De Beers expands Diamdel auctions to DTC sightholders

Staff Writer | Wednesday August 25, 2010 00:00

In a statement released on Monday, De Beers said DTC sightholders - who comprise its exclusive list of rough diamond buyers - would become part of the Diamdel auctions from October.  DTC sightholders collectively handle approximately 75 percent of the world's diamonds and are mainly based in the diamond traditional cutting centres.

Diamond Trading Company Botswana has 16 such sightholders who participate in 10 sights or sales weeks spread throughout the year.  DTC's other centres in London, South Africa, Namibia and its offices for Canadian sightholders and industrial buyers also hold 10 sights per year.

Established in 1964, Diamdel has evolved into a leading diamond auctioneer with extensive reach into the world's premier diamond centres.  The company aims to maximise access to diamonds at market prices.

De Beers said DTC sightholders' participation in Diamdel auctions from October would not impact their allocations of supplies from DTC.

The sightholders receive allocations under an Intention to Offer (ITO) system and have exclusive access to several sights per year at which DTC sells diamonds according to the ITO allocation.

In addition, De Beers said participation in Diamdel auctions would be extended to further qualifying diamantaires from April 2011.

As part of a wave of changes in its distribution, De Beers also announced that Diamdel clients 'who demonstrate consistently strong demand for certain categories of rough at auctions' would be allowed to throw their hat into the race for the 2012-2015 sightholder applications.

'They (Diamdel clients) will have the opportunity to compete for an ITO for those goods during the course of the 2012-2015 Supplier of Choice (SoC) contract period by being invited to submit a mid-contract CPQ.'

The diamond giant also announced changes to the DTC distribution system, which include streamlining and simplifying the sightholder application process by, among others, introducing a single Contract Proposal Questionnaire per applicant to cover multiple categories of diamonds.

'These pilot plans constitute part of the continued evolution of De Beers' rough diamond distribution model and are subject to ongoing assessment by De Beers and stakeholder feedback,' De Beers said.

They added that further details would be communicated later in the year.