Tiffany Suspends Purchases of Russian Diamonds, Joining Brilliant Earth and Signet Jewelers

According to Bloomberg, Tiffany & Co. has announced that it stopped buying new diamonds mined from Russia,with the ban going into effect on all Russian diamonds that have been mined as of March 21.

Tiffany & Co., which is owned by LVMH, has also told suppliers to halt purchases of Russian rough cut gems on the company’s behalf, as well as separate the Russian gems from the others, according to Bloomberg. “Tiffany has paused the sourcing of all rough diamonds from Russia, as well as serialized diamonds of Russian origin regardless of where they are cut and polished,” a Tiffany spokesperson said in a statement to Barron’s.

The ban does not appear to impact Russian diamonds that are already in the store, as well as diamonds that have already begun the about three-month-long journey from Russia to Tiffany suppliers who cut, polish, and manufacture the gems. Further, the publication noted it could be difficult for Tiffany & Co. to identify the origin of smaller gems.

As Business Insider reports, US President Joe Biden banned the import of rough cut diamonds from Russia earlier this month. Russian diamonds make up about 30% of the world’s rough diamonds and the majority of the gems are mined by Alrosa — a Russian state-backed company, according to the US Treasury.

Business Insider’s Hannah Towey previously reported that the sanction would have little impact on jewelry retailers in the short term, though the ban could cause diamond shortages and price hikes further down the line. Bloomberg noted that jewelry retailers could easily bypass the sanction as it only impacts rough cut diamonds, which are typically shipped to other countries, most notably India, where the gems are cut and polished before they reach jewelers in the US. These Russian diamonds were not impacted by Biden’s decree.

The jeweler’s ban comes shortly after Signet Jewelers, the owner of Zales and Kay Jewelers, announced similar measures last week and banned all diamonds that had been mined as of February 24 — the date of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.

Tiffany and Signet’s announcements come as US jewelers anticipate a record number of sales this years. Last week, Signet CEO Gina Drosos told Bloomberg the number of weddings in the US will hit a 40-year high in 2022 due to pent-up demand during the pandemic.

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