DiamondBuzz
De Beers Sightholders report shortages of large diamonds
Rough diamonds above 5 carats were in tight supply at this week’s sight, customers reported, with explanations ranging from production cuts to ’ strategy of withholding supply. The February trading session saw stable prices in the vast majority of categories, as the miner maintained its policy of not flooding the market, insiders said this week.
The lack of large stones has puzzled some, since De Beers is reportedly sitting on $2 billion of inventories, its largest since the 2008 financial crisis. Many market insiders viewed it as a positive that these sizes were hard to find, reflecting that the categories had sold better in the past few sights. The resultant polished — mostly 2 carats and larger — has performed better in the recent downturn than 0.30- to 2 carat goods.
Some point to a tactical effort by De Beers to limit supply — either to protect the market or to reward sightholders that purchase less sought-after items.
SOURCE: RAPAPORT
DiamondBuzz
Big, Slightly Tinted Diamonds: Object Of Desire In The US Market
Buyers Of 2.5-Carat and Up Pieces Are Increasingly Choosing Stones With J Color Or Lower, Sometimes Much Lower On The Color Scale
Big, slightly tinted diamonds are suddenly the object of desire in the US — and the industry is asking why.
Buyers of 2.5-carat and up pieces are increasingly choosing stones with J color or lower, sometimes much lower on the color scale, say retailers and traders. That shift signals more than a fashion tweak: it reflects how affluent shoppers now want their diamonds to read as “natural” at a glance.
Lab-grown gems typically come in the brightest, clearest grades, so a warmly hued, imperfect-looking stone has become a visible badge of authenticity — a deliberate antique vibe in a polished world where synthetics dominate. No surprise: The Knot reports that 61% of U.S. couples now pick lab-grown rings.
A report explores who’s buying these larger, lower-color stones, how cultural moments and celebrities — think Taylor Swift — helped fuel the taste for them, and why antique cuts seem particularly suited to carrying color. The piece also ties this appetite to broader marketing narratives, including De Beers’ push for so-called “Desert diamonds.”
It’s not all doom and gloom for mined diamonds. Larger sizes — especially 2 carats and above and long fancy shapes — have held up better than smaller goods over the past year. The report isolates this rising niche and asks the key question: can these warm-toned showstoppers withstand the continued rise of lab-grown competition?
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