Much as the sale of sub-prime mortgage originator Golden West Financial by Herb and Marion Sandler marked the precise moment that the smart money left the game, so the sale of the Oppenheimer family's remaining stake in DeBeers was the tell to get out of the natural diamond mining and marketing businesses.
From the South China Morning Post, July 15:
Lab-grown diamond maker Power Diamond sees profits triple as De Beers warns of ‘protracted’ challenges in natural stone market
A Chinese lab-grown diamond producer saw its profits triple over the first half of the year, as consumers around the world increasingly abandon natural diamonds in favour of cheaper artificial stones.
The pivot had led De Beers to suspend production at South Africa’s largest diamond mine, Venetia, for two years as part of a cost-cutting drive, with the company warning that it was confronting “protracted challenging conditions as the diamond industry evolves”.
The rise of man-made gems has battered demand for natural stones in recent years. The global lab-grown diamond market is worth about 127.2 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion), and the greatest demand comes from the United States, according to a report released at an industry forum in central China’s Henan province in December.
China dominates the growing market, with the country expected to account for nearly two-thirds of global output of lab-grown diamonds by 2030, according to the report. Most of China’s production takes place in Henan, state media reported last year.
Power Diamond, a major producer in Henan, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pivot to lab-grown stones. The company projects its net profits attributable to shareholders to reach between 80 million yuan and 93 million yuan in the first half of 2026, nearly triple the level recorded during the same period last year, it said in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on July 10....
....MUCH MORE
November 7, 2011 - End of the Oppenheimer Era at DeBeers: Nicky Oppenheimer on What the Family Will Do With the $5.1 Billion
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May 7, 2006 The Day the (mortgage) Music Died
This is a repost from 2007 of one of the most spectacularly correct market calls I've ever seen
