Gaborone: De Beers is reportedly planning to further cut the number of sightholders. The UK-based has steadily reduced the number from an historic peak of 350 to a current total of just over 60, reports the idexonline.com.

That number is to be further reduced, as of January 2026, according to a letter sent by De Beers last month.

“Sightholder selection for the new supply agreement will be determined by an objective selection and allocation process, but with lower anticipated availability for the sightholder supply model, we anticipate the process to result in consolidation and fewer sightholders,” it says, as cited by industry commentator Avi Kravitz. De Beers declined to comment on the matter.

There are approximately 53 international Sightholders currently buying rough diamonds from De Beers’ Global Sightholder Sales (GSS), plus 40 sightholders in Botswana and 14 in Namibia, but many companies are sightholders in multiple location. The likely total is around 60.

The number of De Beers sightholders peaked at around 350 in the 1970s. It had halved by 2001 and was further reduced in subsequent changes to the client structure.