De Beers said although it is still early days demand for rough diamonds is rebounding following impressive numbers from the group’s eighth sales cycle of 2020. The company said Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions provisional figures for the period stood at $467 million which was better than the actual $334 million reported in Cycle 7 2020. Year-on-year the figure was almost double the actual $297 million recorded in Cycle 8 2019.
Despite the improving sales figures, De Beers chief executive officer, Bruce Cleaver still remains cautiously optimistic of the rebound from COVID-19 induced recession. “We continue to see a steady improvement in demand for rough diamonds in the eighth sales cycle of the year, with cutters and polishers increasing their purchases as retail orders come through ahead of the key holiday season,” said
“It’s encouraging to see these demand trends, but these are still early days and there is a long way to go before we can be sure of a sustained recovery in trading conditions.”
De Beers added that owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, it has continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during the eighth sales cycle of 2020, with the Sight event extended beyond its normal week-long duration.
As a result, the provisional rough diamond sales figure quoted for Cycle 8 represents the expected sales value for the period 21 September to 9 October and remains subject to adjustment based on final completed sales, the company said.
De Beers’ Global Sightholder Sales hosts sales 10 times a year that are known as ‘Sights’ because, during the sales period, customers are able to inspect the rough diamonds offered to them before deciding what to buy.
The group’s Global Sightholder Sales team relocated from London to the Botswana capital of Gaborone in 2013. Rough diamonds are sent to Gabarone from De Beers Group’s operations in Canada, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, after being sorted into more than 10,000 categories. The next Sight will be held on November 2.
