Small Stones Firm as Gold’s Rally Pulls the Retail Spotlight

De Beers' realized rough price sits at $110/ct, down 37% year on year in Q2, while Alrosa is pushing a state-backed domestic cutting cluster within Russia. Rough remains structurally soft, and the pipeline keeps splitting into sanctioned and non-sanctioned channels.

RAPI rose this month, but the move is concentrated at the small end: 0.50 ct is up 2.54% against just 0.43% for 1 ct. Demand is rotating toward smaller, more affordable goods rather than signaling a broad recovery.

Gold is up 11.28% over the month to about $4,488/oz, and Greater China retail, including Chow Sang Sang, is leaning on the metal to carry results. This reflects a store-of-value buying mood that competes with, rather than lifts, discretionary diamond buying. The rupee firmed slightly (USD/INR 95.17, -0.62% on the week), easing India's import economics at the margin.

Washington extended the window for grandfathered Russian-origin diamond imports to September 2027: near-term breathing room for documented legacy stock, but also a signal that provenance and chain-of-custody are now permanent operating costs, not a temporary scramble.

The Jewellery Show London opens tomorrow (Sep 2–3), and Vicenzaoro September runs Sep 4–8 in Vicenza. Together, they offer the first real read on autumn order books.