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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score on Friday was a bleak 44-106-160 as the TSX Venture Exchange lost six points to 633. Rough diamond prices edged 0.2 point higher this week according to Paul Zimnisky's global rough diamond price index, eliminating a 0.1-point decline last week. Nevertheless, the chart has now been flattish for the past fortnight, although still four points higher -- about 3.1 per cent -- than the three-year-low prices set in early March.

And so, while rough diamond prices are 2.0 per cent higher than at the start of the year, they remain 79 points -- 38.3 per cent -- lower than when prices reached their all-time high in mid-February of 2022. Yes, prices were lower than now in the not-so-distant past, but that was during the COVID-19 crisis in the spring of 2020, when most diamond miners were unable to sell their goods because of lockdowns. (Five years ago, Mr. Zimnisky had pegged his index at 124.8 points.)

On the other hand, International Diamond Exchange (IDEX) continues to chart a slow decline in polished diamond prices. The most recent fix was 94.43, a long haul from the 158.39 at which the index stood in early March of 2022. Much of the damage occurred with smaller and less valuable gems, with large, top-quality diamonds keeping much of their value despite the soft market. The difference appears to be the influence of man-made diamonds, which dominate the low-end of the jewellery market but have failed to secure much penetration with the high-end goods.

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