Stories of diamonds, from the mine to fine jewelry collections

Marianne Riou

Dear readers,

Our Lettre this week is illuminated by the glow of “beautiful” stories of diamonds and fine jewelry!

In particular, you will discover the collection of rings made from the latest Argyle diamonds or how a Canadian jeweler went viral on Tiktok by offering to value their customers’ jewelry and diamonds.

You will also set off to meet the inhabitants of a small village in the DRC, who, with the assistance of the local diamond mining cooperative, are hoping to improve their living conditions as well as those of nearby residents. This story gives us a greater understanding of the difficulties that local communities in diamond-mining countries may face in marketing their gemstones and benefiting from them. With a key question: how can we support them and contribute to the fair distribution of the profits coming from diamonds?

Edahn Golan also interprets the downward revaluation of jewelry sales for 2019, 2020 and 2021 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce. Having accurate figures and better assessing their breakdown will enable us to make better forecasts! It should be noted that, while the value of diamond sales has continued to increase in 2022 until now, a priori, their volume has decreased. Sales have thus been focused on larger gemstones, a buying trend to keep in mind for the future.

And then, what can we expect from lab-grown diamonds? What do retailers say about them when they talk to consumers? Why have they gone along with the tendentious message conveyed by the lab-grown industry, which pits its product against natural diamonds? Why can honesty and transparency benefit both our industries? The Rapaport article gives some answers to these questions.

Finally, with undisguised pleasure, we continue on our discovery of sumptuous fine jewelry collections and take you on a fantastic journey guided by the Maisons of Gucci, Vuitton and Boucheron.

Happy reading and enjoy your week.

Source Rubel & Ménasché