10 Years Ago Time Machine: <strong>December</strong> 2010 A snapshot of the industry events making headlines this time 10 years ago in <strong>Jeweller</strong>. Historic Headlines 4 IIJS gears up for Mumbai debut 4 Personalisation trend hits bridal jewellery 4 Tiffany loses six-year battle against eBay 4 Australia buoys Asia-Pacific market 4 New consumer laws to aid jewellers Lab-grown diamonds to take off? A diamond manufacturer has revealed that it has been mass-producing colourless, synthetic diamonds and is gearing up to sell them online. Gemesis, which specialises in lab-grown diamonds, has until now focused mostly on fancycoloured stones. Colourless diamonds are more expensive to cultivate than fancy-coloured stones, but Gemesis is now using the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method to produce thousands of carats a month from its manufacturing base in Southeast Asia. Chief executive and president Stephen Lux to US trade magazine JCK that the “created” gems are mostly more than 0.5 carat, H colour, and VS clarity. “This is a momentous thing,” Lux said. “We can provide to the consumer a colourless diamond that is identical in every way to a mined stone, except for its origin.” Diamond Exchange closes owing $2.5 million In what can be described as a tragedy for online diamond buyers, internet retailer Diamond Exchange has closed its doors. Diamond Exchange’s future was dealt a final blow when the Victorian Supreme Court ended its administration process and sent it into liquidation on 12 November after joint administrators Con Kokkinos and Matthew Jess of Worrells were unable to prove that the case could be resolved in a beneficial manner to creditors. Its debts total $2.5 million, of which $1 million is owed to customers. <strong>December</strong> 2010 ON THE COVER State of the Industry Report Editors’ Desk 4Market Intelligence: “The Yellow Pages is useless. Have you used it recently? I’m not just talking about the printed Yellow Pages either. I stopped using Yellowpages.com.au some time ago for many reasons, the main one being its lack of reliability. These days we think about directories differently, especially since the advent of internet search. Print directories are, and have always been, databases of information. The way that information is delivered – whether print, online or through your mobile – is less important than the quality of the information itself. The online version of the Yellow Pages is simply a different delivery mechanism for the same database of information. What has never changed is the need for accurate information, and that’s where the Yellow Pages lets you down – it’s inaccurate. Keep in mind that the very business of Yellow Pages is to provide accurate and up-to-date information, and if its information is neither accurate nor current then it’s useless.” STILL RELEVANT 10 YEARS ON Back to the Future: Increasing commodification will undoubtedly make some areas of jewellery retail far more impersonal, but the general consensus is that jewellery will become more personal – particularly at the higher end of the marke – through increased [customer] participation in design. JWNZ losing money The latest financial statements lodged by JWNZ show that not only did the association make a loss of more than $40,000 last year, but membership income is dropping. <strong>Jeweller</strong>s and Watchmakers of New Zealand is classified financially as an “incorporated society” and as such is required to have its accounts independently audited. The 2009/10 financial statements show JWNZ’s trade fair lost $14,000 last year. The September fair had income of $79,083 but expenses of $93,578. Revenue from “commission” also declined, while costs – including travel and meetings, administrative, and magazine – increased. Ole Lynggaard eyes Australian flagship store High-end European jewellery brand Ole Lynggaard aims to further build its presence in Australia by opening a flagship store in the country. The move is part of a worldwide strategy to expand in international markets. Australia is the Danish brand’s second-strongest export market after Germany, depsite having only launched its jewellery here in 2009. Due to its desire for exclusivity, Ole Lynggaard’s imminent Australian store will support its existing retail base, rather than expanding it. The store will follow the mould of the premium Ole Lynggaard flagship in Copenhagen. READ ALL HEADLINES IN FULL ON JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM 24 | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
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