RAPAPORT… The sharp rise in diamond prices lately is due in part to speculation, cautioned Rapaport Senior Analyst Avi Krawitz in the Diamond Trends Webinar last week.
Unlike in 2021, when record growth in jewelry sales pushed diamond prices up, the gains of 2022 owe more to supply factors than to demand ones, he explained.
Mining companies are pushing for a shorter, more efficient supply chain in which a larger portion of rough goes immediately toward manufacturing rather than trading on the secondary market. At the same time, miners are producing less than before the pandemic and selling all their new output, having reduced their excess inventory in the last year.
This combination of factors has led to shortages on the secondary rough market, driving up prices to unsustainable levels, Krawitz said. Manufacturers, in turn, are raising polished prices as their costs increase, even though polished inventory continues to grow.
Watch the full presentation above.
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