GemThoughts

Late last year there were two events in New York about the diamond business.  I'd call them bookends to the business, in that they address two real concerns - the image of diamonds, and the growing presence of man-made diamonds (MMDs). The first was the presentation by DPA (Diamond Producers Association) on the new advertising and promotional program for natural diamonds, "Rare is Real."  This was, finally, an attempt by the leading mining companies to rebuild the natural diamond image in the minds of consumers.  Two ads were shown (you have probably seen them by now) and I liked them both, if that means anything, while other people were very dubious.  Both were appeals to the millennials, with different approaches, though both skated around the classic themes of commitment and happiness.  As I think further about it, both reflect lifestyles that most Trump supporters, and even many Clinton supporters, probably disapprove of.  In introducing "...

A little dust up lately about the Kimberley Process.  A noted market observer called it BS, and others responded by saying it has value.  We have been hearing this give and take since the KP was instituted a couple of decades ago, so it comes as no surprise. Does it have a future, and does it serve a purpose?  Yes and no on both points.  Perhaps it is time to look at it again. The KP was developed with significant De Beers encouragement and participation when the "conflict/blood diamond" scare first came up.  There was good reason to be concerned, as the association of diamonds with the financing of brutal human abuses and chaotic warfare in Africa.  Conceptually, there was no argument about its objectives - stop or intercept conflict diamonds from reaching the markets.  The carefully built image of diamonds could be destroyed if the public took on this association. No intent here to be cynical, but the industry was looking to protect itself....

I'll say the obvious to start.  This has been a disorienting, and at times ugly, presidential campaign.  The outcome for almost everyone is a totally unexpected result.  We now face months of uncertainty as we watch to see what Mr. Trump actually formulates as policy.  He has a Congress that is fully Republican, so unknowable change is a certainty (is any change a certainty anymore?).  And uncertainty of that kind is destructive to business.  Or even to a sense of balance and normalcy in our daily lives. The election has taken some acknowledged problems in our country - notably the decline of the middle class, the deep-rooted disaffection with Washington, the widening income gap, and an angry working class that feels ignored and exploited - and made them the main direction of the country.  In the process, business interests here and abroad are now at a loss of how to measure anything, as both political parties have been left in a shambles.  Eno...

Diamonds have been around for a long time, but it has only been in recent decades that the public's feelings about diamonds have become greatly enhanced.  We have had, for example, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor to thank for raising our aspirations and encouraging women to become diamond lovers.  We have had De Beers and Tiffany and Winston and Graff and Hollywood to help us along to diamond heaven. But now, it seems, our angels have mostly disappeared.  Hollywood stars rarely buy diamonds - they mostly borrow them for the Oscars.  I could not name a modern Taylor.  De Beers gave up diamond promotions years ago, and now only spends money when tied to Forevermark.  (Would anyone even suggest that Forevermark is a respectable replacement for Taylor?)  Winston, now owned by Swatch, is not even a ghost of old Harry.  Graff focuses on the 1/2%, not even on the 1%, so that's not much help for us there.  Tiffany stands out among the global b...

I have not written in a while, so please forgive that.  I have been occupied with some real work, thankfully, and fitfully absorbed by a political process that is telling us there are some profound changes occurring in America.  We are seeing the tip of the iceberg, but it is that mass below the waterline that is causing the real damage. Rather than mention everyone's shoot-from-the-hip reactions to the race for the presidency, is there a way we can suss out what it means for the jewelry industry.  How is this insanity we are watching related to our business, or even more generally, to the economy as a whole. On the surface, the likely economic scenario is not that troubling.  Regardless of who wins the election, Washington will no doubt continue to be a battleground that will preclude Congress causing real harm.  Some people view a divided Washington as a benefit, even as the public is giving Congress historic low marks. But that is not the underlying ca...

On this day before Christmas 2015, I am cogitating over the seeming mountains of flyers that have arrived in the mail, the paper kind, in the last few weeks.  I do not recall it ever having been that intense, and I can only attribute it to a soft season that pushed so many retailers to offer big discounts so early in December, even in November.  I recall that years ago, no discounts showed up until January.  Long gone, those days. In all of it, jewelry was almost entirely missing.  Yes, I received flyers from Macy's that included jewelry, but they do that all year round.  Signet had plenty of ads on TV for Jared and Kay Jewelers.  And there were a few promos via e-mail.  After that, zip, at least as I can recall.  Worse yet, as I have noted before, the big fashion magazine issues were nearly devoid of jewelry.  The apparel ads were great, but almost none showed a model wearing jewelry. Oh yes, and Forevermark showed up in some magazines ...

Well, the summer break is over, and we are facing a Fall season that does not seem to have much momentum.  Last time, I wrote about retailers' issues, though there is much more one can say on that subject. Now, let's think about the consumers.  Where are they?  Who are they? And will they show up this season? There is plenty of evidence that the public we have grown so accustomed to in the Consumer Age has evolved, or is evolving, into a very different public, one that has reset some values and taken a hard look what it takes to earn a dollar, and just how to spend that dollar. Maybe the best way to begin to describe this transforming mindset of the public is to make a list of what we see. Keeping up with the Jones's is dead.  Acquisition for its own sake, and to show off what we own is no more, though personal satisfaction is still there.  So that means that what you own means less than what you've done and where you've been.  (I exclude the super-...