May 21, 2020 – ALROSA offered an option to its long-term customers to buy rough diamonds through its digital platform amidst limited business travel due to COVID-2019 pandemic related restrictions. At the digital tender taking place between May 15 and 29, 2020, the company offers over 800 rough diamonds from 5-10 carats batches.

The offered volume is the largest ALROSA has ever put on a digital tender. The company provides detailed information on each diamond for remote evaluation. Clients logged to their personal online account get full digital scans of auctioned stones, including data on their external shape, inclusions, color, fluorescence, as well as photos.

For clients’ convenience, the company has significantly upgraded its trading system as well as online services. Every lot has a separate web page with all its characteristics. Given a large number of lots, clients have an opportunity to upload their bids for individual stones in a semi-automated mode.

“We continue to evaluate various measures to support our clients in these challenging times with travelling restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic still in place. Our offer gives customers interested in purchasing and ready to work remotely under current circumstances the opportunity to review and buy rough. After analyzing the clients’ needs, the company for the first time puts such vast amount of diamonds up for a digital tender. We consciously decided to sell stones separately, allowing clients to choose goods according to their needs and desired characteristics. Our proficiency in digital tenders allows us to offer clients a unique opportunity to make a commercial decision remotely instead of a traditional visit to the office, providing them with all information required,” said Evgeny Agureev, Deputy CEO of ALROSA.

Reference

Digital tender bases on technologies that provide customers with a full digital scan of each rough diamond for detailed analysis. ALROSA has been holding pilot digital tenders since October 2019 together with traditional sessions, with digital scans allowing customers to pre-select rough diamonds before coming to the office.

3D-scan data includes each rough diamond’s external shape, internal inclusions, color and fluorescence. Information provided in a standard Sarine Advisor planning format is ready for use by clients’ staff to evaluate possible polished output according to individual needs, preferences and price lists.