Jewellery World Magazine - May 2021

The pandemic saw the enforcement
of travel restrictions and
lockdowns throughout the world.
What sort of changes occurred
within the traditional diamond
supply chain as a result of this
extraordinary event?
The travel restrictions and lockdowns at the
various mining, lab grown production centres,
and the cutting centres had a direct impact
on the entire supply chain. As we are aware,
the second and third quarter of 2020 saw little
to no diamond cutting or polishing coming
out of India which happens to be where over
90% of the world’s supply comes from. This
was further amplified by the moratorium that
the Indian manufacturers put on Earth-mined
diamond rough imports.
The positive impact that came out of the
pandemic, after the destruction in all the
supply chains, has been a clean-up of the
existing inventory that was accessible at
the national distribution centres of various
countries as well as how the local retailers sold
what they had in stock and only reordered
what they needed from all the inventory that
was accessible. It also led to a positive cash
flow for the retailers and the distributors by
lowering their inventory. While the world sees
the pandemic in a negative way, the diamond
industry capitalized on its cash flow situation.
The cash flow of the diamond industry got
positive at the retailer and distributor levels
and will have a very positive impact in 2021 as
distributors and retailers start restocking for
the return of the consumer to their stores and
online websites.
How did Covid-19 change
consumer behaviour in the way
purchases of diamond jewellery
were made?
Diamond jewellery was one of the most
desirable gifts during the Covid-19 period.
Consumers were locked behind doors
anywhere from one to six months with
their loved ones. This allowed and forced
them to connect with their loved ones and
spend time understanding the value of
relationships. The world had come to a stop
and the only ones they had around were
the ones they loved. This directly impacted
various categories of consumer products that
have always represented love and emotion.
Jewellery specifically has always been a
symbol of love and emotion and been gifted
or self-purchased for special moments in life.
Jewellery sales from the third quarter of 2020
peaked for retailers as consumers bought
online and at curb side for their loved ones
far and near. This helped the retail jewellery
industry to meet their numbers for 2020 that
they had originally planned for in spite of the
pandemic.
What impact did the lockdowns
and cross-border restrictions have
on wholesale diamond sales and
diamond jewellery sales though
brick-and-mortar jewellery
outlets?
The positive impact for loose diamond sales
and jewellery to the wholesale distributors
in various countries was that the jewellery
outlets that they serviced purchased what
was accessible and in-stock. The value of
the stock during this period went up and the
discounting on product went down.
The brick-and-mortar stores that had a web
presence did far better than the ones that did
not. In the last decade, the jewellery industry
ALTR Created Diamonds is the world’s leading lab-grown diamond company. It is a
division of the R.A. Riam Group, a wholesaler jeweller based in New York City with
85 years’ experience in the diamond and fine jewellery industry. ALTR replicates
the conditions where diamonds form in nature, and produces certified Type IIA lab
grown diamonds that are identical to mined diamonds in chemical, optical and
physical composition.ALTR Created Diamonds was launched at the JCK Las Vegas
trade show in 2016. For more information, visit www.altr.nyc.
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