The diamond industry is making good money again. According to a study by the management consultancy Bain with the World Diamond Center in Antwerp, prices for rough diamonds rose by 21 percent last year. Industry sales increased by 29 percent to a record $84 billion.
Because luxury trips were hardly possible due to the corona restrictions, demand in the most important markets, the USA and China, has risen sharply. In Asia, new jewelry stores also opened in small towns. "In view of the boom in demand, the warehouses of the mine operators were almost empty recently", Bain announced on Friday. Production is still 20 percent below the pre-crisis level. "As a result, even small and inferior quality stones have sold well." Cut stones have become 9 percent more expensive.
Miners would have increased their profit margin by around 10 percentage points, processing companies by around 4 and traders by around 7 points. "The diamond industry has recovered much faster than expected", said Marie-Therese Marek, luxury market expert at Bain. (dpa)