De Beers Group today announced the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions) for the seventh sales cycle of 2021. Owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, De Beers Group has continued to implement a more flexible approach to rough diamond sales during the seventh sales cycle of 2021, with the Sight event extended beyond its normal week-long duration. As a result, the provisional rough diamond sales figure quoted for Cycle 7 represents the expected sales value for the period 23 August to 7 September and remains subject to adjustment based on final completed sales.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “Sentiment in the diamond industry’s midstream continues to be positive and this is reflected in our sales for Sight 7. Demand for rough diamonds is a result of robust demand for polished diamonds in our key markets of the US and China. The midstream’s optimism for the remainder of the year was also evident at the recent JCK Las Vegas trade show which was a success despite being held under challenging circumstances. As we now head towards a traditionally slower period for rough diamond sales, we remain cognisant of the risks to economic recovery from the global pandemic.”
This represent an improvement since sales for Cycle 6 stood at $514m while the corresponding period last year recorded only $334m.