DIAMOND GEMS WEEKLY

Undoubtedly, the biggest story of the week was the reinstatement of US tariffs on imports from key trading partners following the expiration of the temporary 10% global tariff regime. The new structure is more nuanced. Some countries gained exemption from import duties, others face a 10% tariff, while imports from most countries are now subject to a 12.5% rate. (See the Jeweler’s Vigilance Committee Member’s Alert and its Tariff Tracker). For the diamond industry, Botswan

On the eve of Anglo American's divestment from De Beers, a discussion has re-emerged over the company’s brand equity. How much of De Beers’ value lies in its name or intellectual property, such as A Diamond Is Forever? Is De Beers a brand, and how can its new owners best leverage that identity? It is not a new debate, but a lingering one that inevitably shines a light on the company’s retail business, now known as De Beers London. The latest discussion was sparked during

It’s been a quietly significant week in the diamond industry, with some rather astonishing announcements across the mining, trading and retail sectors. And we had a fantastically large diamond recovery to get the juices flowing. Starting with mining, we saw operations cease at two legendary diamond mines. A court filing revealed that Burgundy Diamond Mines is closing the Ekati mine in Canada after attempts to sell it failed. Annual production at Ekati peaked at around 7.4

De Beers has announced a two-year pause in operations at the Venetia mine in South Africa, its latest effort to cut costs and streamline the business amid continued weakness in the diamond market. The decision comes as Anglo American moves closer to selling its 85% stake in De Beers, raising questions about whether the suspension is connected to the sale or simply reflects the company’s need to adjust to market conditions. Both can be true. The move sends a strong message

Just as I was crossing the t's and dotting the i's on this week’s newsletter, a press release landed in my inbox announcing that De Beers is pausing operations at the Venetia mine in South Africa for two years. That changed the lead story because this is a significant development, even if it isn't entirely surprising. In fact, I argued this was a likely outcome in the Diamond Executive Report, The Value of De Beers, published in May, where I wrote: “De Beers might conside

In Episode 4 of The Diamond Dudes, I join Rob Bates and Edahn Golan to discuss some of the biggest developments shaping the diamond industry. We examine De Beers' bold price cuts at its July sight, the first under its new contract period with a significantly smaller group of sightholders and consider whether the move reflects a short-term response to market conditions or a longer-term strategy for an era of lower rough supply. We also explore newly released Kimberley Proc

By far the most consequential story over the past week went a little under the radar. De Beers signaled it would reduce prices at the sight that began today, as reported by Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman. The move, corroborated by my own sources, is a sign that De Beers believes the market is improving. That may sound counterintuitive given the price cuts, but De Beers typically adjusts prices to stimulate buying when it sees polished inventories have declined and demand beginn

Solitaire International: The rise of lab-grown diamonds is prompting the natural diamond industry to refocus on the distinctive qualities of the product it sells. That may sound obvious, but the industry took its eye off the ball for some time, placing greater emphasis on grading reports and specifications than on the diamond itself. Now, as lab-grown diamonds have become increasingly standardized and near-perfect, natural diamonds stand apart through their unique inclusion

Markets Auction Highlights 10.02-carat, fancy intense blue. (Sotheby's) A rectangular, 10.02-carat, fancy intense blue, VS2-clarity diamond sold for $8.7 million at Sotheby’s New York, leading a $43.4 million auction that achieved a 98% sell-through rate. The second-highest lot was a 5.02-carat, fancy intense pink, internally flawless oval diamond ring, which fetched $2.9 million. The Azure Blue, a 31.62-carat, pear-shaped, fancy blue, VVS1-clarity diamond, sold for $8.4 mi

This week I turn my attention to technology and what I believe may be the real opportunity for lab-grown diamonds. Over the weekend, I was alerted to a video by Chloe Abram. If you're not familiar with her, as I wasn't, she describes herself as a video journalist who makes optimistic explainers about technology. Her latest video, The $1 Trillion Problem Diamonds Can Solve, attracted more than a million views in its first day. In it, she gives an easy-to-follow explanation

One of the biggest challenges facing the natural diamond industry isn't just competition from lab-grown diamonds. It's the commoditization of the product itself. If every diamond is reduced to a grading report and a price, where does brand value come from? In the latest episode of Diamond Debates, Avi sits down with Sean Dunn, president of J.R.Dunn Jewelers, to discuss why branding has struggled in the diamond industry, whether origin, design and storytelling can create m

Marquise-shape diamond ring offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in June 2026. (Sotheby's) It seemed like a quiet week, but there were some consequential developments in the diamond and jewelry world. Perhaps the key word to sum it all up is transparency. The biggest development in that regard was the GIA's announcement that it plans to: a) add comments to certain diamond grading reports noting that fluorescence may enhance a diamond's appearance in UV-rich environments

For many of us in the diamond and jewelry industry, LinkedIn is our playground. It’s the platform on which we engage most with our peers, share ideas, expand our networks, and build our personal and company brands. For years, the platform gave us a false sense of success, as the algorithm seemed to encourage engagement regardless of content quality. Frankly, it was quite simple to rack up thousands of impressions and hundreds of likes on almost any post. If you haven't no

The latest episode of The Diamond Dudes podcast examined the industry's key talking points following the JCK Las Vegas show. Avi Krawitz, Rob Bates and Edahn Golan discussed the growing presence of producer countries such as Botswana, Angola and Namibia, arguing that their engagement with retailers is critical if they hope to strengthen origin storytelling and consumer awareness. The hosts also explored the widening divide in the US jewelry market, where demand for higher-e

It’s been a somewhat disruptive week for me, balancing travel with content creation, business development and analysis. I expect to be back to my regular broadcasting schedule this week. It’s also been an interesting period for the diamond and jewelry market. The post-Vegas environment can be unsettling, as companies focus on bringing goods home, following up on new connections and, hopefully, filling orders. That said, the industry conversation has shifted gears, as we’v

I was getting relatively positive energy from Las Vegas over the weekend, with the usual stream of company announcements timed around the JCK show (see What's Happening in Vegas?). Of course, the more important element of the show is sentiment and trading levels, which were perhaps best summed up by one subscriber who told me: “The feeling is that the US market is okay, but lab-grown keeps growing. In loose diamonds, only 2-carat and up is moving.” That’s not a big surpr

Solitaire International: The debate between natural and lab-grown diamonds is evolving beyond the familiar arguments about price and sustainability. Recent developments, including Pandora’s carbon footprint disclosures, a UK regulatory ruling on lab-grown diamond advertising, and calls for stricter terminology standards, suggest the conversation is increasingly focused on how the two products are defined and presented to consumers. My latest column for Solitaire Internation

Mergers & Acquisitions The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has bought a 30% stake in Tracr, the De Beers-backed blockchain platform that tracks the provenance of natural diamonds. The investment marks a step in Tracr’s transition to an independent, industry-wide platform and builds on an existing collaboration that integrates provenance data into eligible GIA grading reports, De Beers and the GIA said. GIA CEO Pritesh Patel has been appointed as a director of Tracr,

We have a big week ahead as the Las Vegas shows kick off on Wednesday and continue through the weekend. Las Vegas Jewelry Week remains one of the clearest indicators of the state of the US jewelry market and arguably offers the strongest networking environment on the industry calendar. The K-shaped economy has become a defining theme in how the US retail landscape has evolved, with jewelers increasingly shifting either toward higher-end, value-driven strategies or volume-ba

Hong Kong’s diamond trade grew in the first quarter, signaling an uptick in global flows rather than a meaningful recovery in regional demand across China and the broader Asia Pacific market. The improvement was evident across both the polished and rough sectors. Historically, Hong Kong has served primarily as a polished trading center, functioning as a zero-tax gateway for diamonds entering Asia Pacific, particularly Mainland China. The city also maintains a significant