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Sentiment
was strong in the Israel diamond sector as 2017 came to an end. Traders felt
they had seen a good year for business, while efforts by bourse leaders to
develop the local industry seemed to be boosting morale.
This positivity was
especially the case for companies working with larger diamonds. These
categories enjoyed a significant recovery during 2017, with the RapNet Diamond
Index (RAPI™) for 3-carat stones rising 3.1% for the year.
“It was a great year — one of
the best years ever,” said Nissim Zuaretz, CEO and founder of D.N. Diamonds,
which specializes in stones weighing 3 carats and higher. “Big stones were very
good and very healthy.” High-quality goods were especially in demand as “people
started to believe in diamonds again,” Zuaretz noted.
Strong
demand for high-end goods
This
holiday season was “better than the last three or four seasons,” added Avraham
Eshed, founder of big-stone trading firm Eshed Diam — Gemstar. The last two
months of the year were especially strong for
the larger sizes due to a shortage of high-end goods, he explained.
Competition for rough at
auctions is also vigorous, making it challenging for manufacturers to get their
hands on the stones they wish to process into polished.
“We try to [compete] in rough
auctions, [but] it’s very hard to buy, because there are too many envelopes in
each auction,” he said, referring to the large number of people who submit bids
for each lot.
Holiday sales started
relatively late, but turned out to be robust, according to Orit Samet, CEO of
EZ Diamonds. However, despite an improvement in trading, it is hard to make a
profit, she noted.
“If you could provide
last-minute orders, you had very good activity in the last two months,” Samet
explained. “Overall, 2017 was more stable than 2016 for 0.30 [carats] and down.
For the Israel diamond trade, I think there isn’t enough room to distribute
profit along the way. This is why Israel, as a distribution center, is starting
to shrink more and more.”
