The Diamond Pulse – August 2026

De Beers Weighs a Sale: July’s Market and Industry Highlights 

Anglo American advanced talks to sell its 85% stake in De Beers in July. Bloomberg reported that Anglo had picked the Global Diamond Consortium, led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, to acquire the stake for roughly $1 billion, well below the $17.6 billion valuation Anglo paid when it took De Beers private in 2001. Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad later said no buyer had been finalized, calling the talks delicate but “pretty close to the end,” with a deal possible by year end. The talks came alongside improving results at De Beers. First-half underlying losses narrowed 23% to $188 million and EBITDA losses fell 40% to $113 million, even as revenue declined 19% to $1.58 billion on an average selling price of $105 per carat. De Beers also moved to ease rough pricing at its July sight, where book prices had run 20% to 30% above market levels for stones under 1 carat. Rapaport’s own index data showed a similar recovery at the small end of the market. The 0.30-carat RAPI rose 4.2% in June and the 0.50-carat RAPI gained 1.3%, even as global rough production fell 8% to 98.8 million carats in 2025. Branded jewelers posted mixed but generally solid results. Swatch Group’s first-half sales rose 2% to CHF 3.12 billion ($3.84 billion) despite a 6% drop in net profit, and Gem Diamonds’ revenue jumped 33% to $59.5 million on a 38% rise in average selling price to $1,395 per carat. New US tariffs of 10% to 12.5% took effect on gemstone and jewelry imports from a set of countries, including India, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Colombia, and Thailand, following a review of 60 trading partners under the Combating Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains initiative. Loose stones from the EU, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Taiwan were exempted. 

The Israel Diamond Exchange has an leadership change in the works. Nissim Zuaretz announced he will step down as president before completing his term. He will stay in office until a successor is elected, with elections expected in November or December. The move came shortly after the exchange rejoined the World Federation of Diamond Bourses following a one-year absence, and as Israel’s polished exports fell 22% year on year to $625.7 million in the first half of 2026. Jewelers of America named eight trade associations, including the Diamond Council of America, Diamonds Do Good, and the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, as recipients of its 2026 Impact Initiative grants. Namdia selected 32 of 75 applicants for its rough-buyer list through 2029, with Belgium, India, and the UAE best represented. On the Rapaport side, CEO Dan Mano outlined plans to make Rapaport “the Bloomberg of diamonds,” rebranding RapNet as Rapaport Trade and adopting a new mission statement centered on safeguarding the prosperity of the natural diamond economy. Rapaport Trade is testing an agentic AI analysis tool and removed automatic price-adjustment options from the Price List to reinforce that it reflects, rather than influences, market conditions. Rapaport Intelligence published a report on fluorescent diamonds ahead of the GIA’s planned grading-language change in the fourth quarter, and the July issue of Rapaport Magazine focused on the luxury watch market. 

Here’s your diamond market analysis from Rapaport Trade for August 2026

1-carat diamond prices staged a broad turnaround in July, reversing June’s declines across nearly every category. D-F and G-J diamonds in IF-VVS and VS clarities averaged a 0.1% gain, up from a 0.7% average decline in June. K-M colors in the same clarities averaged 1.7%, up from a 0.4% average decline, with K-M VS swinging hardest, from a 0.1% loss to a 2.8% gain. SI clarity was mixed. D-F SI’s decline narrowed sharply to 0.2% from 2.1%, G-J SI reversed to a 0.2% gain from a 0.3% decline, and K-M SI stayed positive but slowed to 1.1% from 2.5%.

Inventory held relatively steady month over month. G-J’s share ticked up to 63.2% of Rapaport Trade’s 1-carat listings from 62.6%, while D-F slipped to 30.3% from 31.0%. K-M was unchanged at 6.4%.

Search activity stayed concentrated in the same two leading categories. G-J VS extended its lead, rising to 23.1% of searches from 22.3%, while D-F IF-VVS slipped to 20.7% from 21.2%, widening the gap between them. D-F VS also lost ground, falling to 16.6% from 17.7%.1-carat diamond prices staged a broad turnaround in July, reversing June’s declines across nearly every category. D-F and G-J diamonds in IF-VVS and VS clarities averaged a 0.1% gain, up from a 0.7% average decline in June. K-M colors in the same clarities averaged 1.7%, up from a 0.4% average decline, with K-M VS swinging hardest, from a 0.1% loss to a 2.8% gain. SI clarity was mixed. D-F SI’s decline narrowed sharply to 0.2% from 2.1%, G-J SI reversed to a 0.2% gain from a 0.3% decline, and K-M SI stayed positive but slowed to 1.1% from 2.5%.

Inventory held relatively steady month over month. G-J’s share ticked up to 63.2% of Rapaport Trade’s 1-carat listings from 62.6%, while D-F slipped to 30.3% from 31.0%. K-M was unchanged at 6.4%.

Search activity stayed concentrated in the same two leading categories. G-J VS extended its lead, rising to 23.1% of searches from 22.3%, while D-F IF-VVS slipped to 20.7% from 21.2%, widening the gap between them. D-F VS also lost ground, falling to 16.6% from 17.7%.

Please note: the searches breakdown are a breakdown of buyers searches on Rapaport Trade

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