Mumbai: For the first time, small and medium diamantaires will get an opportunity to participate in the rough diamond tender auction to be conducted by Diamdel, an online auction subsidiary of De Beers group, reports The Times of India.

The auction will be held at the special notified zone (SNZ) in Mumbai. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and the Surat Diamond Association (SDA) negotiated with De Beers to register small and medium diamantaires wanting to participate in the tender auction of rough diamonds, free of cost. De Beers sells a little less than 10% of its roughs through its online subsidiary Diamdel. The remaining 90% goes via long-term contracts that are sightholdings. The buyers wanting to register with Diamdel around the world have to pay $750 as registration fee. Until now, the auctions were held in Dubai and Belgium.

While nearly 70% of the rough diamonds are imported from diamond mining companies including De Beers, Alrosa and Rio Tinto, the rest are imported from Antwerp and Dubai from diamond dealers and diamond auctions conducted by the mining companies. For the first time, Diamdel will auction rough diamonds from next month at the India Diamond Trading Centre (IDTC) SNZ set up at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai.