Glimmer of hope for diamonds

The diamond sector is showing the first signs of future recovery, as the market for diamonds in the United States splits between lab-grown and natural diamonds.

Speaking at the Mining Expo and Conference in Windhoek on Thursday, Namdeb chief executive Riaan Burger said a big marketing campaign should be expected from De Beers later this year to capitalise on this split.

“We’re seeing the first indications that lab-grown [diamonds] have hit their ceiling, particularly in the bigger stones. The top end of the market is turning away from synthetics. If you’re at the upper end of the market, you don’t want the fake thing, you want the real thing,” he said.

The Rapaport Diamond Report, the standard price index for diamonds, shows the price of diamonds in July has stabilised, interrupting a months-long decline.

The price of bigger stones remained steady last month, the report says.