Market Comment

News:

Prices of round, 0.30 to 0.69 ct. diamonds continuing to recover. Dealers reporting improvement in 1 ct. commercial goods. Trading hubs slowing down for summer. US wholesale steady despite seasonal lull. Anglo American reportedly picks Gareth Penny-led consortium as top De Beers bidder. De Beers sees estimated 1H loss; 2Q sales -44% YOY to $665M. Prices increase for small, low-quality rough at Okavango auction. US imposes fresh 25% tariffs on Brazilian goods, 50% on Canada; impact on diamonds and gemstones unclear. Swatch Group 1H jewelry and watch sales +2% to $3.6B. Luk Fook, Chow Sang Sang report sales growth in April-June quarter. Indian market optimistic for IIJS (Aug. 5-10).

Fancies:

Long fancy shapes such as Ovals, Marquises and Emeralds doing better than rounds in 2 ct. and larger. High-quality Marquises, long Radiants and long Cushions in short supply. Marquise most expensive fancy shape. Long Cushions easy to sell and trading at 20% to 25% premium over square ones. Antique cuts and styles hot. Solid US market for elongated Ovals of good shape and quality in D-I, VS-SI categories. Very well-cut fancy shapes difficult to find and commanding premiums. Fancies with bad proportions illiquid.