Bluedax Bringing Price Transparency to the Diamond Industry

Bloomberg reported that the website Bluedax is bringing price transparency to the diamond industry, which has long been known for “handshakes, phonecalls, and furtive negotiations.”

As quoted in the market news:

Bluedax aims to capture traders selling De Beers sight boxes and parcels from De Beers’ rivals, including Russian producer OAO Alrosa. The website, which was launched by [Guy] Harari with his brother David last year, will open trading rooms to selected clients after De Beers’ diamond sale next month. It currently has about 1,000 clients registered to buy and sell, and plans to increase that number in coming months. Prospective users must demonstrate they are financially sound and agree to pay a flat commission of 0.5 percent per trade.

For Bluedax the biggest obstacle may be the industry’s ties to tradition. Between miner and jewelry retailer, the industry is impenetrable to outsiders and has been dominated by family- run firms who do business based on personal relationships.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.