of ALRO

The polished-diamond trade in Antwerp rode a higher average price per carat, particularly for exports (+6%), to solid value gains during the traditionally slow month of August, when the industry takes a three-week hiatus. The volume of rough goods traded during the month declined notably without having much impact on the overall value of those goods, as the average price per carat for rough goods is also outpacing that of the year prior by approximately 6%.

Russian diamond miner ALROSA sold $294.9 million worth of rough and polished diamonds in the typically slow month of August, representing a 14% rise year-over-year. The miner sold $283.2 million worth of rough diamonds during the month, an 11% increase over the same period in 2017. Meanwhile, polished-diamond sales increased 516% y-o-y and 121% over July, earning $11.7 million, as the group hosted several sales.

Representatives from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) this morning joined Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs, Didier Reynders in Angola, where he hosted a Diamond Breakfast Symposium in cooperation with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Angola, HE Frank Felix. The mission to Angola is intended to reinforce the momentum established between the two countries during the visit of the President of Angola, João Lourenço, to Antwerp last June, where they discussed increased cooperation concerning diamond trading.

Diamond mining giant De Beers reports provisional sales of $505 million during the seventh cycle (September 3 - 7) ahead of the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, which gets underway this week. Rough sales were flat year-over-year ($507 million in 2017) and declined as anticipated from the $533 million sold in Cycle 6.

Last week, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the University of Antwerp hosted an “Innovation and Diamonds” conference at the Antwerpsche Diamantkring - the only rough diamond bourse in the world - featuring internationally-recognized experts from across the spectrum of the diamond trade, including alternative financing, the impact of digital on the luxury segment, the feasibility of small-scale ethical mining, as well as the earthquake and aftershocks of De Beers’ foray into lab-grown diamonds: LightBox.

Gem Diamonds, which operates the Letšeng mine in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa, famous for producing the world’s most valuable stones, is in the midst of a banner year as a record number of large diamond recoveries (+100ct) pushed revenue to $167.7 million, up 81% from $92.9 million in H1 2017. The company set a half year record of ten diamonds greater than 100 carats, including the recovery of the 910 carat Lesotho Legend, which was sold in March to an Antwerp company for $40 million ($43,912 per carat).

Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds earned US$26.9 million (CDN$35.3 million) from the sale of 411,317 carats at their seventh Antwerp sale of the year, completed on August 31. The overall average realized value was only US$65 per carat, a slight decline from their previous sale, driven by a lower qualites and downward pressure on the market for smaller goods, while their 'specials' (larger than 10.8 carats) continued to perform well. 

Canada's Lucara Diamond, through its subsidiary Clara Diamond Solutions, has inked a cooperation agreement to include Sarine Technology's mapping and planning technologies into its sales platform, which applies algorithms to match rough diamond production with polished manufacturing demand on a stone by stone basis.

Koin International Tenders has announced the addition of the KEM production (Kimberley Ekapa Minerals, South Africa) to its rough tenders. Previously offered only in South Africa, this sought-after production will now be offered at Koin tenders in Antwerp. An initial sale of over 66,000cts of 3Gr down and 10.80+ Single Stones will be on offer. Viewings for 10.80+ will be from August 20 to September 5, overlapping with Run of Mine production from the 28 August to 7 September.

Sales at Botswana's state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) fell by 16 percent in the first half of 2018 to $260 million, said managing director Marcus ter Haar, citing a high comparison base against last year's record growth, as Reuters reports. The company sold 1.778 million carats in the first half of 2018 compared with 1.808 million carats in the same period last year.

Russian diamond mining giant ALROSA has tested a new payment mechanism enabling foreign clients to purchase rough stones using Russian currency. As an experiment, transactions were conducted with clients from China and India, and if necessary, the company is prepared to use this payment scheme in rubles in the future. 

Russian mining giant ALROSA saw its July rough diamond sales increase by 17% year-over-year to $333.8 million from $286.1 million as demand for expensive high-quality diamonds remained strong. Total sales for the month increased by 16% to $339 million, including $5.3 million in polished diamond sales, a 28% decline from the same month in 2017, excluding the sale of the Dynasty Collection and the 51.38-carat round stone, the central diamond in the eponymous collection.

Rising prices of rough and polished diamonds led to substantial value gains for Antwerp’s diamond trade in July, which surged during the weeks preceding its traditional August recess, according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC). Rough diamond imports surged by 23% and exports by 18% compared to the same month a year ago, while polished imports gained 28% in value and exports gained more than 8% compared to the month of July 2017.

De Beers Group (provisionally) sold $530 million in rough diamonds during the sixth Cycle of 2018, representing a 9% decline from the $581 million sold during the previous cycle, and an 8% drop compared to the same period a year ago. The company attributed the slowdown to a seasonal decline rather than any structural change to demand, having remarked recently that the outlook for 2018 global consumer demand remains positive in most of the main diamond-consuming countries, based on world economic prospects, positive consumer sentiment and continued investment in marketing.

In June 2018, Russian mining giant ALROSA Group sold $390.3 million worth of rough and polished diamonds. The miner's earnings from rough diamond accounted for $383.7 million of total sales, an 8% increase over the $354.4 million sold in June 2017. The company also sold $6.6 million worth of polished diamonds, four million less than in the same month last year. During the first half of 2018, ALROSA sold $2.639 billion worth of rough diamonds, also an 8% rise over the first half in 2017.

Canadian miner Stornoway Diamonds saw its sales and diamond output slip in the second quarter, with the results, "reflect[ing] the ongoing transition from open pit to underground mining and the introduction of ore-waste sorting." Stornoway held two tenders in Antwerp compared to three in Q1, earning US$21.9 million (C$28.6 million) from the sale of 201,283 carats, compared to US$43.3 million (C$56.6 million) from the sale of 399,135 carats in Q1.

Following successful auctions of special size rough diamonds (weighing over 10.8 carats) in Vladivostok, New York, Israel and Dubai, Russian miner ALROSA earned total sales revenue of $10.4 million at their latest auction in Hong Kong, which is more than 1.5 times higher than the starting price. In total, 100 gem-quality lots with a total weight of 1,550 carats were sold. The companies from the largest diamond trading centers, including Hong Kong, Belgium, Israel, India, the UAE and Russia, attended the auction. 28 firms were recognized as winners for different lots.

Angolan President João Lourenço has vowed to reform Angola’s diamond industry, increasing its transparency in order to facilitate the exportation of goods, attract foreign investment and increase government revenue from the country's natural resources.

Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds (49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada’s NWT) announced the results of its recently completed fifth diamond tender sale of 2018, and the total proceeds from the sale - US$30.3 million (CDN$40.0 million) - set a new high for Mountain Province’s tender results to date. The tender also included the sale of the miner's highest value individual diamond, as well as the highest attributable value per ton ($234) to date, with a normalised value at US$86.

ALROSA, the world's largest diamond mining company, is organizing a contest for diamond and football fans alike: create a 'football' name for large rough diamond (76.53 carats), and win a ticket to the final game of the FIFA World Cup 2018™. The centerpiece stone of this contest will also constitute the core of a 'football' collection of special size rough diamonds to be auctioned in Moscow. Fans may submit their ideas to www.diamondsofrussia.ru. The winner will also receive a certificate that the stone is named after his or her idea.

Dominion Diamond Mines will hold an online auction of its latest production of fancy colour and +10.8 carat rough diamonds, in co-operation with I. Hennig Tenders, on Thursday, 19 July 2018. Dominion says the most recent production from the Misery kimberlite pipe, of the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada, has delivered a quantity of exceptional yellow fancy colour stones, which will be presented for sale at the upcoming auction.

Rough diamond demand remained strong at De Beers June sight, as the mining giant provisionally sold $575 million of rough diamonds for the fifth sales cycle of 2018 (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales), its second largest take in 2018. Earnings from this sale represent a 6% increase over the same cycle in 2017 and a 3% increase over the $560 million sold in its fifth cycle of 2016.

On the sidelines of the Kimberley Process Intersessional taking place this week in Antwerp, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate their common objectives of improving the image, professionalization and marketing of African diamonds.

Lucara Diamond Corp.,a leading producer of large exceptional quality Type IIa diamonds from its 100% owned Karowe Mine in Botswana, achieved $32.48 million at its 12th Exceptional Stone Tender which concluded yesterday. The tender consisted of 10 single stone lots, ranging from 472.37 to 40.4 carats in size, totaling 1,453.06 carats and included two diamonds greater than 300 carats.

Australian diamond miner Lucapa Diamond Corp. earned US$2 million (A$2.7 million) in revenues from its latest sale of rough diamonds from the Lulo Diamond Project in Angola. Lucapa sold 1,782 carats at an average price per carat of US$1,150 (A$1,530). Including this sale, the miner's gross proceeds from Lulo diamond sales to date in H1 2018 now sits at US$15.9 million (A$20.2 million) at an average price per carat of US$1,642 (A$2,093). The sale excluded a number of large white specials (+10.8 carats) and a coloured special, which were held back for a future sale.

Koin International will hold a rough diamond tender in Antwerp from 18 - 26 June 2018, including original productions from Meya Mining (Sierra Leone), Ekapa Minerals (Kimberley, South Africa), and over 60,000cts of rough goods from Angola. The tender will also feature an Single Stone Tender of 'special' (+10.8 carat) stones from Angola. All productions are a full range of colours and qualities.

Angola’s Catoca, the world’s fifth largest diamond mine, estimates it lost $464 million over the past six years due to a government-imposed marketing system that obliged it to sell production below international prices, writes Reuters after having been shown in March a company presentation. President João Lourenço has vowed to reform Angola’s diamond industry, increasing its transparency in order to facilitate the exportation of goods and services and attract direct foreign investment, all in the interest delivering greater revenues from the country's natural resources.

ALROSA's rough diamond sales of $277.5 million in May 2018 represent a significant step backwards from its $467.6 million in sales in May 2017 (-41%), and fell 30% compared to last month ($396.2 million), which the Russian miner says was part of a, "planned decrease in sales". Deputy General Director Yury Okoemov attributed the planned sale of lower volumes to, "a seasonal decline in the current production, mostly driven by mining suspension at some alluvial deposits in the first months of the year,” as well as pointing to the sale of inventories at the beginning of the year.

Russian diamond mining giant ALROSA will hold the auctions for the sale of special size rough diamonds (+10.8 carats) in Hong Kong and Vladivostok this June. The auction in Hong Kong will take place on June 13-27, where the company will auction 105 gem-quality lots with total weight of 1,620 carats. The second auction will be held on June 18-29 in Vladivostok, where company plans to auction 130 gem-quality lots with total weight 2,149 carats. 

Lucara Diamond Corp. will be holding its first Exceptional Stone Tender of 2018, faciliated by tender house Bonas, on June 19. Viewings will take place starting June 10 in Gabarone, Botswana. The tender consists of 10 single stones ranging from 40.40 carats to 472.37 carats in size, including a 327 carat diamond, alongside other qualifying diamonds that have been recovered since the start of the year. Click through to view the catalogue of superior stones.

Antwerp's polished diamond exports in May surged by 62% compared to April and increased 5% year-over-year, according to data from the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), as the Belgian polished trade continues its modest 2018 climb. Polished exports rose to $1.18 billion from April, which achieved only $728.2 million, and outstripped May 2017 exports by $56.5 million. The rise was backed by a 13% increase over April in the number of carats exported, and a 4% increase compared to the same month a year ago.

Russian diamond miner ALROSA sold $14.5 million worth of rough diamond specials (+10.8) carats at its recent auction in Israel. The company sold 112 gem-quality lots with a total weight of 1,824 carats, for an approximate average price of $7,950 per carat - approximately the same price ALROSA received per carat at their recent auction in New York ($9,980), where they sold 1,040 carats for $10.38 million. Firms from Israel, Belgium, India, USA and UAE participated in the auction.

Canadian miner Mountain Province Diamonds (49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada’s NWT) announced the results of its recently completed fourth diamond tender sale of 2018. Total proceeds from the sale were US$28.3 million, the highest total for any Antwerp tender result to date. The miner said that market sentiment remained positive coming out of the April holidays and into the fourth selling cycle, while customer participation was healthy with 191 companies attending the tender in Antwerp and an average of 12.4 bids received per lot.

Russian diamond miner ALROSA reopened its representative office in New York and promptly sold 63 lots of special size rough diamonds (+10.8 carats) with a total weight of 1,040 carats for $10.38 million at its first NYC sale in two years. The auction was held in the period from April 23 to May 11, earning a robust average price per carat of approximately $9,980. In total, 50 companies from world’s largest diamond trading centers, including 7 firms from the USA and 43 from Belgium, India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, took part in it.

De Beers Group today announced it has provisionally sold $550 million of rough diamonds for the fourth sales cycle of 2018 (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales), against a backdrop of what has been called "record demand". De Beers published last week a report stating that diamond jewelry demand rose to a record $82bn globally in 2017 after several years of stagnation.

Russian diamond mining giant ALROSA saw its profit soar to $533 million (RUB 33.2B) in Q1 2018, eclipsing their profit from Q1 2017 by 40% and doubling that from the final quarter of 2017. Noting improved market conditions, the company's rough diamond sales volume grew by 43% to 13.4 million carats despite a 26% decline in production compared to Q4 2017 (-17% compared to Q1 2017) as 48% of their sales volume, about 6 million carats, came from existing stocks.

Lucara Diamond Corp recorded a loss of $7 million in the first quarter of 2018 amid a slight decline in revenues (-3%) and higher administrative costs. The Toronto-listed company operating in Botswana achieved revenues of $25.4 million compared to $26.1 million in the same period a year ago. They achieved $401 per carat, just under the $405 per carat from Q1 2017, at its first regular tender, yielding an operating margin1 of $170 per carat or 42% during the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Russian diamond miner ALROSA, the world's leader in diamond production, reports rough diamond sales for April achieved $396.2 million, a 28% increase from the same month a year ago. The month's sales represent a significant dropoff from the $550 million sold the previous month, but the miner attributes this to a seasonally slow period in diamond trading. Together with the $9.1 million in polished sales, ALROSA achieved total revenues of $405.3 million last month. 

Hong Kong's imports and exports of rough and polished diamonds saw a solid to significant upswing across all categories during the first quarter of 2018 (Jan-March), according to figures published Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China. Polished diamond imports to the trade hub increased by 10% in value to $5.17 billion from the import of nearly 5.3 million carats worth of the polished gems. Hong Kong's exports and re-exports rose by 4% to $3.53 billion from 3.7 million carats.

The Antwerp diamond trade in 2018 as a whole continues to outpace its performance during 2017, showing a double-digit increase in the value of rough goods traded and steady figures from the polished trade compared to the same period a year ago. According to figures published by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the rough diamond trade in April continued to shine, with the value of rough exports increasing nearly 17% year-over-year, while rough imports surged by 43%.

Russian diamond mining giant ALROSA sold $14.8 million worth of special size large diamonds (weighing over 10.8 carats) at an international auction held in Vladivostok from April 16 to April 27, the company announced today. The company's United Selling Organization (USO) - responsible for the sorting, preliminary valuation, pre-sale preparation and sales of all ALROSA’s rough diamonds - sold 101 special size rough stones at the auction, good for a total weight of 1751.1 carats. The average price per carat for the large diamonds topped $8,450.

The Guangzhou Diamond Exchange held its first ever Rough Diamond Tender from 19-25 April, selling all the parcels available for nearly $6 million. The tender included more than 230,000 cts of of industrial and gem-quality diamonds rough diamond from Africa and drew nearly 50 companies from China, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, India and Israel. The supplier of the stones, Société Anhui-Congo d’Investissement Minier, is a joint venture of Chinese enterprise and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Firestone Diamonds, which mines the Liqhobong mine in Lesotho (75% Firestone, 25% government of Lesotho) reports an increase in production during the third fiscal quarter ended 31 March 2018, as the higher grade led to a 6.6% rise in diamond recoveries despite challenging conditions due to above average rainfall during the wet season.

De Beers rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the third sales cycle of 2018 (April 9 -13) slowed to a provisional $520 million, an 11% drop year-over-year and an 8% decline from the $563 million in actual sales ($555M provisional) sold in Cycle 2. The drop in sales was not unanticipated after heavy buying early in the year, and unnamed insiders commented last week that De Beers had raised prices between 1 and 2 percent, a similar percentage increase as in its previous sale at the end of February.

De Beers has reportedly dropped Gitanjali Gems from its list of sightholders (long-term contracted buyers) following the alleged involvement of Gitanjali owner and managing director Mehul Choksi in a $1.77 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), together with his billionaire nephew Nirav Modi. In an article published in the Times of India (TOI) on February 22, 2018, De Beers group clarified that the company would not do business with firms not complying with financial propriety and industry reputation issues.

ALROSA plans to hold an auction for the sale of special size rough diamonds over 10.8 carats in Vladivostok from April 16 to 27, 2018. In total, the company will auction 110 gem quality lots, the Russian miner confirms in a press release. The total weight of auctioned diamonds is 1,946 carats; the largest gemstone weighs 46.64 carats. The assortment will consist of rough diamonds mined from the deposits of PJSC ALROSA, and its subsidiaries – JSC Almazy Anabara, PJSC Alrosa-Nyurba and PJSC Severalmaz.

Although the sales figures have yet to arrive, and the prices are not made public, Bloomberg's Thomas Biesheuvel has it from "people familiar with the matter" that De Beers has raised its rough diamond prices for the second consecutive cycle. He writes, "De Beers lifted prices between 1 percent and 2 percent, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The company raised prices a similar amount in its previous sale at the end of February.

ALROSA Group, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, sold $550.3 million worth of rough diamonds in March, their highest monthly earnings thus far in 2018. While this total represents a slight drop [1%] from the $554.2 million earned in March 2017, overall rough diamond sales for the first quarter (January - March) surged by 21.5% to $1.582 billion from $1.302 billion a year ago. “In January-March, world markets saw higher demand for medium and large-size rough diamonds compared to the same period last year", commented ALROSA Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov.

The value of diamonds traded in Antwerp during the first quarter of 2018 (January - March) increased across the board compared to the same period a year ago, particularly in the rough diamond trade, aided by a surge in the volume and value of exported rough goods in March.

In an article published by Interfax Alrosa’s Vice President Yuri Okoyemov stated seasonal factors had affected demand for rough diamonds in March, which were slightly down compared to January-February.  "But the results of the trading session in March are good; Q1 on the whole can be given a positive assessment," he said. "Generally the forecast for the year is good at the moment; we are expecting stable demand and prices, with seasonal variations."

Exports of cut and polished diamonds from India during the month of February 2018 remained virtually flat at $ 2.427 billion, 0.50% over the same month last year, according to provisional data released by The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The average price rose 6% to $791 per carat. However, while exports of cut and polished diamonds remained flat, rough imports rose by 11.35% in value terms during the month to $1.68 billion as compared to US$ 1.51 bn imported during the previous February.