De Beers reported sharply lower revenue in its eighth sales event of the year, cutting back the size of its offering because of reduced demand as a result of religious holidays in India and Israel, two major rough diamond-buying countries. De Beers reported revenue of $370m for the eighth of 10 annual sales, down from the $494m it realised at the same period a year earlier and well below the $507m recorded in its seventh sale in 2017. “De Beers offered fewer rough diamonds for sale in Cycle 8, reflecting the concurrent timing this year of the sight sale with the closure of polishing factories in India and Israel for … religious holidays,” said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver. “Sales were in line with expectations, at what is a seasonally slower time for rough diamond demand.” His message to the market was similar to that of Russian diamond miner Alrosa, the largest supplier of rough diamonds as measured by carats. In September, Alrosa’s rough diamond sales fell to $306m, from $435m the y...
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