Our approach to the tender process begins once we receive goods from our producers. We start by putting them through our in-house Boling and Cleaning Process, which helps achieve up to 5% higher prices. We then value each stone and put them through a very precise sorting process – where size, clarity and shape of the goods are taken into account. Special and fancy stones are sorted as singles stones.

The stones are then added to our system where reserve pricing is issued. Once a mutual agreement on these reserve prices are set, the goods are insured by Flawless and are allocated to specific boxes based on sizing ranging small to big. Each box and parcel is then issued a unique barcode.

At this stage, once the tender process kicks off, all access to bid information and pricing is encrypted and protected by our secure online sealed bid tender management system. Goods are then released for viewing and buyers are able to safely and securely lodge their bids on line and submit them once ready.

All bid information remains sealed and encrypted until after the tender closes. Ensuring that neither our staff, producers or buyers have visibility on the bid pricing. Each bid has a printed copy signed by each buyer and the Flawless Diamond Trading House.

When the tender closes, bid results are released and discussions are held with the relevant sellers. Once the reserve prices are reached, goods are sold to the highest bidder. Where a reserve price is not met, the seller is given the option to either sell to the highest bidder or to withdraw the goods.

Our sealed bid tender runs from Tuesday to Tuesday on the third week of each month. Our overall sales process is completed within two hours on the last Tuesday day of the tender. All our tenders are overseen by a representative/s from the South African Diamond Regulator and all Producers are welcome to be part of the process to ensure maximum transparency