demand for polished diamonds will continue to rise in the first quarter of 2014, because, firstly, US retailers replenish their supplies after Christmas, and secondly, the main direction of supply after the Christmas holidays will be the Far East, where the Chinese New Year will be celebrated.
According to Mike Aggett, Managing Director of H. Goldie & Co., which provides brokerage services to De Beers sightholders, the level of refusals during the December site was rather low. "[Refusals] touched mainly fantasy diamonds, Z / M quality diamonds and colored diamonds," wrote Edgett in his blog about the site. "The cost of these goods remains too high for the market."
Nurit Rothmann, David Harari and Guy Harari, the founders of Bluedax, an online diamond broker, said demand for better quality rough diamonds in the secondary market remained relatively low, despite the fact that the stones more than 1 carat and colored stones weighing from 5 to 15 carats were sold at cost. Rothmann mentioned the high demand for stones weighing 1-2 carats, as well as black stones, cubic stones and small stones, as Indian manufacturing companies are replenishing their stocks.
Rothmann, Edgett and sightholders interviewed by Rapaport News agreed that profitability remains a problem for manufacturing companies.
"Prices for rough diamonds are still too high compared to the prices for diamonds," one of the sightholders from Israel said. - Therefore, buyers either refuse the goods, or buy it and store it in a warehouse, until the prices for diamonds grow. I believe that prices for diamonds can still rise, especially if we talk about a product weighing 0.30 carats. "