State-owned diamond trader, Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) plans to put Okavango Blue up for sale this year, nearly five years after the discovery of the iconic diamond. The 20.46-carat blue diamond was unearthed at Debswana’s Orapa Mine in the third quarter of 2018. It drew comparisons with the world-famous Hope Diamond, although the local stone has a higher purity and clarity level. The Okavango Blue is expected to fetch millions of dollars when it finally goes on sale, becoming one of the biggest sales of individual local stones after the Lesedi La Rona which went for $53 million.

Since its discovery, ODC has showcased the Okavango Blue globally, but held back on initiating a sale, as the market for high-net wealth luxury buyers and collectors has fluctuated before and after the pandemic.

“Towards the end of last year, we had intended to put the Okavango Blue to market but when you look out and see how others were performing at the same time, there were one or two results that were not very attractive and we decided to hold back,” ODC managing director, Mmetla Masire told BusinessWeek.

“We believe this year, there should be an opportunity where we believe the market is going in the right trend, where we can then decide which method of selling the blue stone would yield the biggest returns.”

Global producers such as De Beers have taken a “cautiously optimistic” outlook for the year, noting that while the reopening of China from its COVID-19 shutdowns will boost demand, the economic slowdown expected in the United States, Europe and elsewhere could weigh heavily on sales. Diamond industry stakeholders are also keenly following the trajectory of the emerging banking and financial sector unease in the United States, where regulators intervened in the operations of two major banks within the space of days recently.

Masire said the market for unique stones such as Okavango Blue and that of the general rough diamond industry were distinct. “You should bear in mind that the types of stones like Okavango Blue do not follow the normal diamond market because they are unique and the timing is not necessarily linked to how the diamond business is going,” he said.

While the ODC has previously suggested that the local blue stone would be sold unpolished, uncut, and via auction, it is presently unclear in what form or format the company expects to gain the best value for the Okavango Blue.

“We are still exploring the options for the

Okavango Blue,” the managing director said.

The MD told BusinessWeek that in terms of the general market for rough diamonds, the second half of the year was expected to outperform the first.

The ODC is entitled to purchase 25% of Debswana’s production and last year sold just under six million carats for about $1.2 billion (P15.8 billion). The revenues were about 15% higher than those from 2021.

Masire said the outlook for the year was generally uncertain.

“There are a number of unknowns we have to deal with.

“China is expected to come back because of the lockdowns and if they do come as expected, we believe that can only improve the market. “However, if indeed there is a world recession, obviously that will affect us.

“Others don’t believe there will be a fullblown world recession and so we still anticipate the second half will be better than the first half. “The industry has bounced back very strongly post-COVID [pandemic] and we are happy as ODC that we have been able to show that we are structured in a manner that can withstand difficult times.

“We are hoping going forward, in the event of any further economic downsides, ODC will be able to ride the wave.”