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Improving Demand at De Beers Rough Diamond Auctions
Mar 18, 2013 4:27 AM
By Avi Krawitz
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RAPAPORT... De Beers sold 98 percent by value of the goods offered during its first two online auction sales in 2013, noting a substantial improvement in the rough market. The company declined to disclose the percentage of lots that were sold, however.
“Demand has improved significantly in 2013 compared to [the fourth quarter of] 2012, with many product categories attracting levels of buyer interest not seen in a year or more,” Neil Ventura, the senior vice president of De Beers auction sales, said in an email to Rapaport News.
Ventura explained that the improvement in demand is broad-based across regions, customer segment and product categories. He noted that demand from Indian-based businesses rose sharply during the second series of auction sales that were recently concluded, while demand from buyers in Asia Pacific, Belgium and Israel also increased. Participation from Israel-based buyers reached the highest seen in two years, he added.
Non-sightholders accounted for about 70 percent of the auction sales this year.
De Beers auction sales fell 12 percent to $356 million in 2012. De Beers strategy is to sell up to 10 percent of its production via the auctions. However, Ventura explained that while the division has reduced its purchases in line with prevailing demand, its sales have declined proportionally.
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Tags:
Auctions, Avi Krawitz, De Beers, diamonds, Neil Ventura, Rapaport
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