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Concerns are rising that a large number of undisclosed lab-made diamonds are circulating in the market. Suspicions were raised after IGI detected a batch of such items a few weeks ago, according to Chaim Even-Zohar.
The decision by the Indian government to force its citizens to convert half their foreign currency to rupee was another of a growing list of directives negatively impacting the diamond industry. The result is that 2012 is set to become an even more challenging year than expected for the trade.
When it comes to profit margins, the middle man always gets squeezed. From a diamond industry perspective, this is easily assessed with a quick look at the financial statements of companies operating in the various sectors along the pipeline.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed exporters to convert 50% their foreign currency held in Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts into rupee within a fortnight to curb the currency’s slide against the dollar.
Recycled diamonds are a growing source of diamonds for traders since the 2008 economic crash and since became a focus for a number of companies in the industry that now specialize in it. One such company, White Pine Trading, recently sold more than $5 million worth of recycled diamonds.
A small number of investment professionals around the world are competing behind the scenes to turn the gem into a commodity that would be available to investors in the way that gold has been traded through funds on exchanges.
The diamond industry ended the first quarter of 2012 with a sense of relief. Trading has been steady but cautious and prices in March were relatively firm. While business has not been booming, it could have been worse. The preceding third and fourth quarter of 2011 certainly were.
It seems like the past half decade has been bumpy for the diamond industry. Diamond prices have been on a roller coaster, diamond industry credit has tightened and uncertainty throughout the diamond pipeline has been well above normal.