De Beers implements biggest diamonds price increase of 5% in years

De Beers implemented its biggest price increase for diamonds in years as the industry starts bouncing back from the pandemic-induced shutdown.
 
The world’s biggest diamond producer raised prices by about 5 per cent at its first sale of the year, according to people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The increases mostly applied to stones bigger than 1 carat, the people said.
 
The diamond industry has surprised many by the speed of its recovery after being brought to a complete standstill in the first half of last year. Crucial holiday sales in the US and China were strong, while a shortage of stock held by industry middlemen created strong demand.
 
De Beers doesn’t publicise price changes, but it’s probably one of the steepest increases since the early part of last decade, the people said. A spokesman for De Beers declined to comment.
 
There were signs of recovery in the fourth quarter of 2020 as rough-diamond buyers started replenishing stocks to prepare for the industry’s most important selling period: Thanksgiving to the Chinese New Year. De Beers’s business started rebounding, and the Anglo American Plc unit was able to edge prices higher in the last sale of the year in December.

 
That’s in stark contrast to the industry’s fortunes at the early stages of the pandemic, when sales collapsed, and diamond retailers and factories closed. De Beers responded by curtailing production, leading to a tighter supply just as shoppers returned to stores in parts of China and the US.
 
In October of last year, since the pandemic begun, De Beers sold the most diamonds since the coronavirus crisis brought the industry to a halt, after price cuts and recovering demand lured buyers back.
 
The sector came to a standstill early on in the pandemic as jewellery shops and major trading hubs were forced to close, while diamond buyers were restricted from travelling. But there were signs of recovery, encouraged by price cuts from De Beers and Russian rival Alrosa PJSC.
 
De Beers had lowered prices of smaller diamonds in September 2020, following similar reductions for bigger stones a month earlier. That coincided with an uptick in demand from trade buyers to replenish low inventories and returning jewellery customers, especially in China.