DIAMOND MARKET OVERVIEW
Overall demand for polished is strong with traders reporting healthy sales in the main consumer markets. Prices at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auctions this past week exceeded expectations. In the broader market, traders reported strong demand for larger sizes of 0.50 carats and up, amid tight supplies. “No doubt there is less manufacturing in these sizes,” one trader said. Meanwhile, the main PolishedPrices index slipped back during the week after setting a new record high earlier on Monday. The overall index opened at 141.93 points on Friday, compared to Monday’s opening at 143.50.

ROUGH MARKET
Prices of rough have continued soaring. Some traders in the secondary market said rough was becoming “ridiculously” expensive causing some players to hold off buying for the moment. Although others believe there is still room for further increases. “There simply is not enough supply to meet China, India and America’s demand,” said one trader in India. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto announced a 35% decline in production at its Argyle mine during the first quarter, compared to the same period last year. At Diavik, in which Rio Tinto has a 60% stake, output dropped 13% compared to last year’s first quarter to 812 carats.

CORPORATE AND EVENTS
State-owned Kristall of Smolensk, the largest cutter and polisher in Russia, reported this week that last year its revenues jumped 56% over 2009 to hit a record figure of Rb12.1 billion ($403 million). The company also said it had created 200 new jobs and registered a bottom-line profit figure of Rb187.8 million ($6.3 million). Production is currently at full capacity at the Smolensk factory, the company added.

Christie’s announced it sold $31.8 million at its April Magnificent Jewels auction in New York. In a statement, Christie’s said the sale totalled $31,792,875 and was 80% sold by lot, 71% by value. The top lot was a rectangular-cut D-color, internally flawless diamond of 37.16 carats, which sold for $4,450,500 to a private collector, it said. “While we were disappointed that the 10-carat purple-pink diamond did not find a buyer, top-quality white, blue, pink and yellow diamonds fared very well, with a strong price of $3.67 million, or $1.1 million per carat achieved for a Fancy Vivid blue diamond,” said Rahul Kadakia, Head of Jewelry for Christie’s Americas. “In all, five jewels exceeded the $1 million mark, with heavy competition among both trade buyers and private collectors for colorless diamonds, large gemstones, and signed jewels,” he said.

Sotheby’s April auction of Magnificent Jewels in New York achieved a spectacular $39.4 million, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate of $35.6 million and selling 84.2% by lot, the auction house said. “The sale was characterized by a series of incredible prices for unique, top-quality diamonds and designs, which attracted a global audience of both private collectors and members of the trade,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

Namakwa Diamonds announced that production more than doubled during the first half as demand and prices increased, Bloomberg reported. The company, which has operations in South Africa Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo, produced 86,885 carats during the six months to Feb. 28, up from 41,109 carats a year earlier, it said in a statement on Thursday. Revenue rose to $45.4 million from $33.9 million, while the miner’s net loss was largely unchanged at $11.9 million, it said. Namakwa’s trading division saw “significant increases” in prices for rough, or unpolished gems, while the polished market showed “moderate signs of recovery,” the company said. Shares in the company gained 0.9 percent to 55 pence as of 8:35 a.m. in London, extending the advance so far this year to 10 percent and giving the company a market value of 119.4 million pounds ($195.2 million.), the Bloomberg report said.

DTC Botswana announced the appointment of Marcus ter Haar to the position of Head of Sales and Marketing of DTC Botswana with effect from 1st May 2011. Marcus began his career as a Graduate trainee, subsequent to which he became the Personal Assistant to the former Chief Executive Officer of De Beers, Gareth Penny. He was later seconded to NM Rothschild as an Investment Analyst in order to further develop his commercial experience, before returning to De Beers as a Corporate Finance Executive (De Beers Group Services) and, more recently, the Group Manager for Business Development at Debswana Projects. “In his new role, Marcus will be responsible for the sales and marketing function and for leading DTCB’s activities to support the ongoing development of a sustainable cutting and polishing industry in Botswana,” DTCB said in a statement.