- TSAONE SEGAETSHO
On Wednesday, De Beers reported that it sold $315 million worth of rough diamonds in the fifth sales cycle of this year, compared with $383 million in the fourth cycle.
Furthermore, the sales were also lower than the $456 million recorded in the fifth sales cycle of 2023.
This downward trend, starting from the first sales cycle, coincides with Anglo American, the major shareholder of De Beers, planning to disinvest from the diamond business. Experts believe this move by Anglo American is driven by multiple factors, including De Beers’ declining performance and sales.
The decline in rough diamond sales also comes amidst the international diamond jewellery event, the JCK Jewellery Show.
De Beers Group CEO, Al Cook said: “The focus of the global diamond industry now turns towards the JCK jewellery show in Las Vegas at the end of May.”
This week, President Mokgweetsi Masisi attended the JCK Jewellery Show, where he shared with the audience and international media the story of Botswana’s beautiful natural diamonds and their economic benefits to the country and its citizens. However, this did not boost the sales of rough diamonds on Wednesday, even after the presidential international marketing campaign.
The JCK Show heard that in April 2023, nearly half of the diamond engagement rings sold in the US were set with lab-grown diamonds (LGDs), a trend seen as a threat to Botswana’s natural diamonds. The continual drop in rough diamond sales this year, cycle after cycle, has hindered Masisi’s quest to promote Botswana’s natural diamonds to the world.
Several factors affected the Wednesday sales cycle, which De Beers deemed “slow.” Cook said this was “expected” as one of the biggest rough diamond buyers in the world, India, is experiencing “a quieter period of trading” due to the focus on the country’s elections.
“Demand trends in the US are expected to be driven by short-term macroeconomic issues but supported in coming years by a recovery in engagements as the after-effects of pandemic lockdowns fade,” said Cook.
