{"id":10267,"date":"2025-09-02T14:37:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwscinm1cs.wpdns.site\/?post_type=newsletter&#038;p=10267"},"modified":"2025-09-25T12:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T12:05:11","slug":"the-diamond-pulse-september-2025","status":"publish","type":"newsletter","link":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/newsletters\/the-diamond-pulse-september-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Diamond Pulse &#8211; September 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ember936\">Tariffs, Turbulence and Turnarounds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember937\">Tariffs took center stage this month, having an overall adverse impact on the market. Following the US announcement of new&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/diamond-trade-in-turmoil-as-us-announces-50-india-tariffs\/\" target=\"_blank\">50% tariffs<\/a>&nbsp;on Indian imports, trade leaders scrambled to act. Representatives from Jewelers of America (JA) and other industry groups headed to Washington to urge the Trump administration to classify diamonds as exempt \u201ccritical minerals.\u201d Meanwhile, Indian jeweler Titan&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/titan-coy-on-lab-grown-diamonds-calmly-waits-out-tariff-uncertainty\/\" target=\"_blank\">opted for a \u201cwaitandsee\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;strategy, holding off on structural changes and watching how tariff impacts would unfold. Swiss watch exports to the US leapt 45% in July as buyers rushed to stock up ahead of tariff increases on timepieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember938\">The negative trend has had ripple effects throughout the pipeline. Pandora announced it would shutter up to 100 stores in China amid weak demand, and De Beers downsized its diamond sales team as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. Asian Star\u2019s revenue slumped in the first fiscal quarter, while Mountain Province\u2019s second-quarter losses deepened as rough prices fell. Sarine Technologies and Petra Diamonds both reported revenue drops, and Alrosa continued to struggle as sluggish demand persisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember939\">Still, the market saw signs of recovery in retail. Michael Hill reported revenue gains thanks to improved summer demand, and Chow Sang Sang expects a significant profit surge. US retail&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/summer-sales-spending-boosts-july-us-retail-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\">sales rose<\/a>&nbsp;in July, and Brilliant Earth raised its full-year forecast after beating sales expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember940\">Some companies opted to divest business operations. Gemfields sold luxury brand Faberg\u00e9 for $50 million, while Lucapa Diamond Company found new ownership in industry veteran Dev Shetty\u2019s Dubai-based conglomerate Gaston International DMCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/free-trial-blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/464503\/dd7d1623-c1e2-4f43-bd9f-7ae4cd74237b.png\" alt=\"Get a FREE 7-day trial of Rapaport Trade\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here&#8217;s your diamond market analysis from Rapaport Trade for August 2025<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember943\">In August, the price for the 1-carat RAPI softened to $4,478 by month&#8217;s end, down 1.1% from the previous month, when the index had fallen 1.4%. Mid-tier diamonds in the D-H VS category led the decline in the index, falling an average of 1.6%, while the better clarity IF-VVS diamonds fell only an average of 0.9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember944\">D-F and G-J SI categories saw a sharp decline of an average of 3%, following an even sharper decline in July, during which the average price decline was 4.6%. Low-quality diamonds in the K-M VS-SI category saw an average decline of 0.9%, compared to July when they bucked the trend and rose an average of 1.1%. Rapaport Trade inventory levels and searches remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive month. In August, the price gap between the US and India widened as a result of imposing diamond import tariffs of 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"492\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1756817256924-492x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11309\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1756817256924-492x1024.png 492w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1756817256924-144x300.png 144w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1756817256924.png 721w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please note: the searches breakdown are a breakdown of buyers searches on Rapaport Trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hubs.ly\/Q03fyrnk0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&lt;&lt;Click here&gt;&gt;&nbsp;<\/a>to join the industry&#8217;s largest and most trusted&nbsp;<br>diamond, gem and jewelry trading network.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10268,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-10267","newsletter","type-newsletter","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter\/10267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newsletter"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}