IDEX just reported on the 2017 Diamond Pipeline in the latest number of their online magazine. The 2017 update of IDEX’s conceptual map is an insert of a wider analysis of the current state of the diamond industry. It’s always worthwhile to read informed analysis; don’t miss it at http://www.idexonline.com/Magazine.html.

IDEX’s Magazine view is somber, considering 2017 as the calm before the storm. “The industry is heading into a period where the next few years will see some of the fundamental operating principles of the industry undergo changes“. The main industry drivers, in their opinion are the

• industry financing,
• tightening diamond supplies (apparently good news for me, as my company is active in the exploration and evaluation of diamond deposits especially in Angola),
• lab-grown diamonds (synthetics) – our favorite villain since I remember,
• compliance and the
• data tsunami (with the potential to reshape the industry) – see our post of a few weeks ago on gold, gold, gold, crypto coins, blockchain and diamonds.

I am an optimist: changes are just a fact of life. There will be those that won’t adapt, others will. To be one of the laters, keep checking your markets’ pulse, keep changing.