GemThoughts

____________________________________ Here is the list of issues we have been covering — we are up to number 5. The Gig Economy Millennials Climate Change Consolidation and/or Decline Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown Banking Image  Demographics Retail Evolution Industry Structure _______________________________________ Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown Not a day passes where we don't read news about the steady expansion of the production, distribution, marketing and retailing of man-made diamonds (I have called them MMDs for years, even though the popular term these days is lab-grown, or LGDs).  The issue is topmost in the minds of anyone in the diamond business. I have been cautioning diamond dealers about this disruptive technology for over twenty years.  (I have posted on this blog for years about the subject - see "The three tipping points of man-made diamonds"; and the post on De Beers announcing their jewelry venture using MMDs - Lightbox.) ...

Last time, we concentrated on the effects climate change might have on the jewelry business.  This time, we cover a long lasting trend, the continuing consolidation of the business.  It has effects that are particular to our industry. ____________________________________ Here is the list of issues we have been covering — we are up to number 4. The Gig Economy Millennials Climate Change Consolidation and/or Decline Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown Banking Image  Demographics Retail Evolution Industry Structure _______________________________________ Consolidation and/or Decline It’s not news to anyone that retail in the US has been consolidating and evolving for decades.  Think of what has happened in drug stores, books, software, electronics, and department stores.  In some cases it has been near total.  Macy’s, for example, has absorbed hundreds of operations — in some cases merging with or buying some firms that had in t...

Last time, we wrote about the Millennials, and how we might need to plan for the social environment they might be building.  Well, they and GenZ, the super-techies that follow hot on their heels, will be dealing full bore with that other environment, the Earth, that is about to throw another wrench into life as we know it. ___________________________________ Here is the list of issues we have been covering — we are up to number 3. The Gig Economy Millennials Climate Change Consolidation and/or Decline Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown Banking Image  Demographics Retail Evolution Industry Structure ____________________________________ Climate Change.   The subject is the undercurrent for everything we do today.  We do not know how to handle it personally, as it represents a huge looming threat to life as we know it, and that in itself leaves us feeling unmoored and anxious.  There is international agreement that the threats may be existential. ...

Last time, we wrote about the Gig economy, and now we move on to an important part of that movement, the Millennials, and, by extension GenZ.  It is most important to think about our youth carefully, not only out of concern for their future, but also because they now account for the biggest part of our economy.  And, in many ways, they will either accept or reject much of the extraordinarily complex world we are passing on to them.  I restate the list issues covered in the series of posts: The Gig Economy Millennials Climate Change Consolidation and/or Decline Natural Diamonds vs Lab-Grown Banking Image  Demographics Retail Evolution Industry Structure Millennials.   This generation is now fully into its prime working years, but does not have the sense of optimism felt by the Boomers and even GenX.  For those who are the children of the top 10%, there is some sense of entitlement, earned or not.  But for the rest, forget any se...

It is about a year since I last posted to this blog.  Have you noticed any changes in the jewelry market?  I have been preoccupied with planning a possible book about the state of the jewelry business in the US.  I have no publication date - possibly because it seems that everything is changing faster than I can handle!  In any case, if you are interested in knowing about such a book, please do just drop me a quick note and I will e-mail you if and when it arrives. We all know that our world is profoundly changing and at a pace that keeps us breathless.  As we move into new paradigms, people and companies that are in the vanguard are leaving most of us further and further behind.  We are in a moment now where a majority of the population lives in resistance and confusion, seeking to maintain the patterns and infrastructure built over the past century or more, even as we see that mode of life collapsing in front of us. We only need to imagine for a mome...

De Beers has announced the formation of a new company, Lightbox, that will be selling man-made diamonds (MMDs), mounted in earrings, pendants and bracelets - no rings. I will assume everyone has read the details, and heard their rationale for claiming that this move will have little or no impact in the natural diamond industry.  Briefly, they will be selling MMDs in finished jewelry with total weights up to one carat, mounted in silver or gold, and with simple pricing - $800 per carat.  There is no grading of the stones, which are white, yellow, blue or pink; the jewelry is meant for “moments” not “milestones” (like weddings). De Beers has arrived at this moment after a few decades of seeing their business transformed from a monopoly into a commercial venture facing all the pressures of a competitive market.   At the turn of the century, Rio Tinto, with their major mine at Argyle in Western Australia, went their own way, sensing that they would do much bett...