(IDEX Online) - De Beers is understood to be discounting rough stones at last, as the pandemic shows no sign of ending.Sight holders can expect to see price reductions of as much as 10 per cent on diamonds over a carat.Sales have ground to a virtual halt, down 95 per cent from ?, ?1.2bn in Q2 2019 to $56m for the same period this year.De Beers, the world's top producer by value, is hoping price reductions will encourage buyers at Sight 7, taking place this week in Botswana, to purchase more.The miner does not comment on sales information, but sources have told the Bloomberg financial news site that it is holding the price of smaller stones, but offering reductions of up to 10 per cent on stones over one carat.De Beers and it biggest rival Alrosa have, until now, maintained price-over-volume policies, even though some smaller miners have been offering discounts of up to 25 per cent.Cutters and polishers have largely been relying on existing inventory since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in February.