Jewellery industry accused of silence over Russian diamonds

[Uncle Joe]

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Independently of Alrosa, the Russian state has an enormous diamond stockpile – the Gokhran – that it has historically used to regulate the diamond market, buying up excess and selling during shortages. “They have, since the 1990s, been purchasing diamonds in order to manage the pricing,” says Dr Hans Merket, a conflict diamonds researcher at Belgium institute IPIS. Gokhran holds periodic auctions of gemstones from state stockpiles, with six auctions in the first half of last year. Diamond.net reported that revenues from one sale came to $139.2m, according to Russia’s ministry of finance. “It’s a state secret, how much diamonds are in that stock,” Merket says. “If they would start selling those diamonds, that could be an important source of revenue.”

Even as the United States introduces sanctions on Russian diamonds, however, industry insiders say their current wording does nothing to halt the flow of Russian gems. This is because the vast majority of Russian stones are exported rough. From there, most will go to be cut and polished in India, which processes about 90% of the world’s rough diamonds. Under US customs rulings, this is considered a “significant transformation” – so polished diamonds can be imported as an Indian product, not a Russian one. There is so far no indication that by buying Russian diamonds through India, US companies would breach sanctions.

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Any decisions to cut off trade with Alrosa are likely to fall to individual companies, industry bodies, or distaste from the general public. But Alrosa has become a key source for many of the world’s largest jewellers – many of whom remain tight-lipped about whether they will continue to buy Russian diamonds. In the weeks immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Alrosa deleted its long-term “our customers” list – usually prominently and publicly displayed – from its website.

Archived versions of the Alrosa list, however, reel off a number of prominent international diamond traders and jewellers. Over the past four years, the firm has boasted of long-term contracts with more than 60 firms, including Signet Jewellers, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, New York firm Leo Schachter, and iconic luxury brand Tiffany & Co. At time of writing, just one of the large western firms listed as a longtime Alrosa customer – Signet Jewellers – has made clear statements on whether it would stop sourcing Russian diamonds. Brilliant Earth, a smaller firm branded on responsible sourcing, said last week it would remove Russian diamonds for sale.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/19/jewellery-industry-accused-of-silence-over-russian-diamonds

[Phoenix61]

1. The manufactures diamonds are prettier and cheaper.

I get compliments on my earrings all the time and they’re cubic zirconias. Best $15 bucks I’ve spent in a long time. I’d like to get some lab grown ones but I’m not in a rush.