Experts and Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff share views on natural diamond prices, lab-grown supply, and diamond jewelry sales in 2023.
Much to many people’s surprise, 2021 was a banner year for diamond jewelry sales and the party did not slow down as much as expected in 2022. So, what will this year hold?
I consulted industry analyst Paul Zimnisky and De Beers’ 2022 Diamond Insight Report as well as reporting from around the trade to make predictions about diamond supply, demand and consumer behavior in 2023 and beyond.
1. Natural diamond price and supply
To understand the current state of natural diamond supply, one needs to rewind about a year, to the date of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
Immediately following the invasion, the United States began levying sanctions on Russia in an effort to restrict its resources. Alrosa, one of the two biggest diamond producers in the world, was included in these efforts, as the Russian government holds a 33 percent stake in the company.
Initially, the sanctions targeted U.S investment in Russian companies but the government ratcheted them up over the next couple months, with President Joe Biden signing an executive order March 11 banning the import of non-industrial Russian diamonds and Alrosa landing on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals list a month later.
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