Alrosa Sells Only 20% of Stones at Tokyo Polished Diamond Auction

Alrosa sold 11 polished diamonds out of the 53 offered at the Tokyo auction yesterday for $410,000. It was Alrosa's first polished diamond auction outside Russian boundaries and was held in cooperation with the Tokyo Diamond Exchange.

The 11 stones have a total weight of 49.36 carats and were part of a collection of diamonds with a total weight of 155.16 carats and an estimated value of $1.5 million. The heaviest item sold weighed 18.93 carats.

The diamonds were polished at Brillianty ALROSA, the miner’s diamond manufacturing division and were certified by the GIA. No details on the clarity or color of the diamonds were published.

Twenty Japanese diamond companies participated in the auction, including a Russian born Sumo wrestler.

Not showing any disappointment, Alrosa Vice President Youri Dudenkov remarked that the first auction came as a confirmation of the good opportunities for Alrosa in the Japanese market, the second largest in the world in terms of diamond and diamond jewelry sales after the U.S.