{"id":13294,"date":"2025-12-02T15:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rapnet.com\/?post_type=newsletter&#038;p=13294"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:02:08","slug":"the-diamond-pulse-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"newsletter","link":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/newsletters\/the-diamond-pulse-december-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The Diamond Pulse &#8211; December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ember936\">Tariff Tensions, De Beers Uncertainty, and Rising Retail Demand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">November was another hectic month in the diamond industry. Tariffs remained at the top of the agenda. Many in the sector hoped for progress on trade talks between the US and India, but American duties on imports from the country remained at 50%. There was some progress toward reducing the tariff on goods from Switzerland, a critical source of materials for the watch sector. The US and Switzerland reached a <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/us-switzerland-reach-provisional-deal-to-cap-tariffs-at-15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tentative agreement<\/a> calling for the tariffs to fall from 39% to 15%; this had not gone into effect at press time, but <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/reduced-us-import-tariff-on-swiss-goods-may-start-in-early-december\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">might do so in December<\/a>. The US also reached <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/us-reaches-tariff-deal-with-china-cambodia-malaysia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tariff deals<\/a> with important Asian jewelry-manufacturing nations, including China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this score, a quick shout-out to our <a href=\"https:\/\/info.rapaport.com\/trade\/gems-pr?__hstc=83053065.7030fa4d5271c10ff93ef6786c9d064d.1764242199315.1764242199315.1764242199315.1&amp;__hssc=83053065.25.1764239437757&amp;__hsfp=193152251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">friends<\/a> at the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), which the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/about\/policy-offices\/press-office\/press-releases\/2025\/october\/american-farmers-producers-industry-leaders-and-lawmakers-applaud-us-trade-deals-southeast-asian\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cited in late October<\/a> following agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. AGTA and its team have been opposing tariffs on imports of colored gemstones, arguing that they cannot be sourced in the US and therefore should be exempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anglo American\u2019s ongoing process of selling De Beers continued to breed uncertainty. Namibia reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/namibia-seeks-minority-share-of-de-beers-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">added its name<\/a> to the list of African countries interested in acquiring a stake in the diamond miner, joining Botswana and Angola. De Beers <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/analysis\/why-de-beers-is-keeping-rough-diamond-prices-steady\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">kept prices stable<\/a> at its November sight, with some industry participants believing this reflected a desire to keep business steady until the divestiture is complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember937\">Retail was mostly positive going into the holiday season. Data provider Adobe reported an <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/us-online-holiday-sales-up-8-year-on-year-adobe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">8% year-on-year increase<\/a> in US e-commerce sales to $79.7 billion for the first 23 days of November. India\u2019s Titan Company noted <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/indias-titan-company-sees-festive-sales-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strong results<\/a> for the second fiscal quarter. Even Hong Kong and China showed some signs of improvement: The sales decline at retailer Chow Tai Fook <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/chow-tai-fook-sees-gentle-decline-in-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eased<\/a> in the first fiscal quarter, while its peer, Luk Fook, estimated a <a href=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/news\/luk-fook-estimates-revenue-jump-for-fiscal-first-half\/\">revenue jump<\/a> of 20% to 30% for the same period.<\/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 November 2025<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember943\">In November, 1-carat diamond prices continued their downward trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember943\">D-F and G-J color diamonds in the IF-VVS and VS categories fell by an average of <strong>2.7%<\/strong>, compared to a <strong>1.8%<\/strong> decline in October. K-M color diamonds in the same clarity ranges recorded a sharper average drop of <strong>3.5%<\/strong>, following a more modest <strong>0.8%<\/strong> decrease in October. In contrast, SI-clarity diamonds across D-F, G-J, and K-M colors saw a smaller average decline of <strong>1.7%<\/strong>, improving from October\u2019s steeper <strong>3.1%<\/strong> decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inventory distribution remained steady, with G-J colors across IF-VVS, VS, and SI clarities together representing <strong>60%<\/strong> of Rapaport Trade listings in the 1-carat segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"ember944\">Search behavior on Rapaport Trade also showed consistency, with <strong>D-F VS<\/strong> and <strong>G-J VS<\/strong> diamonds continuing to receive the highest search volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1231\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13339\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-scaled.jpg 1231w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-144x300.jpg 144w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-492x1024.jpg 492w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-768x1597.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-739x1536.jpg 739w, https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/RN-Monthly-LinkedIn-Blog-11-BC_LinkedIn-Infographic-1920px-985x2048.jpg 985w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1231px) 100vw, 1231px\" \/><\/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=\"noreferrer noopener\">&lt;&lt;Click here>>\u00a0<\/a>to join the industry&#8217;s largest and most trusted\u00a0<br>diamond, gem and jewelry trading network.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13341,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-13294","newsletter","type-newsletter","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter\/13294","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\/13341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapaport.com\/trade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}