RAPAPORT...  Japan’s polished diamond imports fell 6.7 percent to $55.9 million in September 2009, according to data published by the The J Club, based on statistics from the Customs Bureau. The country's polished imports dropped 8.5 percent to 170,437 carats by volume, as the average price of the stones increased 2 percent to $328 per carat.

For the first nine months of the year, Japan’s polished imports fell 23 percent to $456.6 million, with imports down 7.8 percent by volume to 1.629 million carats. The average per-carat price of Japan’s polished imports rose 17 percent to $280 from January through September, compared with the same period of 2008.

LH