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Diamond rings and bracelets on display in the window show in Antwerp, Belgium. (Photo by Yurik Nakao/Getti Image)
Yurik Nakao | Getty Images | Gets the image
They can be made of the most difficult materials on the ground, but diamonds, with their complex supply chains and expensive price tags, especially delicate for the aggressive tariff program of President Donald Trump.
A valuable mineral faces a basic 10% import duty in the US, which is more than half the world’s demand for polished diamonds. The sector also attracts additional duties when the 90-day pause of Trump will end without new agreements.
“It is very clear that Diamond Industry, at the world level, is faced with the perfect storm,” said Karen Reedmerster, CEO of Antwerper Diamond Center, adding that tariffs are “the last blow”.
Small gems often cross a few boundaries before ending in the store. From the mines in Botswana or South Africa, to the trade in the Middle East or Europe, and then to the cutting and polishing the hub before heading for the jewelry manufacturer – there is often a long journey before the goods will come to the store. This sophisticated supply chain means that the diamond industry is very sensitive to any trading interruption.
Raw materials such as gold and copper were expelled from the US tariffs, and the industry pushes for diamonds to be expelled.
Rentmesters, which heads the 580-year-old corporation representing more than 1,400 companies within the Antwerp Diamond District, said: “You can say that free diamonds are raw materials. You don’t go with a polished diamond. You carry it in jewelry.
The tariff uncertainty occurs at a time when the luxurious industry is generally struggling with the slowdown after the post -post -plane and economic downturn in China.
Diamonds grown in the laboratory point out a permanent shift
However, the largest violation of this industry was the creation of laboratory diamonds (LGD). Chemically identical, stones cannot be distinguished with the naked eye. They sell at 80% discount to natural version, and customers enjoy cheaper prices.
More than half of the pair interviewed in the US last year, said According to a study of real weddings 2025 At the node, which included an understanding of almost 17,000 pairs.
In 2021 there was a turning point when PandoraThe world’s largest jewelry brand was the first to stop the sale of obtained diamonds.
“In the US, about 18 months ago, the volume of laboratory diamonds in free stones was surpassed as in prey. Thus, when there are doubts in the minds of people, it was very visible, and since then it continues to grow,” said Pandora Alexander Lacik CNBC.
“With this type of value offers that can offer laboratory diamonds, we can actually offer diamonds more people. Therefore, we do not necessarily see that the total volume of diamonds will decline. We are likely to invite more people to the category.”
With poor macroeconomic conditions and increased competition from LGD, the price of the extracted diamond has dropped Almost 60% From the peak in March 2022.
Tariffs threaten the stabilization point
However, some analysts say the industry is close to reaching the stabilization point between LGD and diamond production. “The question you have to ask is how many lower prices go before consumers will see the exact differentiation between the two products,” said Paul Winter, an independent diamond analyst.
He added: “And I think we are finally starting to get to the moment when you can buy, you know, three, four or five cats that are ridiculous for the wedding ring – you can buy a laboratory version that is grown, you know, only a few 1,000 dollars, while the natural version will be The price differentiation certainly creates differentiation, which certainly creates differentiation. “
In the conditions of these problems, some key players rethink their strategies.
De Beers, Chief Player in Diamond Industry, said there were signs of demand in the US before Christmas and before the tariff uncertainty suffered. Instead of investing in a developed LGD market, Debeers double on natural diamonds.
Recently, De Beers announced that he would close his LGD LightBox jewelry, trying to strengthen “his commitment to natural diamonds in the jewelry sector.”
“The cost of diamonds grown in the laboratory in jewelry is steadily declining, emphasizes the growth of differentiation between these factory products and natural diamonds,” the company CEO of Deeers Al Cook said in a statement.
In this photo taken on February 6, 2024, employees working at Greenlab Diamonds, a solid manufactured laboratories that grew on the outskirts of Surat.
Sam Pantaki | AFP | Gets the image
The firm said the closure corresponds to the strategy it presented in May last year, “focusing on active events and streamlining business.”
Closing also occurs at a time when Anglo American, a parent company De Beers, deprives the company and is in the process of finding potential buyers.
In the current jewelry, luxurious slows were noticeable, especially with high yevel content, which is considered as less cyclical nutrition for the most prosperous customers.
Earlier this month, Richemont Immediately imitate the revenue expectations that increase double -digit growth in the Maisons Jewelry, which includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and BuCCELATI.
According to analysts, the key to the production of the industry is: “You have to remember a diamond, it is a very emotional purchase. This is not a practical purchase. And people as a story behind the creation,” Zimniska said.
“I just think that from this industry it is necessary to provide consumers that they need to spend much more on a natural diamond, they want to make sure it is definitely a natural diamond. I think it should be a priority at this point.”
