RAPAPORT… Japan’s polished diamond imports grew 28 percent year on year to $66.5 million in December, Momozawa reported citing Finance Ministry data. By volume, the imports fell 26 percent to 138,881 carats as the average price of the goods increased 74 percent to $478.49 per carat.
For the full year 2011, Japan’s imports rose 17 percent to $813.6 million while the volume of imports fell 17 pe…
RAPAPORT… Petra Diamonds revenues rose 13 percent year on year to $101.4 million in the first fiscal-half of 2012 as production grew and rough markets stabilized.
The market stabilized in December 2011 and, going into 2012, the company expects this trend to continue. The points were demonstrated by the high level of interest in Petra’s first tender of the year, as well as anecdotal eviden…
RAPAPORT…
CHUCK STEEL, OWNERSTEEL’S JEWELRYVALDOSTA, GEORGIA
“We’re definitely going to be restocking all of our loose diamond goods — we did a big business in diamond rings — and studs, which sold pretty well. We didn’t sell a lot of the smaller sizes, half carat and down; most everything was in the bigger sizes. Surprisingly, the alternative metals, stainless steel and that kind of thi…
RAPAPORT…
Marcus & Companygold and plique-á-jour enamel Morning Glory pendant/brooch, circa 1900.Photo courtesy Siegelson, New York.
Mention the name “Marcus & Company” — the New York City–based firm established in 1892 — to estate jewelry dealers and the response is overwhelmingly positive. “Marcus & Company is perhaps one of my most favorite of the Am…
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The Night of the Iguana Brooch, sold at Christie’s Elizabeth Taylor auction. Diamond-set beast was described as a dolphin by its designer, Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. It was given to Taylor by Richard Burton for the premiere of the film of the same name on August 11, 1964.
Photo courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2011.
It seems record-breaking prices hav…
RAPAPORT…
The holidays are over, and with the New Year comes a collective sigh of relief from jewelers who were worried that maybe late December 2011 sales would not materialize. But business did come, and now, even in an election year, many stores are starting to see a light at the end of the recession, as customers begin to open their wallets again.
Christmas Past
Des…
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Top to bottom: Dragon pendant from Carrera y Carrera, ring from the Triadra Argento Pink collection by Di Modolo, Victoria Blue Heart watch.
London-based diamond house and watchmaker Backes and Strauss, in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has introduced the Victoria Blue Heart watch to raise fu…
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Antwerp has made significant efforts in recent years to transform itself into a transparent, streamlined diamond industry commanding center stage in the global diamond network. But recent media headlines on legal issues and fraud allegations appear to be getting in the way of that effort to shed its old image and become a new entity.
Making Changes
One of the m…
RAPAPORT…
The year started off well, as some of the larger jewelry chains resumed their buying to replace diamond inventory sold during Christmas and in anticipation of the Chinese New Year, which started January 23. But a lull was expected to follow. That’s because the buying period for January was short, with the diamond market virtually shut down for about two weeks un…
RAPAPORT…
Few retailers are complaining about the final 2011 holiday sales totals. It’s true that retail growth was less than in 2010 but it also was better than many analysts had predicted. And, in the end, it was growth — and in the current economic climate, growth of any amount is good.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that holiday sales for the months o…
