Sales of major diamantaires continued to improve in February, bolstered by ongoing recovery in the midstream market as well as solid demand for diamond jewellery. 

Alrosa said its sales of rough and polished diamonds reached US$372 million in February, up 7.5 per cent from US$346 million in the same period last year. 

“The recovery in demand for diamond jewellery in key markets continued in early 2021, thus providing a good support for rough diamond sales,” explained Evgeny Agureev, deputy CEO of Alrosa. “Midstream companies seek to replenish their stocks of rough once they see an opportunity for that. The current supply and demand balance is comfortable for both miners and buyers of rough diamonds.” 

Rough diamonds accounted for US$361 million of total sales while polished diamond sales stood at US$12 million. For two months of 2021, total rough and polished diamond sales hit US$802 million.

De Beers Group meanwhile reported rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions) of US$550 million for the second sales cycle of 2021 – a 52 per cent jump from US$362 million in Cycle 2 last year.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers Group, commented, “We saw the continuation of good rough diamond demand during our second sales cycle of 2021 on the back of positive consumer demand for diamond jewellery. Midstream buyers continued to express healthy demand following better than expected retail sales of diamond jewellery over Christmas, Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, with the industry now set to enter what is traditionally a period of lower seasonal demand. While the year has started positively, we recognise ongoing near-term uncertainty in the pace and shape of the recovery.”

De Beers Group continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during Cycle 2, with the event extending beyond its normal week-long duration. The latest figure represents the expected sales value from February 22 to March 8.