In a statement released this Tuesday, the Rapaport Group revealed that RAPI for 1-carat diamonds had increased by 0.3% in December 2017, while that of 0.50-carat and 0.30-carat stones rose by 0.6% and 1.2%,  respectively. RAPI for 3-carat diamonds, however, decreased by 1.7% over the same period.Taking these latest figures into account, the 1-carat RAPI fell by 0.8% in the fourth quarter and by 5.3% over the full year 2017.

This improved market sentiment in the diamond industry in December can be attributed in large part to better-than-expected holiday sales in the US and strong demand in China in the run up to Chinese New Year on February 16. In the US, jewellers and diamantaires, faced with a rapidly changing market, were most successful over the holiday season when they made …