The R&M “Lettre”

New York – It’s going to be an exciting year in jewelry design. Trends have been taking new and innovative turns, and now spread across the country faster than ever

Rapaport’s widely read Rapaport Weekly Market Comment is a carefully considered statement reflecting the Rapaport Group’s view on the market and important trends influencing the diamond trade during the previous week.

Tiffany & Co. topped a ranking of jewelry and watch brands’ digital performance carried out by business intelligence company L2.

Millennials are almost twice as likely as non-millennials to have bought diamond jewelry as a holiday gift, according to a survey carried out by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).

The world has been watching in anticipation as the newest installment of the Star Wars franchise has hit cinemas around the world. The power of the Star Wars brand has exploded in recent years to the point where the movies themselves have somehow become secondary to the growing maturity of the brand.

What a horrible year it was. Miners, traders and retailers will remember 2015 as the year of lost capital, walking on the cusp of bankruptcies, lost opportunities and diminishing value of diamonds. How did it happen, could it been avoided and what lessons can be drawn from it – short term and long?

Now that 2015 is coming to an end, mining companies are reportedly preparing to reduce rough diamond prices in January. Having held off from doing so in the fourth quarter of this year, the industry may be missing an opportunity to capitalize on an expected seasonal improvement in polished demand at the beginning of 2016.

Rough diamond producers will have to slash prices further as a 28 percent slump from a peak in 2014 may be insufficient to revive demand, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Ramat Gan, Israel – The Israel Diamond Exchange has elected Yoram Dvash as its new president. He succeeds incumbent President Shmuel Schnitzer, who served one two-year term.

Last year, I argued that the best term for lab-grown diamonds may be non-mined. That is scientifically accurate and also gets across the stones’ main selling point. Many diamond growers regularly label natural stones mined diamonds to take advantage of consumers’ negative opinions on mining.

Diamond advertising is undergoing big changes. Last August, De Beers announced “a major investment in a holiday marketing campaign to generate increased consumer demand for diamond jewellery during the year-end holiday season”. 

Insights. What can the diamond industry expect when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates for the first time in seven years? Or, more pointedly, will a rate hike put a dent in discretionary spending?