Polished Recovery Rotates into Smaller Stones

De Beers' realized rough price sits near $110/ct, down 37% year over year in Q2, a quarterly figure. Producers are responding to weak pricing with supply discipline, including De Beers' two-year pause at Venetia from July. Less rough reaching the market is now one mechanism quietly supporting polished.

RAPI firmed again this month, but the strength is concentrated in smaller stones: the 0.50 ct index rose 2.54% versus just 0.43% for 1 ct goods, the latter its first monthly gain in about 15 months. The recovery is real but narrow, led by entry-level rounds rather than the full market.

Gold jumped 5.53% over the past month to roughly $4,477/oz, tightening the competition for consumer jewelry budgets. In FX, the shekel weakened 1.17% against the dollar this week (USD/ILS 3.01), a tailwind for Israeli exporters invoicing in USD, while the rupee firmed 0.94% (USD/INR 94.49).

Dubai's DMCC has launched a dedicated lab-grown diamond vertical as regional synthetic volumes climb, keeping those channels separate from natural-diamond trade. Formal segmentation speeds price discovery for synthetics while helping insulate the natural-diamond order book, a structural line worth tracking for anyone active in both markets.

Vicenzaoro September runs through Sep 8 in Vicenza, and the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair runs Sep 8–12. The season's major demand test is Jewellery & Gem WORLD Hong Kong from Sep 14, the bellwether for Asian polished absorption.