This year Alrosa announced the opening of the Eurasian Diamond Center in Vladivostok. Thanks to this, the company expects to double its rough and polished diamond sales to countries in the Asia-Pacific region by 2018, to $1 billion a year. Now almost half of the stones are sold through the diamond exchange in Antwerp. In the first half of the year, the company's sales to Belgium amounted to $1.4 billion on total revenue of $2.9 billion.

Moreover, Alrosa was counting on both corporate buyers and individuals - tourists. After all, a Free Port has been opened in Vladivostok - a zone with simplified customs and visa control. But it turned out that individuals can only export inexpensive stones from Russia - worth up to $25,000. Alrosa Vice President Rinat Gizatulin wrote about this on October 4 to Deputy Minister of Finance Alexei Moiseev (Vedomosti has seen a copy of the document).

Diamonds are not subject to export duty. But if they are more than $25,000, then the stones must be placed “under the customs export procedure.” It is done by specialized customs posts, but they do not work with individuals, writes Gizatulin. It turns out that such a stone cannot be removed, the top manager sums up. This is true, confirms Denis Frolov, partner of the BMS Law Firm.

First auction
At the beginning of September, Alrosa held its first diamond tender in Vladivostok. 28 diamonds were sold for $3.6 million. The heaviest stone (40.25 carats) was sold for $706,777, the most expensive (20.31 carats) for $1.3 million...
Read in full

First auction

At the beginning of September, Alrosa held its first diamond tender in Vladivostok. 28 diamonds were sold for $3.6 million. The heaviest stone (40.25 carats) was sold for $706,777, the most expensive (20.31 carats) for $1.3 million.

A representative of the Ministry of Finance did not comment on the letter. Gizatulin told Vedomosti that the company proposes to increase or completely eliminate the upper barrier to the cost of diamonds for export abroad.

A stone weighing 3-4 carats costs $25,000, depending on clarity and color, says BCS analyst Oleg Petropavlovsky. For example, on the website of the Smolensk “Crystal” it is offered to buy a round diamond weighing 2.25 carats (diameter – 8.35 mm) for 1.4 million rubles. ($22,700 at current rates). Cleaner stones are more expensive, according to The Diamond Registry website; for a 2-carat round diamond they can ask from $11,800 to $48,400.

Most often, individuals buy diamonds as part of jewelry, which do not fall under the regulations on the import and export of precious stones, notes Petropavlovsky. Private owners most often buy rimless diamonds for investment purposes. They are also sold at auctions at Christie's or Sotheby's, the expert notes. There is also a demand for expensive diamonds in Russia, says Gizatulin: representatives of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in early September actively participated in the tender in Vladivostok, which was held as part of the Eastern Economic Forum (see inset), recalls the Alrosa representative. The abolition of the upper qualification for the export of diamonds will expand the market, Gizatulin notes.

Alrosa makes money mainly from the sale of rough diamonds. In January-August 2016, revenue from this amounted to $3.1 billion, while Alrosa received $70.5 million from the sale of diamonds. Last year, the company received $120 million in revenue from the sale of cut stones and only 1% of this came from Russian market, says a source close to the company. The market for precious stones is not very transparent, Petropavlovsky said. It is unlikely that an increase in sales on the domestic market, even by several times, will help the company significantly increase revenue. But Alrosa will be able to better understand the diamond sales markets, the expert sums up.

First auction At the beginning of September, Alrosa held its first diamond tender in Vladivostok. 28 diamonds were sold for $3.6 million. The heaviest stone (40.25 carats) was sold for $706,777, the most expensive (20.31 carats) for $1.3 million... Read in full

First auction
At the beginning of September, Alrosa held its first diamond tender in Vladivostok. 28 diamonds were sold for $3.6 million. The heaviest stone (40.25 carats) was sold for $706,777, the most expensive (20.31 carats) for $1.3 million...
Read in full

Alrosa asks to simplify the export of diamonds abroad