Not all raw materials have sunk with the pandemic. Diamonds are an example of this: last year was much better than expected.
The Anglo-Saxon world calls it "revenge shopping" or "revenge spending", that is to say, a consumption frenzy by way of revenge. Deprived of tourist trips, sometimes survivors of Covid-19, some people have indulged themselves by buying diamonds. So much so that the gemstone is an exception in a luxury market that has been severely affected by the crisis linked to the pandemic.
As a result, the year 2020 was much better than expected. And the trend seems to be confirmed: since January as many diamonds have been sold as in 2018 in the same period, 2018 being the last reference year for diamond sales.
At the height of the pandemic, rough diamond processing times had lengthened, but India, where nine-tenths of the stones are polished, has now returned to its 2018 rate of activity, which is also allowing that rebound in the markets.
