Signs of Recovery, Geopolitics and an Industry in Transition

US tariffs are back in focus following last week’s Supreme Court hearing on whether the Trump administration’s implementation of the trade policy was lawful. The justices voiced skepticism about the president’s use of powers to impose the levies, but the higher tariffs are expected to stay in place at least through early next year.

For now, it falls to individual trading centers to ensure diamonds are part of their own governments’ negotiations with Washington.

Looking back, 2025 stands out as a year when geopolitics shaped the diamond trade like never before. We explored that topic, which encompassed an update on the tariffs, in a panel discussion I facilitated at the recent CIBJO Congress in Paris, The Impact of Geopolitics on the Jewelry Trade

My prediction is that in 2026, geopolitical issues will take a back seat to more industry-driven forces that are set to bring significant change. The sale of De Beers is the most obvious example, but far from the only one. The industry truly feels at a turning point, a sentiment that came through strongly in the second panel I moderated in Paris, The Diamond Industry at a Crossroads.

This blog first appeared in the October 13 Pressing Matters Executive Memo. Read the full memo here, Pressing Matters, featuring the following sections:

• In Focus: October Market performance

• What I'm Watching: State of the Jewelry Industry

• Campaigns I'm Watching: Bulgari, Pandora

• Chart Check: Petra Diamonds Rough Sales

• The News That Matters

• Industry Voices: Bogolo Joy Kenewendo

• Coming Up

• Pic of the Week: Diamond Rediscovered

The Florentine Diamond, missing for more than a century, has resurfaced in a Canadian vault, according to The New York Times. The 137.27-carat citron-yellow gem disappeared after World War I, when the Habsburgs sent their jewels to Switzerland for safekeeping as the Bolsheviks advanced. It was long believed lost, but family members recently invited the paper to view their collection, which included the famous jewel. Images: Left: The Florentine Diamond, photographed between 1870 and 1900 (Wikicommons). Right: A replica of the Florentine Diamond (Manuelarosi/Wikimedia Commons).

Images: Left: The Florentine Diamond, photographed between 1870 and 1900 (Wikicommons). Right: A replica of the Florentine Diamond (Manuelarosi/Wikimedia Commons).