Diamdel Sales All Goods at Feb. Auction

(IDEX Online News) - Diamdel sold all 197 rough diamond lots it offered at its first cycle of auctions of 2011, held February 2-21. The De Beers subsidiary did not disclose any value figures, only saying that a combination of tight supply and customer demand resulted in “exceptionally competitive auctions.”

Diamdel reported “unprecedented levels of participation” from 166 businesses based in Belgium, Israel, India and Asia Pacific, 68 of them placed winning bids.

Sales to small and large specialist buyers rose substantially, Diamdel said, and large-scale diversified businesses purchased far more compared to the second half of 2010.

By value, 62 percent of the lots were sold to Non-Sightholders. No buyer won more than 15 lots of the 197 lots offered for sale.

“Tight supply conditions and an unprecedented level of customer demand combined to deliver exceptionally competitive auctions, and most indicators point to near term demand conditions remaining very robust,” CEO Neil Ventura said.

According to Jonathan Whitney, Diamdel’s director of sales and marketing, spot sales rose significantly with auction sales to Belgium and Israel based customers rising to record levels.

All items were in “exceptional” demand, Diamdel stated, and the highest levels of participation were in +2 cts and small ranges.