Diamond Gems Weekly - December 30
Well, happy New Year to you too.
It feels like the diamond industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief at seeing the back of 2024. Was it really that bad? Significant is probably the better word. The industry is changing rapidly, and many of those shifts became entrenched during the year.
From a market point of view, it does seem to have finished on a positive note. Initial reports suggest we had a decent holiday season. We’ll see in the coming weeks if that will translate to stronger polished and rough sales and a bit of confidence within the trade.
For now, we’re all kind of in limbo during these odd few days between Christmas and New Year. So, hold onto that bourbon, or fill it up, as we peruse the headlines from this week – we’re going to need to w(h)et your appetite somehow considering how dry the news roundup might appear. As you know, the news gets rather light at this time of year.
Here goes anyway…
>>> Jewelry ranked among the top performers during the holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. Sales rose 4% year on year during the period November 1 to December 24, it reported. What type of jewelry drove sales, you ask? We don’t know yet; they didn’t say. Besides, just take the win for now. The category outperformed the general market as overall retail sales grew 3.8% for the season.
>>> Visa noted increasing consumer confidence, with holiday sales up 4.8% by its count. Then again, The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell 8.1 points in December. Go figure... I guess sometimes your outcome depends on who you ask.
>>> Let’s not rest on our laurels though; we still need to boost demand for natural diamonds. Vipul Shah, chairman of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) appealed to India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to support the co-funding of global diamond promotion campaigns. These aim to counter headwinds faced by diamonds due to strong geopolitical challenges, Shah explained. The GJEPC was among the trade bodies which recently pledged to contribute to the budget of the Natural Diamond Council (NDC).
>>> The mining segment remains under pressure, as large volumes of rough went unsold in 2024. Meanwhile, Angola had record production of around 12 million carats for the year through November, the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas said on its Facebook page. This was the first time annual output exceeded 10 million carats, it added. Angola is considered the most prospective country for the discovery of new mines and is reforming its sales channels and establishing a diamond exchange. One does wonder how much of that production sold during the year.
>>> Lucapa Diamond Company is planning to raise its stake in the Project Lulo Joint Venture in Angola from 39% to 51%. Management expects to sign a deal with government representatives in the first quarter of 2025. Lucapa has production from the Lulo alluvial deposits while exploration activity seeks to find the kimberlite source of those diamonds.
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