Gemfields’ Bruce Cleaver: ‘We’re like De Beers was 30 years ago’

Almost two years to the day that he stepped down as the boss of De Beers, Bruce Cleaver sees the timing of his exit as fortuitous. “Selfishly speaking, I was lucky,” he admits. The trophy diamonds business of Anglo American is on the verge of being carved out of the FTSE 100 mining giant after more than a decade until its control.

Furthermore, the value of the business has been written down by $4.5 billion over the last two years, as diamond prices have fallen dramatically in the face of a slowdown in luxury spending and the rising prominence of lab-grown alternatives. • Anglo American sinks to loss as it seeks to offload De Beers His departure as chief executive in 2023, which was followed by a brief stint as chairman up until last year, coincided with “the top of the market”, not that he claims any prescience.

.