The Diamond Pulse – June 2025
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THE MONTHLY ‘RAP’
Split Diamond Market: Tariffs, Jobs Cuts & Auction Triumphs
Despite glimmers of recovery earlier this year, May saw the diamond market slip further into decline, due to the looming threat of new US tariffs. Botswana’s president confirmed over 1,000 job cuts at Debswana, the government’s joint venture with De Beers. Mountain Province posted a quarterly loss as sales more than halved, while Lucara revised its full-year guidance downward and flagged concerns about its long-term viability. Meanwhile, Lucapa announced it had entered voluntary administration, and is looking for refinancing or a buyer. Sarine reported a loss as customers held back from scanning stones, waiting to see how the tariffs would affect business. Meanwhile, The World Diamond Council appealed to the US government to exempt diamonds from any trade penalties. Despite widespread concern, a Rapaport survey found many in the trade have not yet taken steps to adjust their business practices to the new tariff landscape.
However, there were still glimmers of hope. The Kimberley Process made progress toward expanding the definition of conflict diamonds, while CIBJO launched an industry-wide responsible jewelry glossary aimed at standardizing key sourcing and sustainability terms. Auction houses also delivered a strong performance as Christie’s achieved $72 million in Geneva with a 100% sell-through, led by a 35-carat Kashmir sapphire that brought in nearly $10 million. A 393-carat sapphire and a pink diamond linked to Marie Antoinette are set to headline Christie’s New York sale, and Sotheby’s drew $21 million for the 10-carat Mediterranean Blue diamond.
Here’s your diamond market analysis from Rapaport Trade for May 2025
In May, the 1 ct RAPI was flat. Overall, higher-quality diamonds generally performed better than lower-quality round 1 ct diamonds. At the end of May and into June, nearly 22% of round one-carat diamonds available on Rapaport Trade were G-J SI diamonds, while only around 12% of the searches on Rapaport Trade throughout the month were for G-J SI diamonds.
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The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Rapaport or any other Rapaport Group entity or service, its officers, directors or employees. Rapaport does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or validity of any information presented by Rapaport or the views expressed therein.
