Sell rough diamonds to institutional buyers.

The rough diamond market

Antwerp remains the world's dominant rough diamond trading hub — approximately 80% of the world's rough diamonds pass through the city at some point in the supply chain. The city's trading infrastructure, bonded warehousing, and established dealer community make it the default clearing market for African and Russian production. For sellers with KP-certified parcels, access to Antwerp buyers is the highest-value outcome.

Dubai's DMCC Diamond Exchange has grown rapidly as a secondary hub, particularly attractive to African producers seeking to transact outside the traditional Belgian network. Dubai offers competitive buyer pricing, lower friction for emerging-market exporters, and proximity to Indian manufacturing demand.

Mumbai and Surat together manufacture approximately 90% of the world's polished diamonds by volume — the largest cutting and polishing industry on earth. These buyers purchase rough specifically to manufacture polished, and they price rough as a function of expected polished yield. Selling to Indian manufacturers is particularly efficient for high-volume run-of-mine parcels where the buyer will sort and grade in-house.

Rough diamonds trade predominantly in parcels — sorted by size range and quality indication — rather than as individual stones. The exception is exceptional single gems above roughly 10 carats of gem quality, which are placed individually with specialist dealers or at auction.

What buyers want

Institutional buyers in Antwerp, Dubai, and Mumbai require documentation before any transaction can proceed. The minimum documentation package for a rough diamond parcel is: a valid Kimberley Process certificate issued by your originating country's KP authority, an independent valuation (DTC grading or equivalent), the total weight in carats, a size distribution breakdown, a colour quality indication, and the origin country.

The better your documentation, the closer to top-of-market pricing you receive. A parcel with a DTC valuation and a clear size distribution will consistently trade at a premium versus undocumented material — buyers price in documentation risk. If your parcel lacks a formal grading report, we can advise on accessing DTC or independent grading services before going to market.

Pricing rough diamonds

The Rapaport Price List is the standard reference for polished diamonds, and rough is typically priced as a percentage of the expected polished yield value — the conversion factor varies widely by quality and size distribution. Run-of-mine African parcels from lower-yield material typically trade in the USD 50–500 per carat range. Higher-quality sorted parcels with favourable size distribution and gem-quality stones present will command more. Exceptional single gem-quality stones above 5 carats can reach USD 1,000–10,000+ per carat depending on colour and clarity.

For sellers unfamiliar with the market, we can provide a market indication based on your parcel documentation before you commit to a sale process. WhatsApp us with your KP certificate reference, weight, and any existing valuation.