Diamond Production: Carats Up, But Value is Down

Global production of diamonds versus the value diamonds produced was a little lopsided in 2015.
While 127,399,362.81 carats were produced, the total value of those carats was significantly down, coming in at just $13,881,626,03, as per statistics provided by the Kimberley Process rough diamond scheme.
The decrease allegedly marks the diamond industry’s first annual decline in three years due to slumping prices. Data published by the Kimberley Process indicates that production by value dropped 4.2 percent in 2015, while production in volume increased by 2.1 percent, according to Rapaport.
Russia in particular produced a significant amount of diamonds last year. At 42 million carats, the country has produced more than double the amount of its runner up, Botswana, which produced 21 million carats in 2015. On the flip side, Rapaport writes that Botswana’s diamond production was worth more than Russia’s.
With diamond value dropping, it’s no surprise that some of the largest gems have struggled to sell at their projected values, or even at all.

Recently, Petra Diamonds (LSE:PDL) sold its 121 carat white diamond for $6 million in Johannesburg. Despite the sale, Petra Diamonds reported a loss for the first half of its financial year in February. This was in part due to lower sales demand, as well as additional supply that pushed rough diamond prices down 9 percent overall.
Last year, Lucara Diamond (TSX:LUC) discovered the world’s largest diamond, weighing in at 1,109 carats. The diamond was projected to sell for $70 million at the Sotheby’s auction last month. However, despite the hype, the gem failed to sell at the auction entirely.
And, of course, there’s the Aurora Green diamond: a 5.03 carat fancy vivid green which recently set two world auction records by selling for $16.9 million. Despite the world-record price, the gem was projected to sell between $16.2 million and $20.1 million, so it still sold on the lower end of its projected value.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.