(IDEX Online) – The IDEX Online Polished Diamond Index was more or less flat in December, averaging 132.2. Round items were mixed, with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5-carat diamonds rising while 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0-carat stones declined on the month.

 

The full analysis of the polished diamond prices is available to IDEX Online Research subscribers and IDEX Online members here.

 

The IDEX Online Polished Diamond Index averaged 132.2 in December compared with 132.1 in November.

 

 

A look at the wider picture shows that the index is roughly where it was at the start of 2013.

 

Since the holiday season was in its last few weeks in December, there was little reason for prices to rise. Manufacturers have long since understood that prices have flat-lined and they were unlikely to see any rises in prices. That is particularly, the case in the so-called bread-and-butter goods of rounds up to 2-3 carats.

 

A comparison of prices in December from November shows that while the prices of rounds from 2.0 to 5.0 carats were down, the decline was much less pronounced than in the month before.

 

Larger diamonds were hit by holiday season consumers looking for jewelry set with smaller stones. The number of end-buyers looking for larger diamonds set in jewelry costing several tens of thousands of dollars is inevitably lower during the Christmas sales period.

 

Can manufacturers expect any good cheer relating to prices of rough diamonds supplied by De Beers to its Sightholders and to the secondary market as well as by the other diamond manufacturers? The chances of that look thin, at best. De Beers kept prices almost unchanged at its December Sight.

 

Outlook

With Diwali long gone and Christmas 2013 now part of history, the diamond and jewelry industry is now looking forward to the Chinese New Year that begins on January 31 and hoping that it will bring some cheer.

 

The financial numbers for the 2013 holiday season are still being crunched, but there appears to have been a rise in retail sales of 2-3 percent, while online sales continued the rising trend of recent years. US jewelry retailers have recorded a reasonably solid year, aided by rising stock exchanges and housing prices.

 

Further afield, the outlook is less rosy. The European market is still constrained by austerity measures, while in India the ongoing weakness of the rupee against the U.S. dollar, means rough diamonds are even more expensive. The rupee has fallen by more than 15 percent and economists believe it will only rise after the country’s general elections later this year.

 

The full analysis of the polished diamond prices is available to IDEX Online Research subscribers and IDEX Online members here. Click here for more information on how to subscribe or become a member.