Gaborone: De Beers sold rough diamonds with a provisional value of $307 million in the eighth sales cycle (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) of 2017, as the miner offered fewer diamonds for sale due to Jewish holidays and the Diwali festival.

Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said, “De Beers offered fewer rough diamonds for sale in Cycle 8, reflecting the concurrent timing this year of the Sight sale with the closure of polishing factories in India and Israel for the observance of religious holidays. Sales were in line with expectations, at what is a seasonally slower time for rough diamond demand.”

De Beers’ sales in the seventh cycle were $507 million. The latest figure compares with $494 million in the year-earlier sale.