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Here are some of this year’s biggest diamond stories: – De Beers is bringing back “A Diamond Is Forever.” – It’s also reviving its “Seize the Day” ads as part of a (quasi-)generic campaign.
Just imagine if she were to have a bat mitzvah. Hong Kong billionaire and fugitive from justice Joseph Lau reportedly purchased the two top record-setting lots at this week’s Geneva auctions.
The hype surrounding Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions in Geneva this week created a buzz in the diamond trade that is otherwise starved for excitement.
This morning, Diamond Foundry premiered, a new California-based lab-grown diamond producer that is backed by Leonardo DiCaprio as well as “10 billionaires,” including the founder of Twitter. DiCaprio, who starred in Blood Diamond, tweeted about the company today.
Geneva – Richemont reported strong sales growth among its jewelry brands in the first half of the year, noting that jewelry now accounts for one-third of its total sales.
De Beers recorded one of its smallest ever contract sales in November as last week’s sight closed with an estimated value of $70 million. The rough diamond supplier kept prices stable and enabled extra flexibility due to the slump in sightholder demand.
Third quarter prices for blue diamonds were up 2 percent, with fancy vivid blue prices up 6 percent.
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.
Expects manufacturing recovery in 2H 2016. Rough diamond prices need to come down by 15 percent but the market needs to stabilize first, Maxim Shkadov, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) told Rapaport News.