De Beers secretly sells discounted diamonds to selected traders

According to Bloomberg News in ‘mining.com’, De Beers has been quietly selling rough diamonds at sharply marked-down prices to a small handful of customers, in a highly unusual move that’s fueling tensions across an industry already mired in crisis. The secret deals appear aimed at reducing De Beers’s ballooning inventories without openly cutting prices — something the company typically tries to avoid, but which has led to a big gap between its official pricing and valuations in the wider diamond market. De Beers usually holds 10 sales in Botswana each year for its roughly 70 registered buyers, where prices are non-negotiable.

All diamond imports to the US are currently subject to a 10% tariff, and face further levies when the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs comes to an end. Traders have already poured large volumes of stones into the US market to get ahead of tariffs, but fear a slump in demand if US consumers are forced to pay more because of the levies. Purchases have slowed as companies responsible for cutting and polishing worry about being stuck with inventory that is no longer profitable to sell to the US. The industry is lobbying for an exemption from tariffs.