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Philippe Mellier

De Beers said that it will not be able to satisfy the aggregated demand of all its sightholders at the diamond company's next sale, Rough and Polished reports. The firm said that it would not be able to meet the needs of the sightholders because it produced fewer diamonds in the first six months of 2012. De Beers' output for January to June was approximately 13,450,000 carats, representing a decrease of 13%.

 

De Beers Group chief executive Phillippe Mellier stated that just like the previous Diamond Trading Company sight, this next one will be of a smaller size. Mellier said that although the firm would not be harvesting fewer diamonds in the coming months, the gems that it extracts do not always conform to the particular types of stones that its sightholders express a desire for.

 

The June and July sights saw a lower volume of purchases, mainly due to the high ticket prices that sightholders balked at, and consequently, the August sight featured gems at reduced prices, according to Rough and Polished.