Anglo boss admits diamond industry misread lab
Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad admitted that the diamond industry failed to adequately anticipate the market disruption caused by lab-grown diamonds. As the company prepares to sell its stake in De Beers, it reported a significant drop in rough diamond prices and a cash loss for the unit.
Why it matters
The shift toward synthetic alternatives is forcing a major restructuring of the traditional luxury gemstone market.
ANGLO American CEO Duncan Wanblad acknowledged De Beers and the wider diamond industry underestimated the disruption caused by laboratory-grown gems, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday .
While some blame weak marketing for the shift towards cheaper synthetic diamonds, retailers have benefited from rising volumes and stronger margins on lab-grown stones, the newspaper said.
“Hindsight would probably show that we might have wanted to have been a little bit more aggressive on the signals we were getting,” Wanblad told the FT. Diamond markets typically rebound quickly from downturns and expectations had been set accordingly, he added.
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