News from All Diamond

If you want to understand the problems of the diamond industry, look no further than the rough diamond trade in Belgium’s diamond center in Antwerp. It is a microcosm that paints a painfully accurate picture.

The World Diamond Council (WDC) was formed in 2000 to represent the diamond industry in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). However, over the years, the scope of the organization’s activities have expanded to serve several additional functions, mainly advocating for the industry at large.

After polished diamond prices declined sharply in September, they took an additional step downwards, though it was not particularly significant. The Mercury Diamond Global Tracker™ (MDGT™) averaged 111.55 in October 2018, down 0.17% from September. While demand for loose diamonds remains slow, we believe traders hardened their stance on price as much as possible in anticipation of rising demand.

Just as there is no diamond business without diamond miners or jewelry stores, there is no diamond industry without diamond manufacturers, the people who polish diamonds. Like many other business sectors, diamond manufacturers also opted to organize and form an association, in this case, the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

According to a National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast, 22% of Americans intend to buy jewelry during the winter holidays. That is a nice figure, but it represents a decline from the 23% that were forecasted to buy jewelry during the winter holiday period of 2017. Not a large decline, even within the statistical error, yet worth noting.