De Beers says the global diamond market is beginning to show early signs of recovery after a prolonged downturn, with improving demand in key markets, tighter industry supply and renewed investment in natural diamond marketing offering cautious optimism for the sector.
While executives stressed that the recovery remains fragile, they said stabilising retail demand, firmer polished diamond prices and disciplined production are beginning to lay the foundation for a market turnaround after several years of weak trading, falling prices and mounting competition from laboratory-grown diamonds.
“We do feel a little bit more positive,” said Paul Rowley during the company’s interim results presentation.
“There are some signals that are showing early signs. We’re starting to see those early signs of recovery. We remain cautiously optimistic.”
The cautiously upbeat outlook comes despite another difficult set of financial results.
Revenue for the first six months of 2026 declined 19 percent to US$1.58 billion, from US$1.95 billion a year earlier, while the average realised diamond price fell 32 percent to US$105 per carat.
The company nevertheless reduced its underlying EBITDA loss to US$113 million, compared with US$189 million during the corresponding period last year.
The disconnect between improving market sentiment and weak financial results reflects management’s view that industry conditions are beginning to improve before that recovery is fully reflected in earnings.
Rowley said retail demand for natural diamond jewelleryhas returned to growth among independent jewellers in the United States, while demand in India remains resilient. China, however, continues to weigh on the market.
He added that polished diamond prices have started to stabilise, particularly for larger, higher-quality stones above two carats.
A key element of De Beers’ strategy has been tighter supply management.
The company has reduced production at selected operations and temporarily paused mining activities to better align supply with demand.
“We’ve taken some serious decisions around supply discipline,” Rowley said.
“Mining to demand and supplying to demand is really important.”
Chief Financial Officer Niranjan Mylvaganam said capital expenditure was cut to US$115 million from US$172 million in the first half, while unit operating costs declined from US$87 per carat to US$64 per carat through cost controls and operational efficiencies.
Although production increased 46 percent to almost 15 million carats, Mylvaganam said the rise reflected the completion of maintenance work at Orapa and increased output from Canadian operations rather than a shift away from the company’s disciplined supply strategy.
Production is expected to slow during the second half of the year as De Beers aligns output with its full-year guidance of 21 million to 26 million carats.
Beyond managing supply, De Beers is also investing heavily in rebuilding consumer demand for natural diamonds.
Rowley said the company is undertaking its largest category marketing campaign in more than a decade, expanding initiatives such as the Desert Diamonds campaign, promoting traceability through the Tracr platform and working with retailers to reinforce the distinction between natural and laboratory-grown diamonds.
He said the sharp decline in laboratory-grown diamond prices is increasingly positioning synthetic stones as fashion jewellery while reinforcing natural diamonds’ status as premium luxury products.
“We’re really starting to see that differentiation between the two products,” he said.
Rowley also welcomed confirmation that natural diamonds from Botswana and Namibia will continue to enjoy tariff-free access to the United States, describing the move as positive for beneficiation in both countries.
He noted, however, that India remains equally critical because it cuts and polishes most of the world’s natural diamonds, adding that De Beers continues to support zero-tariff access across the entire diamond value chain.
Despite the improving outlook, executives cautioned that significant risks remain, including geopolitical uncertainty, conflict in the Middle East, weak Chinese demand and continued pressure in lower-value diamond categories.
“This is not a short-term business,” Rowley said. “It takes long-term investments.”
For now, De Beers believes tighter supply, stronger marketing and improving consumer demand are beginning to stabilise the market, even if a sustained recovery is likely to take time.
