Diamond group De Beers sparkles as sales hit £340m

Sales at the world’s largest diamond group De Beers increased by more than a fifth at the end of 2022.

The mining and trading company sold £340 million of the gems at its auction last month – up from £279 million in December 2021.

De Beers, owned by FTSE 100 mining group Anglo American, sells rough stones to diamond processors and polishers in ten sales cycles per year, known as “sights.”

The South Africa-based company was behind the “a diamond is forever” ad in 1947, which revolutionized the industry.

It recently appointed Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, who won an Oscar for 12 Years A Slave, as its first global ambassador.

Before the pandemic, diamond prices fell as the market struggled with oversupply, economic slowdown in China and global pressure on luxury goods spending.

Despite the recent sales, there are fears that prices will stagnate again. Although higher than a year ago, estimated sales in the December auction were 10 per cent lower than in November, where the company made £377 million.

Rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis could hit the jewelry sector this year, while China’s Covid resurgence could slow luxury spending. Lab-grown diamonds that cost a fraction of the stones mined are also now available.

Anglo took over De Beers in 2012, when it bought the stake of the South African billionaire Oppenheimer family.