Mining giant De Beers has announced that it will begin auctioning off its own polished diamonds this June.
This new program will see the miner selling a range of polished stones that have been manufactured directly from De Beers rough. Each diamond will carry grading reports from De Beers’ in-house grading unit, the International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
With this venture, De Beers hopes to gain more information about polished prices. Neil Ventura, executive director for De Beers’ auction sales, adds that this will also help buyers fill gaps in supply or inventory if they are unable to find goods at De Beers’ rough auctions.
“We are interested in testing the level of demand from polished buyers for diamonds that have a clear and attractive source of origin, and that offer the assurance of product integrity that dual certification provides,” he notes.
Registered De Beers auction buyers will be able to bid in the first sale, which happens on June 29.
