Russia remained the biggest rough diamond-producing country in the world in 2024, by both volume and value, despite the impact of G7 sanctions.
By volume it accounted for 32 per cent of global production in 2024 – or 37.3m carats – according to newly-released figures by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
And by value it accounted for 29 per cent – or $3.335bn.
Botswana came second by volume – 24 per cent, 28.2m carats – and a very close second by value – 28.8 per cent, $3.308bn.
Overall global rough output fell 10 per cent to $11.48bn.
India was the biggest importer (40 per cent by carats, 39 per cent by dollars) followed by UAE (29 per cent by carats, 24 per cent by dollars).
Moscow investigators on Monday said they сharged an employee of the state-run diamond producer Alrosa, her son and two others in connection with a diamond theft scheme at the company.
Valentina Matyushenkova, an Alrosa employee, is accused of swapping high-value diamonds with cheaper industrial-grade stones between September 2024 and January 2025, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Authorities say the stolen diamonds were smuggled to Armenia.
Matyushenkova was caught in the act while attempting to steal a batch of diamonds valued at more than 1.7 million rubles ($21,700), investigators said. Her son, Alexei Matyushenkov, is accused of acting as a middleman.
Two other suspects, Armen Petrosyan and Arman Sahakyan, allegedly transported the stolen stones across the border to Armenia.
A video published by the Kommersant business newspaper showed Matyushenkova confessing to her role in the scheme during questioning. One of the other suspects claimed he was working as a deliveryman at the time of his arrest.
Searches of the suspects’ homes uncovered some 200,000 carats of low-grade industrial diamonds, which investigators say were used to replace the high-quality raw stones.
All four suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison on theft charges and up to seven years for the illicit trafficking of precious stones and metals.
A 275-year-old carved emerald necklace from the Mughal Empire sold for $6.2m, more than double its high estimate, at Christie’s New York.
It is made of five Colombian emeralds, with a combined weight of 1,178.50 carats (8.3oz/235g) on gold and magenta cords.
Three are carved hexagonal – the largest is 470 carat and inscribed “Ahmad Shah Durr-i Durran” (Pearl of Pearls) – and two are carved pear-shaped.
The necklace once belonged to Nader Shah, one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, and one-time owner of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
He seized the necklace after capturing Delhi in 1739 and taking control of the royal treasury of the Mughal Empire, which ruled much of the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1857.
The necklace carried a pre-sale estimate of $2m to $3m.
Belgium’s HRD lab says it will no longer grade lab grown diamonds.
It wants to create what it calls a “clear distinction between natural and synthetic diamonds”.
HRD, a subsidiary of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), says it is the first lab to stop lab grown certification, although it will still issue certificates for jewelry containing lab growns.
The move, announced yesterday (18 June) follows GIA’s decision earlier this month to grade lab growns only as “premium” or “standard”, without scores for color or clarity.
It further emphasizes the distinction between natural and lab grown diamonds.
“As of 2026, we will no longer issue quality certificates for loose synthetic diamonds intended for commercial use,” said Ellen Joncheere, CEO of HRD Antwerp.
“In limited cases, we will continue to analyze synthetic diamonds, but strictly for research purposes. Jewellery containing synthetic stones will still be eligible for certification.”
HRD started grading lab growns in 2013, albeit with fewer grades of color and clarity than natural diamonds. In 2019 it aligned lab growns with natural stones, a move that appeared to signal greater parity between the two sectors.
Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of parent company AWDC, said: “By becoming the first diamond lab in the world to take an explicit and exclusive stance in favour of natural diamonds, HRD Antwerp is sending a strong signal.
“A clear distinction between natural and synthetic diamonds is essential to strengthen consumer trust and help safeguard the future of natural diamonds.”
A remarkable piece of royal history captivated the global jewellery market this week. The 10.38-carat “Marie-Thérèse Pink Diamond” achieved more than USD $13.9 million (including buyer’s premium) at Christie’s New York Magnificent Jewels auction, nearly doubling its high estimate. The hammer price alone reached USD $11.8 million.
This fancy purple-pink, modified kite brilliant-cut diamond boasts not only exceptional rarity and colour but also a royal provenance tracing back through French, Bavarian, and Austrian imperial families. It was most recently set in a ring by renowned Franco-American jewellery artist JAR, further enhancing its artistic and collectible value.
According to Christie’s, the pink diamond is believed to have been part of a group of jewels entrusted by Marie Antoinette to her hairdresser in 1791, just before her attempted escape from Paris. These jewels were later passed to her only surviving child, Duchess Marie Thérèse de Angoulême, and subsequently to her niece, Duchess Marie Thérèse de Chambord.
“Generations later,” Christie’s noted, a will identified Queen Marie Theresa of Bavaria as the next known custodian of the gem, referring to it as “a pink solitaire diamond from Aunt Chambord.” The diamond last appeared at auction in Geneva in 1996, offered by a European royal family member, and had remained out of public view until this recent sale.
The impressive result underscores continued global demand for rare, historically significant coloured diamonds — particularly those with noble provenance.
Vibrant 0.45-carat gem adds final flourish to Diavik’s closing years. Just when it seemed Diavik had given all it could give, a rare purple diamond has been unearthed at the Northern Canadian mine – a 0.45-carat stone that stands out in a region better known for producing predominantly colorless gems and the occasional yellow stone, adding a splash of unexpected color as the operation approaches the final years of its mine life.
The discovery, quietly announced by Rio Tinto via social media, comes just weeks after the recovery of a 158.2-carat yellow diamond and a 50-million-year-old petrified log – both of which drew attention to the remarkable geological and historical treasures still surfacing from the remote subarctic site.
“We recently had a unique discovery at Diavik – a rare purple diamond weighing in at 0.45 carats,” the company wrote in a social media post on LinkedIn.
“Diavik diamonds are typically white, so this came as a pleasant surprise,” the post continued. “The purple colour likely comes from a trace element such as hydrogen or a twist in the crystal lattice structure of the diamond. The shape of the rough diamond is known as a ‘makeable’ which means it will likely be cut into a single diamond.”
Though small in size, the stone is striking for its rarity, with colored diamonds of any kind making up less than 1% of Diavik’s total production over more than two decades of operation.
Among them, purple diamonds are the rarest, their distinctive hue typically attributed to hydrogen impurities or plastic deformation deep in the Earth’s mantle – a result of the intense pressure and heat that alters the crystal structure during formation.
In gemological terms, purple diamonds are often classified under the broader category of “fancy color” stones, though few attain the deep saturation necessary for that label. More often, their shades fall within the purplish-pink or violet spectrum, with pure purple standing as one of the most elusive colors in the diamond world.
For Diavik, the recovery of such a specimen near the end of its mine life serves as both a scientific curiosity and a symbolic capstone.
Since beginning production in 2003, the mine has yielded over 140 million carats of rough diamonds – predominantly colorless, with a handful of exceptional yellow stones including the 552-carat “egg” discovered in 2018 and the more recent 158.2-carat find earlier this year.
Yet, while the occasional yellow diamond has offered moments of brilliance, the purple discovery stands out for its singularity.
While not the first purple diamond recovered from Diavik – industry veterans have noted smaller specimens dating back more than a decade – this 0.45-carat stone ranks among the most notable, particularly for its size, clarity, and timing near the end of the mine’s operational life.
Purple diamonds are so rare that only a few notable examples have surfaced globally, often fetching premium prices far beyond their white or even pink counterparts. Their appearance in the trade is sporadic, and their origin even more geographically restricted – making a Canadian purple diamond an especially uncommon occurrence.
Diavik’s purple gem is expected to be cut into a single polished stone, though no details have been released about where it might end up – in private hands, a high-profile auction, or perhaps a Canadian institution.
Whatever its path, the find adds a final chapter to Diavik’s legacy – a small but vibrant reminder that even in its twilight, the remote Arctic mine remains full of surprises.
A 647-carat diamond recovered in Brazil is the country’s second biggest and has been valued at just over $3m.
The brown-colored gem was unearthed late last month in the Douradinho river bed, home to mining companies and artisanal miners (known locally as garimpeiros) in the rural area of Coromandel, in the southeast of the country.
Large diamond finds are rare in modern Brazil and generate significant local excitement and economic activity, especially in towns with a mining tradition like Coromandel.
“Everyone was euphoric because Coromandel has a lot of mining activity,” said a spokesman for the Coromandel municipality. “It has been a long time since a diamond of this size was discovered.”
The record for Brazil’s largest diamond is still held by the 726.6-carat President Vargas diamond, discovered in the same region back in 1938.
Brazil was the world’s top producer of diamonds from 1730 to 1870, but is now responsible for less than 1 per cent of global production, mostly from alluvial deposits.
According to the Brazilian news website Click Petroleo e Gas, the gem has already been sold.
A unique Patek Philippe watch sold for $4.3m at Sotheby’s New York – the highest price realized by the auction house for a timepiece this year.
But it was well below the $7.75m achieved by the same watch when it changed hands at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
The pink gold perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases, was made in 1957 and was sold by the Milan-based retailer Gobbi Milano.
It was one of just nine made and is the only one known to still exist.
A private collector paid $4.3m for the watch, which had a pre-sale estimate of $3m to $5m. It led the Important Watches: Take a Minute sale last Tuesday (10 June).
In 2007 the watch sold for CHF 2.7m ($2,.2m at historic exchange rate) at Christie’s Geneva.
Alrosa has concluded the sale of its 41 per cent share in Catoca, Angola’s state-controlled diamond miner, drawing an end to a 32-year partnership.
It has been acquired by Taadeen, a subsidiary of Oman’s sovereign wealth fund.
The move was announced last November, after Angola’s mineral resources minister Diamantino Azevedo described Alrosa, the sanctioned Russian miner, as a “toxic partner”.
The transfer was formalized on 26 May and leaves Angola’s national diamond company Endiama EP retaining a controlling 59 per cent.
Catoca’s updated website now lists its company shareholder structure as: “Endiama EP (National Diamond Company of Angola) – 59% Taadeen (Subsidiary company of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Oman) – 41%”.
No financial details of the share transfer have been released.
Alrosa acquired 32.8 per cent of Catoca shares in 1992, soon after the country’s long-running civil war came to an end, and increased its stake to 41 per cent in 2018.
Karelian Diamond Resources has registered its Lahtojoki mining concession in the Finnish land registry, advancing its plan to develop what could become the European Union’s first diamond mine.
This registration, handled by the Finnish mining authority TUKES, allows the company to proceed with further development plans for the Lahtojoki diamond deposit.
TUKES had previously approved the concession and is also responsible for issuing the mining certificate.
Karelian noted that a hearing on compensation matters related to the project has been postponed until the Fall of 2025, potentially impacting the timeline for full-scale operations.
Lahtojoki is known for its high-quality gem diamonds, including rare pink and coloured stones that can fetch up to 20 times more than typical colourless gems. The company believes the diamondiferous kimberlite pipe has the potential to support a profitable, low strip ratio open-pit operation.
The Dublin-based company is simultaneously exploring and advancing other assets in Finland, containing nickel, copper and platinum group elements. It is also advancing exploration at a site in the Kuhmo region where it aims to discover the source of a rare green diamond it found in 2022.
