State of the Union

(The Future of Diamonds)

As I accept accounting afresh the design industry is activity through a affecting evolution.

* Design assembly is crumbling for the aboriginal time in over 25 years.

* Aftermost year, DeBeers, shut bottomward their aftermost three underground mines.

* Of 170 design companies globally, abandoned 25 are absolutely producing.

* Design inventories captivated by DeBeers and added mining companies that totaled over $22 billion US aloof a few years ago are bottomward to three to four billion.

* In 2005, Rio Tintos’ Argyle abundance in Western Australia’s Kimberly region, the world’s more good larboard $10 billion US of appeal unfulfilled. Quite simply, one out of every three orders for a design is not filled— and it’s activity to get worse. By 2015 Canada’s Ekati abundance (run by BHP Billiton) is predicted depleted; Rio’s Diavik abundance in Canada is abutting and the world’s largest, the Argyle abundance will be beat in the abutting decade alike with a billion dollar overhaul.

Botswana which produces one out of every four gem affection chunk can’t be accepted to backpack the amount alike admitting they accept upped their assembly by 17% in the aftermost year. With booming economies in China and India, the apple appeal for chunk is at a “tipping point.” In abandoned the aftermost bristles years China has angled their adornment purchases. SOLD OUT is activity to be a accustomed byword the accessible is activity to accept to accord with back they go adorable for a non-commercial, gem affection diamond. Of the boilerplate 114 actor carats awash anniversary year, abandoned 2.28 actor (that’s 2%) are non-commercial. Non- bartering is authentic as a design that is 100% natural, white, eye clean, able-bodied ample and absolutely bondable. In the U.S. alone, 49 out of 50 chunk awash in 2005 did not accommodated these criteria. To accomplish affairs worse, “Brick and Mortar” food and online consolidators are demography advantage of the shortages by alms “Cert pretty” chunk (these are chunk that accept lab allocation letters by labs that agreement annihilation and arise to be adorable but are absolutely abandoned bartering brand “seconds”). Authoritative affairs worse for the accessible are the bribery scandals at the labs; authoritative it more difficult for the customer to acquirement the absolute affair vs. a barefaced diamond.

Besides the affected allure to a design there has to be an absolute dollar amount or the accomplished industry will blast and the design assurance arena may become a affair of the accomplished like $.99 a gallon of gas. The fresh absoluteness says world-renowned geologist Dr. Charles Fibke is that chunk could bifold in amount by 2010.

Solution

Since chunk were apparent over 2000 years ago in India, the apple has produced over 380 bags of diamonds. These chunk haven’t larboard the planet; they lie abeyant in the clandestine area and represent the more good accrue of chunk that could be harvested again. If the design attitude is activity to abide to work, the accessible is activity to accept to acquiesce design companies admission to these gems and the accessible will accept to accept a “used” design is more good than no design at all. While this may be the aftermost bearing to own a design cut to order, it doesn’t accept to be the aftermost to acquire one. Patek Phillip Watch Company says that cipher absolutely owns one of their watches that they aloof authority on to it for the abutting generation. If we can accept the aforementioned aesthetics with diamonds, we’ll be alright.

by Fred Cuellar, columnist of the acknowledged book “How to Buy a Diamond.” More questions? Ask the Design Guy®