Suffering from lower jewelry demand over much of the past 10 years, the world’s diamond industry picked up last year, at least in volume terms
Since the last occasion when E&MJ took an in-depth look at the world diamond industry (September 2011, pp.54-63), the world’s diamond producers have continued the process of restructuring that began in the early 2000s when De Beers began to relinquish its traditional role of industry custodian. In the intervening period, statistics compiled by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) indicate that producers responded in no mean way to reduced consumer demand, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 global economic downturn, with output fluctuating within a fairly narrow band between 2009 and 2015, and only showing signs of picking up again last year.
