Connect with us

DiamondBuzz

De Beers Sightholders report shortages of large diamonds

Published

on

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

Continue Reading
Advertisement JewelBuzz Banner
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted

DiamondBuzz

CVD Synthetic Fashioned To Imitate A Rough Natural Diamond

The Near-Colorless Stone Is Believed To Be The First Time Creators Of A Synthetic Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Diamond Have Shaped It To Resemble A Rough Diamond

Published

on

The 6.87-carat near-colorless CVD diamond was shaped to resemble a natural rough octahedral crystal but showed distinct synthetic features under microscopic and spectroscopic analysis.GIA’s tests confirmed the stone’s synthetic origin, noting polishing marks, facet junction roughness, and luminescence patterns inconsistent with natural diamonds.

No evidence currently suggests widespread substitution of synthetics for rough natural diamonds, but existing detection tools could be adapted if such cases increase.

The near-colorless stone is believed to be the first time creators of a synthetic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond have shaped it to resemble a rough diamond, according to an article in the spring issue of the institute’s Gems & Gemology quarterly journal.

Upon investigation with the use of raman spectroscopy, the results confirmed that the material was a diamond, with its near-octahedral shape similar to that of a natural rough crystal. Further analysis showed that it was not a true octahedron, as only one set of opposing faces was parallel. Microscopic observation under differential interference contrast revealed extremely flat faces marked mainly by parallel polishing lines, unlike the growth steps and trigons typically seen on natural octahedral faces. The facet junctions were extremely rough, possibly due to measures taken to improve the color, after which the main faces appear to have been repolished, the institute explained.

Continue Reading

Trending

JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.

We would like to hear from you...

GET WHATSAPP NEWS ALERTS

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x