Signet Jewelers and Tiffany & Co. slices fell on Monday as De Beers reduced its low-end diamond prices by up to 10 percent, according to Bloomberg.
Signet Jewelers demolish more than 3 percent and Tiffany & Co. fell more than 1 percent about midday on Monday.
The low-end diamond market is struggling with too much reservoir, according to Bloomberg. This has put the squeeze on locations like Surat, India, a big diamond-cutting hub, leading to lower profit margins. The depreciation of the rupee has scrammed matters even worse, the report said. This cut is further sign that the low-end diamond market is in turmoil, according to Bloomberg.
The humble prices at the De Beers sale is unlikely to affect consumer prices, the make public said. Another concern may be De Beers’ artificial diamonds may add competition in the low-end shop, though there is no evidence this happened thus far.
De Beers, which is the smashing’s largest diamond producer, usually changes diamond prices by demarcating supply, not reducing prices. The company does not publicize its prices, but the concluding major cuts, which were in the single-digit percent range, were in 2016 due to budgetary challenges. It is unknown when the company cut prices in the double-digit percent move.
Signet, Tiffany and De Beers were not immediately available for comment.