Mumbai Polished Prices 15% Higher Than At Diwali

(IDEX Online News) - Driven mainly by shortages on the back of steady demand, overall polished prices in Mumbai are about 15 percent higher than they were three months ago, around Diwali. In some categories, like the -2 sieve size (-0.01 carat) and stars (-0.02 carat), prices are as much as 25 percent up over the same period.

All in all, it is a sellers market, with asking prices that are on average 20 percent higher than actual sale prices at Diwali last year.

One important issue is the continuing lack of production in centers like Surat. Though there have been reports of manufacturing units offering as much as 25 percent higher salaries for skilled cutters and polishers, overall output still remains at somewhere near half of what production was before the global economic crisis.

Despite this, however, rough buying has been strong over this period, prompting many industry-watchers to warn of a rough-reselling game that appears to be developing in India.

Somewhat endorsing this claim is the fact that premiums on rough diamonds have in general risen to around 5 percent. In certain hot categories like the -2 sieve size and stars, the premiums for certain clarities and colors have shot up to 15- 20 percent.

Many dealers are calling this “bubble territory” but given that demand has not yet dropped off, the shortages ensure that whatever is on offer gets sold. Today, there are no ‘dead’ categories, with goods of every kind selling.