Alrosa Looking For Luxury Retailer

The recent flurry of news from Alrosa is causing one to wonder what is happening in the company recently. It started with Alrosa President talking about the EC’s slowness on deciding on the outcome of the De Beers deal, then the news about opening an office in the US coupled by an announcement about a second international auction, followed by news about a $100 million deal with Rosy Blue.

Now a marketing deal with luxury firms Cartier and Tiffany is grabbing headlines.

It’s not even clear to what ears the news are intended for, but the latest downstream initiative cites Alexander Novosyolov, General Director of Alrosa's polishing company, Brillianty Alrosa.

During a recent visit in Belgium, Alrosa President Vladimir Kalitin held preliminary talks with Tiffany & Co. to explore an option the American retailer will market use Alrosa’s diamonds in its jewelry, in addition to the Aber goods.

According to the Izvestia report, talks with Cartier are at a more advanced stage, and the French retailer asked to see a sample of the diamonds Alrosa is offering.

If negotiations succeed, Brillianty Alrosa’s plans to increase it manufacturing from polishing $123 million worth of gems this year to $137 million next year might work out.