The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis is causing concern in the diamond industry due to the high volume of "lower-quality, cheaper diamonds" sold here, De Beers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer said in a recent interview with Mining Weekly. But, demand for higher-quality stones continues in the United States, unaffected by the turbulence in the housing market. "America remains 50 percent of the diamond jewelry worldwide offtake and, in that 50 percent, America has a disproportionate element of the somewhat lower-quality, cheaper diamonds, so that's a real worry there," he told the South Africa-based publication.

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