Diamond breakup: Namibia told to dump De Beers
Economist Robin Sherbourne has suggested that Namibia should consider ending its partnership with De Beers to market its high-quality diamonds independently. He argues that the country's gem-quality diamonds are undervalued when aggregated with lower-quality stones from other regions.
Why it matters
Decoupling from global diamond conglomerates could significantly alter the economic landscape for diamond-producing nations facing competition from lab-grown alternatives.
Economist Robin Sherbourne has advised Namibia to consider buying out Namdeb and selling its high-quality natural diamonds independently of the De Beers system.
He said this while giving a talk on the state of the Namibian economy in Windhoek on Tuesday.
Namdeb (Namibia De Beers), the country’s largest diamond producer, is co-owned by the government and international conglomerate De Beers.
The company paid the government N$1.32 billion in royalties, corporate tax and export levies in 2025.
“The real question for Namibia is: Should we be aggregating our wonderful, top-class diamonds with the rest of the world’s diamonds? Do we bring their value up or do they bring our value down?” Sherbourne asked.
The price of natural diamonds have fallen dramatically in the past four years due to competition from laboratory-grown diamonds. The value of De Beers has fallen with them, with the company posting losses this year.
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