Sales strong at latest melee diamond auction
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
Sales of melee diamonds were strong at the latest auction hosted by the Rapaport Group.
Diamonds worth over $4.5 million (£2.91 million) were sold at the Rapaport Group's latest Diamond Melee Auction, an indication of the strong demand for precious stones.
Rapaport said 39,790 carats of melee diamonds – the term given to small gems – were sold at the event in New York, which concluded on September 2nd.
A total of $4,692,991 was raised at the auction, with all of the diamond on offer being purchased by traders as activity increased in the lead-up to the holiday season in the US and on the back of the recent India International Jewellery Show.
"Continued, increased diamond consumption in India and the Far East [has] been driving prices ever since the melee market bottomed out in March 2009," remarked director of global trading at Rapaport Ezi Rapaport.
Alrosa, one of Russia's leading diamond mining companies, recently revealed it now expects total sales for 2010 to be higher than previously anticipated.
