There is irrefutable evidence that in the recent crisis, thousands or even millions of carats of polished goods held by consumers in the last few years have been recycled.
Recycling might be a term that confuses people whenever talking about jewelry such as precious stones and gold. How are you supposed to recycle a diamond, if they are able to last almost forever?
When a diamond is recycled, it means that it has been sold back to the trade. The amounts of diamond recycling that has been done as of lately has been staggering; it warrants our serious attention, as the way we see supply and demand in this industry might be forever impacted.
There hasn’t been any systematic research done on this subject yet, however, it may be worthwhile to familiarise ourselves with the gold market trends in order to draw solid conclusions that may help us avoid groping in the dark.
Businesses all over the world have been taking a keen interest buying “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of diamond jewelry from consumers willing to sell their items (sometimes along gold jewelry to make a quicker profit). The biggest source was women, especially in the UK and US.
What type of diamonds can be recycled?
Companies that are into diamond recycling will value every diamond and buy even stones of low quality. It doesn’t matter if they are shiny, chipped, or dull, they will purchase everything providing they have an expert sorting and grading facility. Even low grade stones can easily be re-cut and re-packaged for future use.
Who buys diamonds to recycle?
One of the biggest diamond recycling companies around is White Pine Diamonds, a global company which opened for business in Birmingham’s Jewelry Quarter in early 2012. So far, is has processed approximately 25,000 carats of recycled diamonds in the UK so far and sees solid prospects for growth in the following years.
This curiously successful company was established in New York in 2010. In record time it has grown rapidly to become one of the biggest recycled diamond companies in the world with a global trading value last year of nearly 50 million dollars. Diamond purchases for the company in the UK have exceeded 5 million dollars since it started with its recycling program, two years ago.
White Pine’s modus operandi is simple: they send someone of their expert team of certified gemologist to visit their clients and review the stones; if this cannot be arranged clients can ship the gems to their offices, where grading and sorting will take place. If the customers are happy with what they are being offered, White Pine will then send them the accorded amount.
Without little doubt, the diamond recycling trend won’t be fading away in the near future. Companies such as White Pine and their strong efforts to buy diamonds from consumers have made every major player in the industry take notice. Don’t get surprised if you start seeing other major jewelry company launching their own recycling platforms. It will be interesting to see how the market will shift and evolve in the following years.
