ZEE Business
ZEE BUSINESS
हिंदी में पढ़ें  हिंदी में पढ़ें
Live TV
Live TV
  • Home
  • Personal Finance
    • PPF
    • Mutual Funds
    • Income tax
    • EPFO
    • Income Tax Calculator
    • Personal Loan Calculator
    • Car Loan Calculator
    • Home Loan Calculator
    • SIP calculator
    • SWP Calculator
    • MF Returns Calculator
    • Lumpsum Calculator
  • India
    • Companies
    • Property
    • Startups
    • Uidai
  • Economy
    • Aviation
  • Tech
    • Mobiles
    • Apps
  • Auto
    • Cars
    • Bikes
  • Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currency
  • Railways
  • World
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Markets
  • Survey
  • videos
  • photos
  • More ...
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
BREAKING NEWS
  • Residential demand upbeat despite construction cost, interest rate rise; brokerage picks DLF, Oberoi Realty among top 4 bets
  • Copper Set to Post Worst Quarterly Performance in Over 2 Years
  • Maruti Suzuki Brezza 2022: Launch today! Check key highlights; live streaming link here
  • Nothing Phone 1 confirmed to come with Snapdragon 778G+ SoC on July 12 - Know more
  • Ratnamani Metals bonus share: Stock jumps 15%, hits 52-week high ahead of record date
Read in App
Business News » World News

De Beers says lab-grown diamond wholesale prices fall by up to 60 percent

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • whatapp
  • View in App

Wholesale prices for lab-grown diamonds have fallen by up to 60 percent since De Beers began selling synthetic stones for jewellery in September, CEO Bruce Cleaver said on Thursday, adding margins for the sector would continue to fall.

De Beers, part of mining group Anglo American, shocked the diamond industry last year when it announced it was reversing a decades-old policy of selling natural diamonds only for jewellery and synthetic stones for industrial uses.

Its Lightbox brand, created for the new synthetic venture, is starting small, selling 20,000 carats by the end of 2019, but De Beers has invested in a synthetic diamond factory in the U.S. state of Oregon, which should produce more than half a million rough carats a year when fully operational in 2020.

Already, the impact on synthetic pricing had been huge, Cleaver said, citing De Beers` analysis that showed an up to 60 percent fall in wholesale prices. He said the slide would continue as improved technology increases the quality and volume of lab-grown diamonds.

"The margins that were out there are not sustainable," Cleaver told Reuters in an interview. "I like to compare it to a flat screen TV. The first ones were very expensive and the quality was poor."

Cleaver however denied synthetic diamonds were cutting into the price of natural stones, which he says are a different product. "It`s a perfectly legitimate business. It`s just a different business," he says of lab-grown diamonds.

Much of the aim of De Beers, the world`s leading diamond seller by value, in launching Lightbox is to differentiate diamonds grown in a laboratory from those found in the earth.

In contrast to the commodities that form the bulk of Anglo American`s portfolio, demand for diamonds, which is listed in its results statement as among the company`s "principal risks and uncertainties," is reliant on marketing.

Without giving numbers, Cleaver said De Beers would boost its marketing budget for natural stones this year, which already in 2018 was the highest in a decade at $166 million.

While Anglo American`s overall core earnings for 2018 rose by 4 percent, De Beers` underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell by 13 percent.

Cleaver attributed the fall to expenditure, including on Lightbox, as well as volatile market conditions, although he said the biggest markets for diamonds, the United States and China, were robust.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.

TAGS:
Economy
Updated: Thu, Feb 21, 2019
10:59 pm
Reuters
RELATED NEWS
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the Top Achievers in BRAP 2020  Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the Top Achievers in BRAP 2020
PM Modi inaugurates 'Raising & Accelerating MSME Performance' scheme PM Modi inaugurates 'Raising & Accelerating MSME Performance' scheme
Asian shares end quarter in sombre mood, dollar on high Asian shares end quarter in sombre mood, dollar on high
Money Guru: How will rising interest rates in the US affect the Indian markets? Is this an opportunity to increase investment or is it a time to act wisely? Expert decodes Money Guru: How will rising interest rates in the US affect the Indian markets? Is this an opportunity to increase investment or is it a time to act wisely? Expert decodes
47th GST Council Meeting Outcome News: All you need to know about result of Chandigarh meet 47th GST Council Meeting Outcome News: All you need to know about result of Chandigarh meet

LATEST NEWS

Gold Price Today: Weaker Rupee to hold yellow metal slide domestically, amid strengthening Dollar; analyst suggests strategy

Closing Bell: Nifty below 15,800, Sensex ends flat; Metal, IT, auto stocks top losers

GST Council defers rate hike on casinos; Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Delta Corp share jumps 7.5% intraday

Pharma company Innova Captab files IPO papers with Sebi

Residential demand upbeat despite rise in construction cost, interest rate, says brokerage; picks DLF, Oberoi Realty among top 4 bets

2022 Maruti Suzuki BREZZA: Maruti Suzuki launches New Brezza today, Check price, features, and more

Nothing Phone 1 confirmed to come with Snapdragon 778G+ SoC on July 12 - Know more

Copper Set to Post Worst Quarterly Performance in Over 2 Years

Opening Bell: Nifty, Sensex start flat; energy, metal, IT stocks shine

KYC for Demat account, Single-use plastic ban to IPO rule change - here is a list of important changes that come into effect from 1 July

  • India News
  • World News
  • Companies News
  • Market News
  • Personal Finance News
  • Technology News
  • Automobile News
  • Small Business News
  • Income Tax Calculator
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Author
  • Rss Feed
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

Latest Trending Updates

  • EPFO
  • Budget 2020
  • Income Tax Return
  • Auto Expo 2020
  • Home Loan
  • Business News

Trending Topics

  • Income Tax
  • income Tax Calculator
  • 7th Pay Commission
  • Reserve Bank of India
  • GST
  • Latest Business News

Follow us on

zeebiz
zeebiz

Partner Sites

  • Zee News
  • Hindi News
  • Marathi News
  • Bengali News
  • Tamil News
  • Malayalam News
  • Gujarati News
  • Telugu News
  • Kannada News
  • DNA
  • WION
© 2022. India Dot Com Private Limited. All Rights Reserved.
LIVE TV