Banking on consumers’ strong affinity for natural diamonds amid the coronavirus crisis, Russian miner Alrosa said demand for diamonds could pick up by the third quarter of the year.

According to Evgeny Agureev, deputy CEO of Alrosa, the challenges faced by the industry now will eventually pass.

“The restrictions faced by the market and affecting operations and demand are of a temporary nature. We deal with a rare and limited natural resource, and consumers attach a high emotional value to natural diamonds,” noted Agureev. “Like many other market players, we expect to see an upward trend in demand for diamonds as early as the beginning of Q3.”

Alrosa’s sales meanwhile were down 95 per cent year on year in April as a result of restrictions imposed by governments worldwide to curtail the spread of the virus.

The miner said it “virtually stopped” selling rough and polished diamonds, resulting in a massive dip in sales to US$15.6 million in April from US$318.7 million during the same period in 2019.

Total sales reached US$919.8 million from January to April this year, with rough diamonds accounting for majority of the revenues at US$894.4 million. Polished diamond sales were US$25.4 million.

“Restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus and a decline in demand for diamond jewellery have minimised the trade in rough and polished diamonds across the world,” revealed Agureev. 

In response, Alrosa earlier allowed its clients to defer their rough purchases scheduled for April to a later date.