It seems the belief is that diamonds are no longer a girl’s best friend, as the world’s leading and most valuable diamond mines run by DeBeers have been on a down slope since the start of the year. DeBeers put its Botswana production on hold due to suffering sales in light of the economic downturn.
Many fashion-savvy consumers are heading to the counters to invest in simulated diamonds, Swarovski crystals and even cubic zirconia. Hence, the mines’ total halt of diamond sales in November and “very little” sales in the succeeding months. DeBeers anticipates the decline to continue until Christmas next year at the earliest and is planning to drastically cut production.
“We are going to significantly reduce production levels to align them with levels of demand,” Stephen Lussier, executive director for external and corporate affairs, said on the fringes of a mining conference in Cape Town according to Financial Times. 
“There’s no point digging a diamond out of the ground when you don’t have a client ready to buy it.”
So does this mean that Victoria's Secret is no longer making their infamous diamond covered bras? We jest of course, as the diamond-laden bra is part of the Victoria's Secret branding.
Although cutbacks are inevitable, Mr. Lussier declined to put a number on exactly how many they will be facing. Still, given that DeBeers latest sale of rough diamonds in January only generated $100m, as opposed to the $600m generated in January 2008, I’m sure it’s safe to assume that the cutbacks will be just as stunning.
However, until recently, mining executives had hoped to see a ray of light, however dim it may be, in demand for diamonds later this year, but Mr. Lussier’s comments point to a less optimistic view, predicting that the demand for rough diamonds will continuously fall.
The pressure of diamond sales falls mainly on the US who normally buys about half of all polished diamonds, yet is feeling the force of the global recession the most. Nevertheless, Mr .Lussier said diamond markets in China and India are growing fast and would match the US by the end of the next decade.Despite the decrease in diamond sales, DeBeers will avoid closing any of its mines.
During economic times like these, have you been purchasing diamonds or simply stones that replicate them?
Photo Credit: DeBeers, Beauty Den
