Transparent and liquid trading in diamond futures should be a reality within the next couple of years, two separate pioneering groups believe, creating a market worth up to $200 billion.
The groups, one of which will kick off its plans as early as September, unveiled their ideas in world diamond capital Antwerp this week to an interested, but somewhat nervous industry. Rapaport Group, whose prices already serve as a benchmark for the sector, will launch spot cash tenders from September 17 in what its chairman hopes will be precursor to the first ever diamonds futures trade.
"We're going to produce something like a commodities contract for diamonds... We will be pushing pricing transparency to a level it's never been to before," Martin Rapaport told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. His company will run weekly Internet auctions along the lines of those on eBay for individual polished diamonds of 1.01 to 1.19 carats and of higher end colour, clarity and cut.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.