Haute Couture: Global Production of Rough Gems Expected to Start Declining

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According to new reports, global production of rough gems is expected to begin declining over the next few years and the world of diamonds will begin to restructure in order to cope with the changes.

Des Kitalea, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, notes that retail jewelry demand is almost certain to increase as the U.S. economy recovers and more affluent Chinese and Indian consumers continue spending, however, it’s unclear where the supply of rough gems will come from in order to match the demand.

Many of the diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes have been turned into mines and new pipes are very rarely discovered, nor is it likely that they would meet the demand.

India, which is the leading center of polished small gems, is making sure that their local cutters and polishers are not threatened by the declining supply of rough gems by ensuring that all of the gems from Rio’s Bunder mine are sold exclusively to Indian polishers.

New York-based Harry Winston has secured a $250-million diamond exchange-traded fund with Swiss financiers, initially based on acquiring their own stocks of polished gems with additional gems sourced elsewhere.

Source: BusinessLive