Authored by diamond industry analysts Pranay Narvekar and Chaim Even-Zohar – who have previously contributed to Jeweller – the report The 2019 Pipeline: Prelude to the Storm details how the diamond market has switched from being largely supply-driven to a demand-focused model.
“The diamond pipeline has, for the first time in almost 100 years, become truly demand-driven – at each and every level of the pipeline,” Narvekar and Even-Zohar write.
“It has become a normal competitive industry not any more driven by the rough supply side.”
» Click to view full chart and download PDF of report
Calling the shift “a most desirable conclusion for the midstream” of the diamond industry – that is, cut-and-polishing operations in India, and polished diamond traders – Narvekar and Even-Zohar predict that the restructuring process will lead to an industry that is “structurally not only more competitive, but also much healthier”.
While the analysts identify 2019 as the turning point for change – describing it as a “gap year”, with stock levels clearing amid falling prices and sales, ahead of a predicted steady recovery – they also explored demand shifts in 2020 as a result of COVID-19.
Indeed, the expected improvement in sales and prices failed to materialise this year as the pandemic unfolded, yet Narvekar and Even-Zohar conclude that the fundamental shifts initiated last year have ultimately left the diamond industry in a stronger position.
The full report The 2019 Pipeline: Prelude to the Storm, is available to read at IDEX Online.
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