GemThoughts

Where is Everlon? Here we are in the fall season 2011 and it occurs to me that just two years ago De Beers introduced its Everlon program of knot designs. Now, not a word about it, or at least that I can detect.  It falls right into the pattern of other so-called beacon programs that De Beers has run over the last number of years.  In this case, as we saw, De Beers went much further, suing various companies for copyright infringement - suits they eventually had to drop, as the concept was old as the hills.  The industry, with Everlon just as with other programs in the past, simply came along for the ride, with De Beers and it's participating sight holders and retailers paying the fare.  Now, once again, De Beers has developed a program, Forevermark, with some enhancements intended to make the "coming along for the ride" a lot more difficult.  The underlying motivation remains the same, build added value for the channel, thereby maximizing De ...

A late summer respite does a lot for clearing one's mind. August was that for me and I have returned refreshed ...and confused. Earthquake, hurricane (returned during that) and a public malaise that runs deep and wide. Still, while public confidence has plummeted, many luxury marketers report strong sales increases. Is there hope? I would cautiously venture a yes.  Of course, it depends on where one sits.  We think of the jewelry world as having somewhat different rules than the rest of the fashion and gift world, but it isn't so.  I recently attended the monster gift show at the Javits Center and saw the same range of winners and sufferers that we see at jewelry shows.  I was concentrating on visiting jewelry companies, but took some time to see what other vendors were doing.  As in jewelry, the busy booths had products that were immediately of interest, tended towards much better quality, and were well-packaged and presented.  As would...

OK!  Tomorrow is Friday and I am ready to have two days off from insanity.  The stock market fully reflects public sentiment, namely confusion, anxiety, fear, amazement, and disgust.  It has been a roller coaster of feelings and money, possibly good for day traders and computer-driven automated transactions, but not for us mere mortals.  Trillions blown and trillions recovered, while most of us stand about with our mouths open in amazement.  We read reports in the media that the rich (maybe the super-rich) continue to spend lavishly, and some retail sales reports show strong trends.  (Macy's reports that jewelry was one of their strong categories.)  On the flip side, some vendors of high end goods say business is awful.  Mass market retailing in July was weak.  We will see what the reports say.  We see the stunning rise in diamond prices weakening in some categories.  And gold has become an emotional commodity, as even sovereign...

The diamond industry is grappling with an issue that has been looming over everyone's heads for some years.  Moti Ganz, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, just released a statement in which he claims that the rising number of tenders of rough endangers the business.  He says that without some base of established sights, where manufacturers can rely on supply, companies will have increasing difficulty sustaining factory operations, never mind invest in new factories.  He does concede that some companies failed when they lost their sights in the past number of years, but he feels that the problems inherent in tenders are worse. Perhaps.  But there are some hard facts--and reasonable speculations--that counter his position.  The producers see the realities of the working market.  Boxes are flipped immediately for profits.  Other goods pass through many hands at times before being converted.  And major ...

I was really impressed with the Van Cleef and Arpels exhibit that was staged at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York.  The Arpels touch was extraordinary.  The perfection of metal work and quality of color serves to remind us of what true jewelry talents can do.  The colored stones were extraordinary, and a knowledgeable dealer who was present said that these qualities can no longer be found.  As if the industry does not have enough stress. I found it interesting to find myself unimpressed with many pieces from a design point of view.  Our taste has really moved far since the 1920's and 1930's.  Some pieces were truly classic and timeless, but others were clearly done to suit specific customers.  There were actual ledgers displayed, showing for whom pieces were designed, the components, and the costs.  All of it was written out in careful script.  A wonderful look into the past, in days before any automation.  Great show. By contras...

A couple of years ago I proposed that everything De Beers was doing pointed to the end of the sight process.  First off, they offered "additional" goods to sightholders, then proposed to sell off excess goods to non-sightholders. They quickly backed off from that when, undoubtedly,  sightholders saw their price and marketing edge dented and squawked loudly.  Also, everyone knew by then that production was going to decline and fall behind demand.  BHP was already demonstrating that auctions were producing solidly better prices - though the quantities were not that great.  Moreover, De Beers was being put into a tighter and tighter box by the producing countries, notably Botswana, South Africa and Namibia.  Russia was already fated not to be a supplier to De Beers.  People in the trade pooh-poohed the idea, saying that De Beers would always want to distribute through a small number of clients; would not give up the power of dictating the content in the...

The array of shows in Las Vegas are over, and we are all recovering.  The shows were busy--very busy--and many vendors had excellent results, the best since before the downturn.  Nevertheless, the mood was a mix of relief, excitement and more than a touch of worry.  Why worry?  Well, we are all still staring at a stumbling economy, one that has shown signs of stalling, which scares everyone.  A major supplier has seen a double-digit increase in sales, and it appears to them that consumers are buying again, even if it is cautiously.  But they are still not sanguine about the months to come.  Part of the energy we saw might be due to retailers needing goods after working down their inventory levels.  Part may be because they have made good money buying gold and stone jewelry off the street.  One vendor said that every retailer they met with reported that buying from the public has been a big boon. Another open question is whether the public w...