Effective August 2004 Sight, DTC will raise its prices of rough diamonds by an average of 5% with most categories rising in line with the average. Assortments will remain consistent but, as usual, box mixtures and therefore prices, may vary according to intakes.

“The first half of 2004 has shown good growth in retail sales of diamond jewelry across the consumer markets, with initial estimates around +7%,” DTC said in a statement. “This growth has resulted in a decline in polished stocks held in the cutting centers and a rise in the price of most categories of polished diamonds”.

The statement also notes that consumer confidence levels have increased and macro economic indicators are broadly positive, indicating that the environment will be in place to support continued strong consumer demand in the second half of 2004.

“Therefore the price increase is based on the fundamentals of the market as indicated by a strong first half and is further supported by expectations of continued growth in H2,” the statement says.

JCK