The R&M “Lettre”

Milan, Italy – The global luxury industry has surpassed $1 trillion in retail sales value this year, with the category that includes jewelry and watches seeing slight but positive real growth.

Even today, with all the hype about e-commerce, most jewelry is still purchased in brick-and-mortar stores. In a 2014 Deloitte survey, 52 percent of consumer said they preferred to purchase jewelry at stores, 8 percent said online, but 40 percent were undecided.

Last week, I attended an event held by De Beers/Forevermark here in New York City called (and hash-tagged, naturally) #TheOne, which references the diamond brand’s new holiday commercial (It’s a Long Journey to Become the One) and, with it, the return of “A Diamond is Forever.”

New York – Ahead of its annual fashion show, Victoria’s Secret has unveiled its annual “Fantasy Bra,” again created in collaboration with jeweler Mouawad.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is anticipated to be the busiest shopping day in 2015 both in terms of shopper numbers and total sales, according to analytics company ShopperTrak.

Everyone agrees: The diamond market, and the way diamonds are sold, is a mess. The system has broken down. While producers continue to post strong profits, manufacturers’ margins have been whittled down to nothing, and the middle market’s woes have brought the industry to a crisis point.

This week, the Diamond Producers Association, the group formed earlier this year by the world’s major miners, announced that it has tapped longtime jewelry industry marketer Sally Morrison as its new managing director of marketing, bringing her back to where she started in this industry.

Alrosa Vice President Andrey Polyakov has been tapped as the next vice president of the World Diamond Council, the organization announced following its annual general meeting last week in Russia.

De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) is to begin offering its melee testing service in Surat, India and Antwerp, Belgium.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported an 18 percent increase in revenue to $28.8 billion (€25.3 billion) for the first nine months of 2015, with its watches and jewelry business jumping 22 percent.

Gold, platinum, and silver prices have all done an about-face in the last month, just as many forecasters had given up on precious metals.  

Tiffany and Cartier are the most recognized jewelry brands among wealthy consumers, according to a new survey by the American Affluence Research Center.