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Date of Publishing: February, 2022.
No. of Pages: 29.

Following rocky conditions in 2020, the diamond industry proved to be brilliant and resilient, and delivered a spectacular showing in 2021. Every sector of the diamond industry performed very well in 2021 and emerged from the Covid-19-induced crisis well-positioned for future growth. In 2020–21, the diamond industry invested heavily in technology to gain operational efficiency, create marketing and consumer experiences that attracted buyers, and accelerate e-commerce schemes. Even smaller mom-and-pop retailers added online sales platforms to reach consumers who couldn’t shop in person or travel due to government-instituted health measures.

And consumers were ready to spend. They were flush with cash from buoyant capital markets and economic stimulus programs, and eager to spend it on meaningful gifts for their loved ones (or rewards for themselves). Diamonds hit an emotional chord, which had been carefully cultivated by years of targeted marketing campaigns and storytelling. Diamond jewelry was also easier to access than other luxury and experience-based spending options.

Strong retail demand for diamond jewelry drove up prices and profit margins along the value chain. As rough diamond sales increased, miners increased production volumes and pulled from inventories to keep cutters and polishers busy. Healthy demand and price recovery for polished diamonds helped the midstream achieve decade-high margins.

In 2021, the industry had a renewed sense of value, which it answered through partnerships, consolidation, and technology. Now, every player along the value chain must add value—or remove hardship—on the path from mine to market.

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Contents:

1. Foreword.
2. Recent developments in the diamond industry.
3. Rough diamond production.
4. Cutting and polishing. 
5. Diamond jewelry retail. 
6. Midterm forecast.

Figure 1: Across the value chain, revenues recovered in 2021 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 2: Profit margins recovered in every segment. Combined, the mining and retail segments generated $7 billion more in profit compared to 2020.

Figure 3: Rough diamond sales rebounded more than 60% in 2021, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 4: Rough and polished prices reached the historic average in 2021 but lagged behind industry peaks.

Figure 5: Prices for higher-quality polished diamonds continue to outperform lower-quality diamonds.

Figure 6: Production increased 5% in 2021 but is below pre-pandemic levels, limiting rough diamond supply.

Figure 7: Australia was the only major diamond-producing country with a production decline in 2021, driven by the permanent closure of its only mine.

Figure 8: Russia, Canada, and Botswana had the biggest production growth in 2021.

Figure 9: Upstream inventories declined ~40%, driven by high demand and slow production recovery, and are near the minimal technical level.

Figure 10: Major players almost fully recovered profitability in 2021.

Figure 11: As Covid-19 restrictions eased, cutting and polishing activities surged 84% globally; India grew fastest at 94%.

Figure 12: In India, net imports of rough diamonds increased 49% and net exports of polished diamonds rose 15% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

Figure 13: In 2021, consumer discretionary spending increased, boosting personal luxury and diamond jewelry sales.

Figure 14: The global diamond market was materially impacted by the pandemic and economic downturn in 2020 but recovered at double-digit rates in 2021.

Figure 15: Online searches of diamond jewelry were higher than pre-pandemic levels throughout the first nine months of the year.

Figure 16: Despite the downturn in 2020, key markets grew dramatically in 2021 and exceeded 2019 results.

Figure 18: In 2021, diamond jewelry outpaced most other jewelry segments, thanks to strong performances in Asia and the US.

Figure 19: In 2021, the share of e-commerce sales continued to grow in the US and China.

Figure 20: Large retailers experienced multiyear-high EBIT margins in H1 2021.

Figure 21: Several new drivers will influence the diamond market in the short- to midterm.

Figure 22: H1 2022 is expected to be strong; then two recovery scenarios are possible.

Figure 24: Players across the value chain should be prepared for short- and midterm market readjustments.

Figure 25: To sustain demand, diamond jewelry marketing must capture more Elements of Value.

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Digital Report - immediate delivery to your email.

Date of Publishing: June 2025.
No. of Pages: 125.

Contents:
1. Structures Behind the Spectacle: A Review of Optical Effects in Phenomenal
Gemstones and Their Underlying Nanotextures Shiyun Jin, Nathan D. Renfro, Aaron C. Palke, and James E. Shigley.

Provides a comprehensive summary of the special optical effects in gemstones, including
opalescence, chatoyancy, asterism, schiller, and iridescence, and investigates the submicron inclusions and nanotextures in each type of phenomenal stone.

2. Lab Notes
Unusual patterns in diamonds • Gold-plated gold • CVD-grown diamond with unusual
cause of greenish color • HPHT-processed natural and laboratory-grown diamonds with
counterfeit inscriptions • Three large natural hollow Pinctada radiata pearls • Imitation
seed pearl with blue X-ray fluorescence • Pezzottaite with multiple cat’s-eyes • Quartz
assemblage imitating emerald.

3. G&G Micro-World
Anatase “dandelion” in agate • Diamond within a diamond within a diamond
• “Goose bumps” on South Sea pearl • Iridescent pen shell • Colorless danburite crystals
in phenakite from Myanmar • Lithiophilite in quartz • Monazite in quartz • Mystery
pebbles in quartz • Rutile star in quartz • “Sugar plum” in titanium-diffused blue
sapphire • “Soap bubbles” in yellow sphene • Quarterly Crystal: Unique phantom in
diamond.

4. Colored Stones Unearthed
Describes the geology, mineralogy, and formation of granitic-composition pegmatites and
provides a summary of their worldwide occurrences.

5. Gem News International
Emeralds and beryl from Kazakhstan and Ukraine • Unique trapiche grossular from
China • GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors: An update on nacre classification • Exceptional nacre
thickness of hybrid akoya bead cultured pearls • Iridescent gems cut from hinge ligament
of South Sea pearl oyster • Neptunite inclusions in rare poudretteite • New väyrynenite
production from Nigeria • Multilayered labratory-grown diamond • Diamond trader
Ishaia Gol • Diffusion-induced blue spinel-like layer on natural sapphire.

6. In the Spotlight: Ben Kho: From Rough Beginnings to Brilliant Mastery Jennifer Stone-Sundberg.

Digital Report - immediate delivery to your email.

Date of Publishing: 2023.
No. of Pages: 18.

Natural Fancy white and Fancy black diamonds are not routinely submitted to GIA for grading (fewer than 2,000 since 2008). These fancy-color diamonds are distinctive since the causes of color generally are not atomic-scale defects, but nanometer- to micrometer-sized inclusions that reduce the diamond’s transparency by scattering or absorbing light (some exceptions exist among Fancy black diamonds). To clarify, Fancy white diamonds are those rare stones colored by inclusions that give a “whitish” appearance, and are distinct from “colorless” diamonds on the D-to-Z scale. These two colors, often thought of as opposites in the color world, are grouped here as outliers within the colored diamond world. Both can be colored by inclusions so numerous the stone would fall below the I3 grade on the clarity scale, demonstrating that inclusions, often perceived as a negative quality factor, can create a distinctive appearance. Among the Fancy white diamonds examined for this study, the vast majority (82%) were type IaB, making them a rare subset of a rare diamond type. Based on prior geological research, these are surmised to be mostly sublithospheric in origin (i.e., forming more than 250 km below the earth’s surface). The Fancy white diamonds generally have a different chemistry from D-to-Z type IaB diamonds, with greater quantities of several hydrogen- and nickel-related defects. Among Fancy black diamonds, the major causes of color are either micrometer-sized dark crystal inclusions, nanometer-sized inclusions clustered into clouds, or a combination of the two. For these two colors of diamond, we summarize their gemological properties along with the absorption and luminescence spectra of a representative subset of diamonds from each color, examining how they deviate from the standard grading methodology. Because of their rarity, there has been very little systematic study of either of these color categories, and never a sample set of this quantity, which includes data for ~500 Fancy white and ~1,200 Fancy black diamonds.

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Contents:

1. Causes of Color.

2. Spectroscopy.

3. Gemological Observations.

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Digital Report - immediate delivery to your email.

Date of Publishing: 2024.
No. of Pages: 25.

A cut grading system useful at all levels of the diamond trade must encompass the visual appeal of polished diamonds. This paper presents results from observations of oval-, pear-, and marquise-shaped diamonds for face up appearance and outline appeal. In a controlled environment, an international cross section of diamond buyers, sellers, cutters, and appraisers observed sets of research diamonds in each shape; internal observation 
teams also examined diamonds submitted to GIA for grading services. Observers consistently disliked diamonds with prominent windowing but showed a broader range of opinions regarding the “bow tie” and “crushed ice” patterns typically found in these rounded fancy shapes. The distribution of opinions indicates significant differences in both regional preferences and personal taste for certain outlines and appearance patterns. Virtual facet 
maps, calculated from the three-dimensional wireframe file of a polished diamond, provide a quantitative visualization of these patterns. The geometric complexity of fancy shapes with multiple faceting arrangements requires the use of those same 3D files for assessing or predicting light behavior in a polished diamond.