A recent survey at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show says that the industry is expecting 10% growth this year – on top of sales growth of 6%-7% worldwide in 2004 – as reported by De Beers, who control 65% of global production. Demand may be growing, but supply is increasingly tight. De Beers is operating on “a working inventory of just three months’ supply”, says Andrew Cave in The Daily Telegraph.
China, of course, is the new factor. “Ten years ago, almost no brides in China received engagement rings,” Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers, told Cave. Today, in major cities, more than 80% of soon-to-be brides now sport a ring. China is now the third-largest consumer of diamonds in the world, at 10%-11%, after the US and Japan (which has a 12% share), and India is only just behind China.
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