Diamond Prices on the Rise
Gem Diamonds has recently discovered the worldâ??s eighteenth-biggest white diamond in Lesotho.
This uncut 493-carat diamond will be sold in Antwerp this month and it is an example of the growth in the diamond market that this little gem is expected to bring over 10 million dollars at auction.
This is just an example of the quiet increases in rough diamonds occurring today. Now the increase is expected to top 10% a year. A veritable boom in diamond terms and where 5% a year was considered the norm.
This has not flowed on to the consumer market yet but diamond industry experts feel it is likely over the coming year.
Higher quality diamonds are seeing the benefit of this growth spurt the most with the higher quality diamonds benefiting the most. Gem Diamonds stated they are achieving average prices of $2,000 per carat for the diamonds discovered at its Letseng mine in Lesotho - 35 per cent above the levels seen a year ago.
Mr Elphick says: â??There is a just a huge shortage out there. What has happened is that thereâ??s no major new supply coming on stream and demand keeps getting greater.â?
The last big diamond bearing rocks discovered were in northwest Canada by Ekati, run by BHP Billiton, and Diavik and managed by Rio Tinto â??? in the early 1990s.
Philip Kenny, chief executive of the London-listed Firestone Diamonds, stated recently, â??The basic problem is that there is a shortfall in supply and no major world-class discovery for close to 15 years.
â??Coupled with this, major mines such as Argyle in Australia are approaching their end of life. I think we could see another five years of strong rising diamond prices.â?