A Good Week For Diamonds

Every so often, I’m tempted to turn this memo into a gossip column. If I ever did, it might open with something like, OMG! I’ve got so much to tell you!

Perhaps I’ve found a quieter way to indulge that instinct, because the truth is it’s been a very good week for the diamond industry.

The headlines were dominated by the US–India trade deal, which will remove tariffs on diamond imports into the world’s largest jewelry market from the largest source of polished supply. The implications for the trade are hard to overstate.

At the same time, a steady flow of trading updates and earnings reports from miners and retail jewelers continues to give us a clearer read on where the market actually stands. (Spoiler alert, retail is looking quite good, mining less so).

We also just learned that the Luanda Accord has been extended, with a high-level meeting held at the African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. Namibia joined Angola, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as a signatory, reaffirming their commitment to support generic marketing of natural diamonds through the Natural Diamond Council (NDC).

Momentum is building elsewhere too. India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) signed an MOU with the NDC and is set to become a member by May 1, while the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) signed a letter of intent to do the same.

Together, these moves should strengthen the NDC’s ability to rally the industry behind its campaigns, and ideally bolster its funding as well, giving it the means to do what the industry needs most right now: lift demand and desirability for natural diamonds among consumers.

This blog first appeared in the February 9 Pressing Matters Executive Memo. Read the full memo here, Pressing Matters, featuring the following sections:

• Deep Dive: The Diamond Disconnect

• In Focus: Calm After the Tariff Storm

• Chart Check: De Beers Reduces Inventory

• The News That Matters

• What I'm Looking Forward To

• Coming Up

• Pic of the Week

Image: Luanda Momentum - Participants at the Luanda Accord signatories’ meeting in Cape Town, including representatives from the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and the DRC, along with the DMCC, GJEPC, De Beers, and the Natural Diamond Council. (Image credit: NDC)