Diamonds: is it worth investing in women’s best friend stones? The question recurs and the answer is always the same: it depends. A few years ago, some companies that, including through banks, sold diamonds to those who wanted to invest their savings, presenting them as a safe choice, ended up in court. Wrong, because the price of diamonds varies, it does not grow by divine law and, once purchased, it is also necessary to find those who buy back the diamonds. That said, it should be noted that the crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic seems to have had a positive effect on the diamond market.
The world diamond trade has spent years in doldrums, but after to be paralyzed by the pandemic, things started to improve. Now business is booming. Bloomberg, an American agency specializing in financial news, explained this in a long analysis. As the report tells, Indian carvers in the Indian city of Surat, one of the world’s centers of diamond processing, are desperate for an increase in production. The most skilled polishers are in contention among factories with 50% wage increases, free food and housing. India, where about 90% of diamonds are cut or polished, imported nearly $ 2 billion in rough diamonds last month
The reason is that the demand for diamonds in the market has soared. De Beers, one of the largest producers of the stone, has already raised the prices of diamonds and the rival company, Alrosa, has predicted that the price of precious stones will rise again.
Why did this boom happen? The causes indicated by analysts are different: exceptional sales of jewelry during the Christmas period, particularly in the United States and China. Reduced or eliminated luxury travel, often forced to stay at home or to restrict travel, those who do not have economic problems have poured out luxury shopping on precious objects. According to an Alrosa manager, online sales of diamond jewelry have almost doubled and reached around 20% of the total.
And this trend has the effect of increasing the demand for polished diamonds, those used for jewelry. So do you have to rush to buy diamonds? Warning: some industry players, Bloomberg reports, also fear that the market is overheating, and there is a risk of a collapse later in the year. The reason: Annual demand for diamond jewelry had stagnated, estimated at around $ 80 billion, over the past five years, and gem brokers were struggling to make a profit. And if, thanks to vaccines, the pandemic were to be quickly defeated, consumption could return to pre-covid rhythms.
But, for now, this is not the case. One of the big American jewelry chains, Signet Jewelers, reported a 7.8% increase in holiday sales in North America. And in China, the second largest market in the world, another big name in the industry, Chow Tai Fook, saw an 18% increase in quarterly sales. De Beers and Alrosa both responded to demand by raising prices, trying to make up some of the ground lost last year when demand plummeted. In short, for now the boom continues.
