(IDEX Online) - The bounce in US watch and jewelry sales shows no sign of slowing, with a fourth consecutive month of year-on-year increases and another record monthly rise.Sales in September 2020 were up 13.7 per cent on the same month last year, the highest rise in at least five years. The industry has made a remarkable recovery since sales halved in April - a plunge that overshadowed that...Read More
RAPAPORT... Jewelry sales in India beat expectations during the Diwali season amid a release of pent-up demand and strong consumer confidence about future gold prices.Revenues were on a par with last year, or better, as Indians returned to shopping following lockdowns, industry executives told Rapaport News this week. Lower spending on travel and weddings freed up cash for jewelry purchases,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook saw pre-tax profits up by almost half from April to September, despite a 16 per cent fall in revenue.The Chinese jewelry giant, with more than 4,000 points of sale, attributed its performance to a surge in the price of gold and improvements to its gross profit margins on sales of gold products.Business had steadily recovered from COVID-19 at its Mainland China outlets...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Dealers Club of New York has elected Elliot Krischer as its new president, replacing Reuven Kaufman, who served in the position since 2011. Krischer (pictured), who is the CEO of Esskay Gems, was previously the club's secretary.On November 20, the DDC chose its new executive, which includes Robert Moskovitz as vice president, Benny Simkhai in the role of treasurer, and...Read More
RAPAPORT... Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for mandatory sourcing rules for the jewelry industry and urged retailers to name their suppliers, claiming the sector is not doing enough to combat abuses."Many jewelry companies have made progress in sourcing their gold and diamonds responsibly, but consumers still don't have adequate assurances that their jewelry comes free of human-rights ab...Read More
RAPAPORT... Chow Tai Fook saw earnings grow in the first fiscal half amid surging gold prices and a recovery in the Chinese market.Profit jumped 45% year on year to HKD 2.29 billion ($296 million) for the six months ending September 30, even as sales fell, the Hong Kong-based jeweler said Tuesday. The retailer attributed the rise to the profitability of its mainland China operations, as well as th...Read More
RAPAPORT... Online US retail sales will surpass in-store purchases on Black Friday for the first time as shoppers look to avoid crowds, according to a survey from Deloitte.Some 74% of respondents intend to go fully digital over the Thursday-to-Monday Thanksgiving period, amid concerns over the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, the consulting firm noted Monday in its Pre-Thanksgiving Pulse Surve...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A research team based in Australia has successfully produced diamonds for the first time at room temperature.Lab-grown diamonds require high pressure and temperatures of 800C, but scientists say they have created diamonds in the lab with no heat, and in a matter of minutes. The manufacturing method mimics the violent impact of meteorites on Earth, which is known to have create...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Customs officers seized more than $20m of designer jewelry being smuggled through one of the busiest border points between Canada and the USA.It was undeclared and unmanifested, said US Customs and Border Protection officers based at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.The jewelry, valued at $20.7m, was destined for a New York auction house, where it was to be appraised and eventually sold...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co reported a 52 per cent increase in Q3 net earnings to $119m, proving it could weather the Covid storm, and that it could defy LVMH claims that it had been mismanaged during the pandemic.Sales in China soared by 70 per cent and e-commerce doubled to 12 per cent of total net sales.Total worldwide net sales returned to the billion dollar level, down just one per...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers has purchased five rough blue diamonds from Petra Diamonds for more than $40 million in partnership with one of its sightholders.The miner bought the Letlapa Tala collection together with South African wholesaler and manufacturer Diacore for $40.4 million, split equally between the two companies. The type IIb stones, which originated from Petra's Cullinan mine in South Africa,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Five blue diamonds weighing a total 85.6 carats has been sold to to a partnership between De Beers and Diacore for just over $40m.The Letlapa Tala Collection, from Petra's iconic Cullinan mine, in South Africa, were offered at a competitive tender.The miner said it was the first time five rough blue diamonds of significant size, colour and clarity had been offered for sale at...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. reported a sharp jump in profit in the third fiscal quarter as sales in China surged and consumer spending shifted to higher-margin items.Net earnings rose 52% to $119 million in the three months ending October 31, buoyed also by a lower tax rate, the US jeweler said Tuesday. Group sales fell 1% year on year to $1 billion, a gentler decline than analysts had expe...Read More
RAPAPORT... Switzerland's G? 1/4 belin Gem Lab has launched a scoring system for colored gemstones based on wine ratings, claiming that the industry lacked a common method of describing quality and uniqueness.The numerical scale takes into account three factors: quality, rarity and salience - referring to the stone's ability to "stand out from the crowd," G? 1/4 belin said last week. Stones w...Read More
RAPAPORT... The National Retail Federation (NRF) has forecast strong growth in US holiday sales, as consumers look for something to celebrate even as coronavirus cases rise.Retail sales in November and December are forecast to advance 3.6% to 5.2% year on year, for a total of between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion, the organization noted Monday. The average increase over the past five years was...Read More
RAPAPORT... De Beers will associate its corporate identity more closely with Forevermark, enabling the diamond-jewelry brand to benefit from group-wide efforts in the realm of sustainability and responsible sourcing."Aligning Forevermark more closely with the De Beers name will ensure Forevermark more directly maximizes the benefit of its association with De Beers, and that we have a single,...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Swiss company Synova says its automated diamond cutting technology can now handle fancy shapes as well as rounds.The DaVinci Diamond Factory was unveiled last September, promising to reduce production time from "from some weeks to only a few hours".The company, part-owned by De Beers, has now expanded the system (pictured) beyond round-brilliants to cut fancies as well."We've...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Three people have been arrested over the last November's $1bn raid on Germany's historic Green Vault museum - described as the world's biggest heist.Stolen treasures included the famous 18th century 49-carat Dresden white diamond bought by August the Strong, then Elector of Saxony, and valued at $12m, as well as a sword encrusted with nine large and 770 smaller diamo...Read More
RAPAPORT... It's been a tumultuous year, and the upcoming holiday forecast has not eased concerns. Although sales are still expected to increase over last year, the margin is slim, according to AlixPartners. The consulting firm estimates that revenues for October through December will be only 1% to 2.6% higher than they were in 2019. Even with online sales expected to grow by 25% to 30% year on ye...Read More
RAPAPORT... Swiss technology provider Synova has expanded its automated diamond-cutting system to include fancy shapes, it said Monday. The company, which is part-owned by De Beers, unveiled the DaVinci Diamond Factory last year at the Dubai Diamond Conference. Synova claims the machine will significantly speed up diamond manufacturing from weeks to hours, improve accuracy and symmetry, and r...Read More