Jeweller - May 2022

VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY
MAY 2022
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MAY 2022
Contents
This Month
Industry Facets
11 Editorial
12 Upfront
14 News
38 Jewellers Showcase
24
37
52
54
10 YEARS AGO
Time Machine: May 2012
LEARN ABOUT GEMS
South Sea and Tahitian pearls
MY BENCH
Muhammad Taqi Shakoor
SOAPBOX
Lachlan Renshaw
40 INDUSTRY FEATURE
Ethical dilemma
4Consumers are increasingly interested in
products deemed responsibly sourced and
retailers are eager to meet those needs.
HUGH BROWN explores the complexities of
these measures and the impact it has on the
world's poorest people.
Features
29
40
PEARL FEATURE
Exploring the international pearl industry
INDUSTRY FEATURE
Responisible sourcing isn't black and white
Better Your Business
29 PEARL FEATURE
A new world
4The COVID pandemic has forced
change within many businesses and the
pearl industry is no exception. Jeweller
examines three key markets - Australia,
Japan and China - and how they've
rebounded into a new era.
46
48
49
50
51
BUSINESS STRATEGY
2021 was a year to learn from. BRYAN PEARSON looks back to predict what's ahead.
LOGGED ON
GRAHAM JONES explains the importance of routine maintenance in a digital landscape.
SELLING
TOM MARTIN simplifies the psychology behind strong sales.
MARKETING & PR
NANCY GEORGES highlights the hidden value of community shopping events.
MANAGEMENT
Use of data can make or break a business. MICHAEL HINSHAW breaks it down.
37 LEARN ABOUT GEMS
South Sea pearls
4South Sea and Tahitian
pearls are the most highly
sought after pearls of all.
Learn what it is that makes
these gems so very popular.
FRONT COVER Gerrim International proudly
brings timeless elegance with their exquisite
designs. Pride in ownership with Gerrim,
their precious gem collections are created
with passion, designed by women for women.
Sophistication everyday with Gerrim, a leading
Australian supplier for over 25 years.
To learn more visit: gerrim.com
May 2022 | 7

Diamond Set Studs
$1695
Earrings Gold Filigree
$1095 Teardrop
Earrings
$1095
$1595 34. 9ct Rose Gold
Filigree Coin Ring
$1595
ct Rose Gold
ee Coin Ring
5
Pride in Ownership
29. 9ct Rose Gold
Diamond Set Studs
$1695
35. 9ct Rose Gold
Signet Ring $1195
33. 9ct 35. Rose 9ct Rose Gold
Gold Filigree Signet Ring $1195
Teardrop
Earrings
$1095
34. 9ct Ro
Filigree Co
$1595
se Gold
rrings $795
30. 9ct Rose Gold
Diamond Round
Signet
30.
Ring
9ct
$1485
Rose Gold
Diamond Round
Signet Ring $1485
32. 9ct Belt
Ring $1275
32. 9ct Belt
Ring $1275
36. 9ct Rose Gold
Huggie Earrings $795
36. 9ct Rose Gold
Huggie 35. 9ct Rose Earrings Gold $795
Signet Ring $1195
Art Deco
ated Emerald
namel Pendant
5
31. 9ct Rose Gold
Diamond 31. 9ct Oval Rose Gold
Signet Diamond Ring $1495 Oval
Signet Ring $1495
38. S/Silver Art
Deco
38.
Enamel
S/Silver
&
Art
Deco Enamel &
CZ Ring $195
CZ Ring $195
30. 37. 9ct 9ct Rose Rose Gold Gold
Diamond Ornate Round
Signet 37.
Bracelet
Ring 9ct $1485 Rose Gold
$3445
Ornate Bracelet
$3445
31. 9ct Rose Gold
Diamond Oval
Signet Ring $1495
41. Art Deco
Created
41. Art Deco
Created
Emerald &
38. S/Silver Emerald Art &
Enamel Ring
Deco Enamel & Ring
CZ $225 Ring
$225
$195
37. 9ct Rose Gold
Ornate Bracelet
$3445
32. 9ct Belt
Ring $1275
Now in our 27th year, fine jewellery continues to be our passion.
Precious a prety i pik
We are immensely proud that all of the pieces featured here are
Precious a prety i pik
exclusively Gerrim.
Gerrim pieces are exquisite additions to any collection.
Precious a prety i pik
Please note that we supply our collections exclusively to retailers.
Members of the public should contact their preferred jewellery
retailer for more information about our designs.
41. Art Deco
Created
Emerald &
Enamel Ring
$225
42. Art Deco
Created 42. Art Emerald Deco
& Created Enamel Emerald Pendant
$195
& Enamel Pendant
$195
36. 9ct Rose Go
Huggie Earring
42. Art D
Created
& Ename
$195
hange.
39. S/Silver PO
39. S/Silver Art Box Deco 3168, Toll FREE 1800 GERRIM
Art Deco
39. S/Silver Art www.gerrim.com
Deco
Enamel Enamel & Yeronga CZ Q 4104
& Stud sales@gerrim.com
CZ Earrings Stud Earrings
Enamel & CZ Stud Earrings
$195 $195
$195
FOLLOW US
43. 43. Art Art Deco Deco Created Created
Emerald Emerald and and Enamel Enamel
Earrings Earrings $195 $195
43. Art Deco Created
Emerald and Enamel
Earrings $195
40. S/Silver 40. S/Silver Art Deco Art Deco
Enamel Enamel & CZ & Pendant CZ Pendant
$195 $195
40. S/Silver Art Deco
Enamel & CZ Pendant
$195
Simply Sterlig...
Simply Sterlig...
Items may be enlarged to show detail. Selected pieces available in rose, yellow and white gold. Prices subject to chang
Reproduction of any part of catalogue not permitted without consent of printer.
Items Items may be may enlarged be enlarged to show to show detail. detail. Selected Selected pieces pieces available available in rose, in rose, yellow yellow and and white white gold. gold. Prices Prices subject to to change.
Reproduction of any of any part part of catalogue of catalogue not not permitted without without consent of of printer.

ld
s $795
Pride in Ownership
Pride in Ownership
se Gold
in Ring
Pride in Ownership
eco
Emerald
l Pendant
e.
PO Box 3168, Toll FREE 1800 GERRIM
PO Box 3168,
Yeronga Q 4104
Toll FREE
sales@gerrim.com
1800 GERRIM
Yeronga Q 4104 sales@gerrim.com
sales@gerrim.com
www.gerrim.com FOLLOW US
www.gerrim.com
FOLLOW US US

Editor’s Desk
Veritas odit moras – truth hates delay
‘Corporate transparency’ – world-changing initiative or another buzzword being bandied around?
ANGELA HAN digs a little deeper into what these words really mean.
In theory, ‘corporate transparency’ is
about the degree to which an
organisation’s decision-making,
operations and actions are observable
by external parties, which – most
importantly – includes the general public.
In light of this, it’s no secret that the
Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), an
organisation dedicated entirely to advocating
corporate transparency, has faced a tidal
wave of scrutiny in recent weeks.
The uproar emanated from the RJC’s
perceived lack of action on Alrosa, one
of its high-profile members and which
is 33 per cent owned by the Russian
government. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
began on 24 February, and on 3 March
the RJC announced that the Alrosa
representative had voluntarily resigned
as vice-chair of the board.
However, many members and the wider
jewellery industry thought more action was
required. Some viewed it as inappropriate
for Alrosa to remain an RJC member.
While there may have been steps taken
in private, prolonged silence on the issue
was likened to inaction and more criticism
followed, with the organisation labelled as
hypocritical after repeatedly preaching to the
wider industry on the value of transparency.
If the RJC staff and board refuse to
publicly communicate on simple and
fundamental matters, it’s only fair to ask:
Is the Responsible Jewellery Council
really responsible?
Today, the RJC finds itself searching for
a new executive director.
If a prospective leader thinks that the
Alrosa membership is the biggest problem
to resolve upon their appointment, then
they need to get out their finest-toothed
comb for a closer look at the organisation.
The RJC’s lack of transparency over the
handling of Alrosa was just the tip of the
iceberg. Unless the organisation changes
its communication and governance, it’ll only
bury itself further into its hole of hypocrisy.
Third-party playing the field
London-based Gemfields Group claims to
be “a world-leading supplier of responsibly
sourced African emeralds, rubies and
sapphires”, and enjoyed growth in revenue
in 2021 to the tune of US$258 million.
The words ‘responsibly sourced’ feature
throughout its website, and are highlighted
and promoted in the company’s annual
reports and other media.
It must be noted that Gemfields is not a
member of the Responsible Jewellery
Council. There is, of course, no obligation
for it to be so!
Rewind to 2013 – Gemfields acquired
Fabergé, an iconic brand best known for
its gemstone-encrusted eggs. Fabergé
joined the RJC in April 2018 and is
currently certified until February 2024.
Its website states: “2013 - Gemfields,
a world-leading supplier of responsibly
sourced coloured gemstones, acquires
Fabergé with the aim to create a globally
recognised coloured gemstone champion,
building on Fabergé’s status as a global
brand with an exceptional heritage”.
The term ‘responsibly-sourced’ forms a
pivotal part of the company’s marketing.
It’s important to reiterate that the
Gemfields Group isn't an RJC member.
For the RJC, this should raise some big
questions. Perhaps most importantly:
Is it appropriate for one RJC member
company – which has been successful in
gaining responsible sourcing Certification
– to promote another (non-member)
company’s claims of responsible sourcing?
Clearly not so transparent
Mozambique’s Montepuez ruby mine
has been the subject of international
controversy for many years.
Under the heading on Fabergé’s website,
‘Gemfields gemstones are mined with
transparency, legitimacy and integrity’
the page explains that the Gemfields’
mining operation at “Montepuez mine in
Mozambique covers 33,600 hectares and
is one of the most significant ruby
deposits in the world”.
There have been news reports with
allegations of torture, beatings and the
murder of local villagers and miners
working within the vicinity of the
Montepuez operation as recent as 2020.
Rather than apply to join the RJC, in
April 2020, and only two months after
the February report on violence flaring
at its Montepuez mine, Gemfields joined
the Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI), a
global body that claims to be "dedicated
If the RJC staff
and board refuse
to publicly
communicate
on simple and
fundamental
matters, it’s only
fair to ask: Is
the Responsible
Jewellery
Council really
responsible?
to sharing best practices”, alongside other
members such as ExxonMobil, Anglo
American and Shell.
It is unclear how many company members
the VPI had in 2020, however, at the time
of publication its website lists only 33,
compared to the RJC’s stable of more
than 1,450 members.
In 2018, Reuters reported that Fabergé
owner, Gemfields was taken to court by
a UK legal firm, Leigh Day, over alleged
human rights abuses in Mozambique.
In an out-of-court settlement, Gemfields
paid out £5.8 million ($US7.8 million).
This has led industry commentators to
question: how can a company that has
been involved in a highly controversial
mining project, and which has agreed
to pay $US7.8 million in compensation
to the local people, can claim to offer
'responsibly-sourced' gemstones?
Maybe it’s all smoke and mirrors
Is it appropriate for Fabergé to campaign
under the banner of ‘responsible’ when
its parent company Gemfields, has been
embroiled in this kind of controversy, in
recent years?
It could be argued that Gemfields is
attempting to benefit from the imprimatur
and/or warrant of the RJC Certification
held by its subsidiary, Fabergé.
How is it acceptable for one company
to trade-off, and benefit from, another
company’s certification for responsibly
sourced gemstones? And if the RJC is not
aware of the actions and activities of its
member, Fabergé, then one must ask – why?
At the time of publication, the RJC has not
acknowledged Jeweller’s emails.
Perhaps the biggest question of all is why is
the RJC so unapproachable when it comes to
the search for clarification on these issues?
Is this an example of the corporate
transparency the wider jewellery industry is
supposed to emulate?
No public statements have been made since
1 April. The RJC’s silence is deafening.
Silence, as we often find, is the voice of
complicity.
Angela Han
Publisher
May 2022 | 11

Upfront
#Instagram hashtags to follow
#toietmoi
149,304 POSTS
#recycledsilver
118,416 POSTS
#watchaddict
5,057,086 POSTS
#etsyearrings
146,159 POSTS
#artdecojewelry
195,335 POSTS
Alpha Order
#heirloomjewellery
21,025 POSTS
#mothersdaycollection
13,093 POSTS
#shopsmallaustralia
47,649 POSTS
#horology
HISTORIC GEMSTONE
The Patiala Necklace
4The Patiala Necklace was created by Cartier
in 1928. It was commissioned for Bhupinder
Singh of Patiala, who was the Maharaja of the
princely state of Patiala.
The necklace featured five chains and included
a neck collar. 2,900 diamonds appeared in the
piece, including what was then the world's
seventh largest diamond, the De Beers.
In 1948 the Patiala Necklace was reported
as missing. In 1998, part of the necklace was
discovered in a second-hand jewellery store in
London by a Cartier associate. A number of the
diamonds and rubies were missing.
Cartier purchased the necklace and pursued
a restoration featuring replicas of the original
gemstones, which took four years to complete.
3,763,938 POSTS
#giftideasforher
761,040 POSTS
Trend Spotting
4Green engagement rings have come
roaring into the spotlight following
the engagement of Ben Affleck and
Jennifer Lopez. Affleck presented
the singer with an 8.5-carat natural
green diamond centre stone, flanked by
shaped white diamonds. Actress Megan
Fox also recently began sporting an
emerald engagement ring, comprised
of two bands magnetically linked.
Image credit: Instagram @meganfox
Image credit: Louis Vuitton
Stranger Things
Weird, wacky and wonderful
jewellery news from around the world
Bangle made of skin
4English actress and television
presenter Cat Deeley has
commissioned some unusual
jewellery in honour of her
children. Deeley recently revealed
that she's having a bracelet
made from the skin of her sons,
Milo and James. She is also
having their baby teeth dipped
in gold and fashioned into
wearable jewellery. Deeley has
commissioned London-based
artist Conor Joseph to create
the jewellery.
Fit for a Queen
4Bulgari has revealed a tiara
designed for the Queen of
England's upcoming platinum
jubilee celebrations. A team of five
master goldsmiths spearheaded
the project, which took more than
1,500 hours to complete. The piece
features eight Zambian emeralds
(18-carats), as well as round
brilliant-cut diamonds, pave-set
diamonds on the case and snowset
diamonds on the dial.
A new look for
Twitter for retailers
Digital Brainwave
4Social media juggernaut Twitter may
soon be a different landscape for businesses
following a dramatic change in ownership.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has
purchased Twitter for $US44 billion ($AU61.4
billion). In a letter to Bret Taylor, Twitter’s
chair, Musk said the site was not thriving
as a business or as a vessel for freedom of
speech, and “needs to be transformed as a
private company”. Twitter is smaller than rival
Facebook, with approximately 200 million
users. It remains a popular outlet for public
messaging for world leaders, businesses,
celebrities and journalists.
Campaign Watch
4French jeweller Louis Vuitton has
faced a wave of surprise criticism
after launching the brand's new LV Volt
fine jewellery campaign. The luxury
jewellery house promoted its new
campaign on social media, which pays
tribute to the founder with a design
inspired by his initials. Criticism quickly
flooded in online with irate commenters
likening the design to Russia's pro-war
'Z' symbol, seen in footage from the
Ukraine conflict.
Television history
4The wedding ring and necklace
of Betty White, worn on The Mary
Tyler Moore Show, will be up for
auction in September. The auction
will take place in California, with more
than 1,500 items once belonging to
the actress available. White died
on 31 December aged 99 and was
just weeks away from her 100th
birthday. White was a television
performer in a career spanning
eight decades.
VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY
Published by Befindan Media Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 26, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 AUSTRALIA | ABN 66 638 077 648 | Phone: +61 3 9696 7200 | Subscriptions & Enquiries: info@jewellermagazine.com
Publisher Angela Han angela.han@jewellermagazine.com • Journalists Samuel Ord samuel.ord@jewellermagazine.com | Richard Chiu editorial@jewellermagazine.com
Production Coordinator Lauren McKinnon art@befindanmedia.com
Advertising Toli Podolak toli.podolak@jewellermagazine.com • Accounts Paul Blewitt finance@befindanmedia.com
Copyright All material appearing in Jeweller is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without prior written consent of the publisher. Befindan Media Pty Ltd
strives to report accurately and fairly and it is our policy to correct significant errors of fact and misleading statements in the next available issue. All statements made, although based on information
believed to be reliable and accurate at the time, cannot be guaranteed and no fault or liability can be accepted for error or omission. Any comment relating to subjective opinions should be addressed to
the editor. Advertising The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement to comply with Australian law and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities
arising from the published material.

Quality Findings
Discover the ultimate collection of
world-famous, high-quality findings.
1300 886 108 | AUSTRALIA WIDE | palloys.com

News
Russia causes turmoil and upheavel at Responsible Jewellery Council
Russian diamond mining juggernaut Alrosa has withdrawn its membership from the Responsible Jewellery Council.
It’s been a tumultuous month for the Responsible
Jewellery Council, losing an executive director and
suffering the withdrawal of a number of major
members.
The RJC was thrown into chaos in late March with
the loss of two major members, with Richemont
and the Pandora Group announcing an end to their
association with the Council due to a lack of action
over Russia’s role in the Ukrainian conflict.
While the RJC boasts of a membership count
exceeding 1,400, the loss of the Pandora Group
($AU2.95 billion in annual revenue) and Richemont
($AU20.82 billion in annual revenue) marked major
losses in status for the Council.
The drama continued on 29 March with the
resignation of executive director Iris Van der Veken.
Van der Veken, took on the role of executive
director in 2019.
It was awkward timing to say the least, with the
RJC making a public post on social media website
Linkedin congratulating the then executive director
on her three-year anniversary with the organisation
in the days leading up to her resignation.
The core issue dividing the RJC – which was
founded in 2005 - has been what action in response
to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine in late February.
Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond mining
company, is one-third owned by the Russian
government.
Alrosa provides approximately one third of the
world’s rough diamond supply and, was directly
sanctioned by the UK government as a punitive
measure in response to the Ukrainian conflict.
Alrosa voluntarily stepped down from the position
of vice chair of the RJC in early March, however the
move was marked as temporary and since then,
the RJC has not commented on the matter publicly.
In public statements following the resignation, both
Richemont and Pandora Group representatives
lamented the RJC’s lack of response to the
Ukrainian invasion.,
According to Reuters, Richemont CFO Burkhart
Grund addressed the issue in Geneva, saying
"We're trying to uphold the very high standards
we've been shaping over the last 15 years."
Exodus continues
The pain continued for the RJC with luxury
watchmaker Watches of Switzerland and diamond
mining company Alrosa exiting the organisation
shortly after the resignation of Van der Veken.
Watches of Switzerland released a statement
expressing dismay over the RJC’s inaction following
the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.
“The Watches of Switzerland Group is shocked and
appalled by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia,” the
statement read.
“We stand with Ukraine and its brave people at this
devastating time.
“The Responsible Jewellery Council’s approach
goes against the common values we expect
from our industry in response to the situation
and we have therefore decided to withdraw our
membership from the RJC.”
The following day, the RJC confirmed that Russian
diamond mining juggernaut Alrosa had suspended
its membership.
“Like so many, we are deeply saddened by the
current geopolitical crisis,” RJC chair David
Bouffard said.
“These have been challenging times and the Board
of the RJC has been pursuing a thorough review of
the situation and, as it is committed to do with each
of its more than 1,500 members, ensuring due
process was followed.
“The Board of the RJC understands and respects
Alrosa’s decision to suspend its membership and
thanks them for their commitment over the last
five years.”
Kering, the French-based multinational with
luxury brands Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci,
Boucheron, Pomellato, Qeelin and Yves Saint
Laurent has also quit the RJC.
Above: Iris Van der Veken; John Hall
Hall takes over
On 7 April, the RJC announced the appointment of
John Hall as interim executive director.
Prior to the resignation of Van der Veken, Hall was
serving as vice chairman for the RJC.
He previously worked with mining company Rio
Tinto in London as general manager of external
affairs.
Hall was a founding member of the RJC in 2005.
According to Rapaport News, the RJC distributed
a letter to members, within which chairman David
Bouffard announced the appointment of Hall and
defended recent criticism of the organisation for
failing to suspend the membership of Russian
mining company Alrosa.
“John (Hall) is a highly experienced executive with
deep expertise in reputational strategy and ethical
supply chains in both the jewellery and mining
industries,” the letter read.
14 | May 2022

News
Positive indicators continue in March for Australian jewellery retailers
2022 is off to a strong start for Australian jewellery retailers,
with data collected from more than 400 businesses by Retail
Edge revealing plenty of positive outcomes.
The first quarter of 2022 is in the books and
heading through April, the latest Retail Edge report
indicates that it continues to be a positive year from
a market perspective, particularly when it comes to
inventory average sale figures.
Data collected from 1 March through 31 March
shows that comparative overall sales dollars
increased by 1.5 per cent compared with the same
period last year, and while there was a huge 56 per
cent increase compared with March in 2020.
The comparative units sold show a decrease of 6
percent compared with March 2021 but a strong 31
per cent increase compared with March 2020.
According to Retail Edge sales manager Michael
Dyer, one potential explanation for this drop in units
sold could be widespread weather conditions on the
east coast of Australia.
The comparative inventory average sale continues
to climb and was 11 per cent higher compared with
March 2021, rising from $209 to $233. Compared
with March of 2020, that was an increase of 24 per
cent.
Product categories show positive signs
There was notable increases across many of the
product categories. Diamond set precious metal
jewellery was up 2.5 per cent compared with March
last year and a remarkable 76 per cent on the same
period in 2020.
Colour stone set precious metal jewellery sales
dollars increased 30 per cent compared with March
2021 and showed an even larger increase of 66 per
cent on the two-year comparison with March 2020.
Non-stone precious metal jewellery sales dollars
increased strongly again, to be 18 per cent
higher compared with March 2021 and it was an
exceptional result of 21 per cent growth on the twoyear
difference with March 2020.
Silver and alternative metals jewellery sales dollars
increased 17 per cent compared with March 2021
and were 53 per cent higher on the two-year
comparison with March 2020.
Dyer believes that the above trends continues to
suggest a strong positive consumer mindset and
that gathering higher quality data was crucial.
“I believe it is so important for getting the best
picture of what is happening,” Dyer said said.
“[Retailers] need to make sure that their custom
makes, diamond set or coloured stone set, are
getting allocated stock numbers and being
recorded as sales in a product category so that the
value of the information can be easily seen, rather
than being lost in your repairs.
“I can't emphasise this enough. The quality of
the data has a strong influence on the visibility of
patterns.”
The pattern with layby purchases showed an
increase of 13.6 per cent in dollars between
new items and pick-ups or cancellations. This
demonstrates good cashflow pattern in the
pipeline.
Interestingly, the pattern in services and repairs is
the reverse outcome with a decrease of more than
12 per cent witnessed between incoming orders
and pick-ups or cancellations.
“That's not bad news,” advised Dyer.
“It just means that the repairs are being completed
and collected. The special order numbers show
a similar pattern with a decrease of 10.3 per
cent between incoming orders and pickups or
cancellations. Again that's not bad news.”
Retail Edge’s data is gathered from its POS
software located more than 400 Australian
independent retail jewellery stores. It is intended
to present a representative sample of the wider
Australian jewellery industry.
Plans start to take shape for Sydney’s International Jewellery Fair
Preparations are well and truly underway for the
upcoming International Jewellery Fair (IJF) in
Sydney following a highly successful Australian
Jewellery Fair in March.
This year’s IJF is scheduled to take place from 27-30
August at the International Convention Centre in
Darling Harbour, Sydney.
The event will come hot on the heels of the highly
successful Australian Jewellery Fair which sold out
four weeks prior to opening.
The IJF will have something for everyone, with
the trade-only fair offering international and local
buyers and sellers the chance to gather under one
roof and network.
The chance to examine new ranges and source
new products, as well as learn skills in work
shops and listen to industry experts speak as
special presentations.
One of this year’s special guests will be Debra
Templar from the Templar Group, who will be
providing special education sessions as a part of the
‘Shop Talk’ program.
The sessions will cover an extensive range of
topics, including but not limited to managing
without staff, visual merchandising, improving
customer service, new emerging technology and
of course, increasing sales.
Templar has more than 25 years experience working
with small business owners and retailers.
Expertise Events managing director, Gary Fitz-Roy
said the chance to work closely and face-to-face
with, and learn from, other members of the industry
can’t be substituted.
”There have been some big lessons over the
last two years and one is never take anything for
granted,” he said.
“Being able to connect with knowledgeable people
who are willing to share is gold to ensuring your
business is ready for what comes along or creates
opportunities.
“We are invested in the industry’s return and believe
education sharing is invaluable.”
Fitz-Roy added that the the three buyings groups
- Nationwide Jewellers, Independent Jewellers
Collective and Leading Edge Jewellers – are all
throwing their full support behind the August fair, as
they did in March.
MORE BREAKING NEWS
JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM
May 2022 | 15

News
Boulder opal jewellery awards to
showcase successful designers
Australia’s homegrown boulder opal – one of the world’s rarest and most
valuable gemstones – will be showcased during the 2022 Queen of Gems
Jewellery Awards in July.
Organised by the Queensland Boulder Opal Association (QBOA), the event
– now ninth year of the competition – will be held at The Waltzing Matilda
Museum in Winton and open to Australian opal designers and jewellers.
Featuring the delicate pink tone
of Argyle pink diamonds
The awards will showcase opal creations by “some of Australia’s most
successful designers submit extraordinary concepts before a panel of
experienced judges against a backdrop of the achingly beautiful landscape
around Winton in Outback Queensland”, the organisers noted.
“Distance is no barrier when it comes to an urge to challenge design.
Professional jewellers go out of their way to get their designs to Winton and
express real creativity in showcasing boulder opal.”
Australia is the world leader in opal production and and as such, opal is
regarded as Australia’s national gemstone.
The gem is mined in Lightning Ridge and White Cliffs, New South
Wales; Mintabie, Coober Pedy; Andamooka, South Australia; and in
several areas in Queensland such as the Quilpie district, Yowah district
and the Winton district.
The mineral composition of opal differs depending on the geological
environment from which they originate.
Opal is set apart from other gemstones because of its array of vibrant
colours, which change and flash as it is turned. The gemstone is classified
on the basis of its body tone – the relative darkness or lightness of the opal
and the type of colour pattern or play of colour.
Red Cross Diamond hoped to fetch
$10.7 million at auction
The 205-carat fancy yellow diamond dubbed the “Red Cross Diamond” will
be auctioned this month, and is expected to fetch around $US10.7 million
($AUD14.41 million).
The sellers say a “significant” part of the proceeds will be donated to the
International Red Cross.
The stone – a fancy yellow cushion-shaped diamond – is considered one of
the largest in the world, was mined in 1901 by DeBeers in South Africa and
originally weighed around 375-carats.
Red Cross diamond is designed as a distinctive pavilion forming a Maltese
cross and will be auctioned for the third time since it was unearthed around
100 years ago.
François Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Europe, told Forbes supporting the
Red Cross is “even more poignant in the midst of current events” citing the
ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“Part of the proceeds of the sale will benefit the International Committee
of the Red Cross, for a cause that is even more poignant in the midst of
current events,” he said.
The diamond received its name after it was first auctioned in 1918 for the
benefit of the British Red Cross Society and the order of St. John which uses
the symbol of the Maltese Cross.
It was first sold for £GBP 10,000 ($AUD17,583) to London jeweller SJ
Phillips and auctioned for the second time in 1973 for CHF1.8 million
($AUD2.57 million) in Geneva.
E pink@samsgroup.com.au W samsgroup.com.au P 02 9290 2199

News
Istanbul Show draws record crowds
More than 36,000 people visited the March Istanbul Jewelry Show.
More than 36,000 people took part in the 2022 March edition of the
Istanbul Jewellery Show, with the successful four-day affair taking
place in Turkey’s largest city.
This year’s event was the 51st edition of the Istanbul Jewellery Show
and marked a promising rebound after two years of the COVID-19
pandemic impacting international travel.
With visitors attending from more than 140 countries, the exhibition
began on 24 March and concluded on 27 March.
In total more than 1200 companies were represented and 30 per
cent of the visitors were overseas buyers. The International Buyer
Delegation Program was also successful, introducing more than
1000 representatives from leading brands and companies to the fair.
UBM Rotaforte founding partner Sermin Cengiz said organisers took
great pride in the fair.
“It’s an honour for us that March organisation of Istanbul Jewellery
Show which we’ve been organising since 1986, reached the highest
number of visitors among all other March exhibitions ever,” he said.
“Growing parallel to the growth of the sector, our exhibition has been
ranked among the top five jewellery exhibitions of the world.
“We believe that it will continue to be a preferred event for the
global jewellery industry and mainly for Turkey and that the trend of
increase in number of visitors will continue."
Cengiz believes exhibitions are critical marketing activtities, saying
"Making new business deals, getting new orders and meeting new
professionals of the sector in order to enter new markets is only
possible at the exhibitions.
Exquisite beauty unearthed by Argyle,
Exceptional designs by Pink Kimberley
PinkKimberley.com.au
E pink@samsgroup.com.au W samsgroup.com.au P 02 9290 2199
“All meetings made at our March 2022 exhibition will bring
momentum to the global jewellery industry and especially to Turkish
jewellery industry.”
The Istanbul Jewellery Show returns in October with a four-day show
beginning on 6 October.
The Istanbul Jewellery Show has run since 1986, and is organised
by UBM Rotaforte and Informa Markets, the latter of which also
presents a collection of other international jewellery fairs, including
the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.

News
US imposes crippling sanctions on Alrosa; congress addresses loopholes
In what could be a significant blow to Russia, the US
has designated state-run mining company Alrosa
in its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) roster,
which increases sanctions that carry substantial
economic impacts on Russian companies.
The order, issued by the Department of Treasury’s
Office for Assets Control, came on top of prevailing
sanctions prohibiting US companies from dealing
with the mining company, freezing all of Alrosa’s US
assets and restricting US companies from dealing
with the mining giant.
The new sanctions directive also covers companies
owned by international conglomerates directly
importing rough and polished diamonds from Russia
that were previously not explicitly covered by the
sanctions by the US issued in March.
According to Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the
Department of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence, “These sanctions will continue to apply
pressure to key identities that enable and fund
Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.”
He also noted that the actions “reflect our continued
effort to restrict the Kremlin’s access to assets,
resources, and sectors of the economy that are
essential to supplying and financing Putin’s brutality”.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US
government has named Alrosa as one of the
companies facing “expansive economic measures”
to disrupt the worldwide supply and trading of
diamonds.
The initial sanctions order prohibited US-based
companies from pursuing all new financial activities
and transactions with companies identified in the
directive.
The order also implicated Russian elites and families
believed to be closely associated with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, which targeted Alrosa
CEO Sergei S. Ivanov, whose father Sergei B. Ivanov
has also been identified as an official of the Russian
government.
Alrosa is one of the largest international mining
companies and is headquartered in Russia. It
accounts for around 30 per cent per cent of
diamonds extracted worldwide.
Congress members want loopholes closed
A bipartisan group of US Congress members have
written to the Biden administration calling for the
examination and closure of loopholes which allow
Russia mining company Alrosa to continue trading
outside of economic sanctions.
The group features 11 members of the US
Congress and is led by Democrat Gerry Connolly
and Republican Austin Scott.
A letter was written to Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen
asking the Biden administration to examine the
'origin' loophole which allows diamonds mined in
Russia but polished in locations such as India to still
be imported and sold in the US.
The group has also written to the State and Treasury
Departments to extend guidance to Customs and
Border Protection and the Department of Homeland
Security to ensure they prevent Russian diamonds
from reaching the US market.
“We are concerned that the two tranches of sanctions
issued by the Treasury Department to target Russia’s
diamond industry will have a minimal impact on
Alrosa and [CEO] Sergey Ivanov’s ability to freely
operate on the world market,” the letter states.
The Biden administration banned the importation
of diamonds from Russia on 11 March via executive
order.

News
Diamonds and jewellery to benefit from new India trading agreement
Under CECA, India’s gem and jewellery exports to
Australia which are currently estimated at $US300 million
($AU400 million) are expected to double in value in the next
three years.
A billion-dollar bilateral trade agreement has
been reached between India and Australia
which is expected to boost the trade of gems
and jewellery between the two countries.
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion
Council (GJEPC) has announced the launch of
the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which grants
India’s gems and jewellery products preferential
access to Australia and vice versa.
The CECA trade agreement followed the
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) entered into by India earlier
with the United Arab Emirates, both of which
provide India with a competitive edge over
other suppliers or producers trading in both
countries.
The agreement is aimed at increasing the
bilateral trading value to $US1.5 billion ($AU2
billion) from the current gems and jewellery
commodities trading value of $US950 million
($AU1.26 billion).
Under CECA, India’s gem and jewellery exports
to Australia which are currently estimated at
$US300 million ($AU400 million) are expected
to double in value in the next three years.
According to Colin Shah, chairman, GJEPC,
“The historic India-Australia trade agreement
is expected to unlock millions of dollars of
additional trade due to the preferential access
accorded towards India’s gem and jewellery
exports to the island nation.”
“We expect Australia to benefit from access to
areas where India is a world leader, such as
diamonds,” he said.
Australia imports polished diamonds and
gold jewellery from India, while India imports
precious metals such as gold and silver bars
from Australia.
Shah noted that “Australia is one of our large
suppliers of gold and silver bullion, and until
recently, it was also a key supplier of diamonds.”
“By providing preferential access for Indian gems
and jewellery exports, the deal also makes it
cheaper for Australian retailers to procure worldclass
jewellery crafted with finesse from Indian
manufacturers,” he added.
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www.millenniumchain.com.au

News
Rough diamond prices dropping
Rough diamond prices have reportedly fallen after months of frenzied
purchasing. The diamond industry was considered a surprise winner
as the global economy rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and in
2021, rough diamond prices rose by more than 20 per cent after copping
significant hits in 2019 and 2020.
Rough diamond sales rose by more than 60 per cent in 2021 specifically,
pushing inventory to a historically low level of approximately 29 million
carats.
Russian diamond mining company Alrosa received strong demand for
rough during the fourth quarter of 2021 in particular and increased an
overall increase in diamond production of four per cent.
De Beers meanwhile pushed through one of the most aggressive
diamond price hikes in recent memory in January, taking advantage of the
purchasing frenzy by raising prices by more than five per cent. The largest
increases were for smaller stones.
In late February, the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place and since then,
economic sanctions imposed by the EU and US has made doing business
in Russia complicated.
Fast forwarding to to the current climate and the above, paired with
private companies weighing in on the conflict – Signet Jewellers, Tiffany
and Brilliant Earth have all moved away from purchasing Russian rough
product in differing ways – has led to purchasers exhibiting new levels of
cautiousness when it comes to rough diamonds.
According to a report published by Rapaport News, buyers previously had
stocked up on inventory in anticipation of further price increases in 2022.
“Prices on the secondary market have slipped by around 10 per cent for
2-carat goods and larger in recent weeks, with rough up to 0.75 carats
declining by more than 20 per cent. Prices of the smallest melee items
have slid approximately 40 per cent. Tenders have also seen price dips of
more than 10 per cent,” the article states.
It goes on to explain that pursuit of rough has fractured into two markets:
“Tenders and auctions have seen rocketing prices as the midstream
pushed for product amid shortages, while Alrosa and De Beers have
implemented more modest increases at contract sales.”
Alrosa’s sale took place last week beginning Monday and ending Thursday.
De Beers’ next sight is scheduled to start on Monday. According to
Rapaport News, this division of the market continued at these sales, with
Alrosa keeping prices steady.
The key causes for this dip in pricing for rough remains open to
investigation. It may indicate a steady flow of non-Russian product being
made available to the market as economic sanctions are placed on Alrosa
from European and US sources. The cause may also be far simpler, a
decrease in consumer demand after a strong 2021.
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News
Luxury jeweller reports strong sales
despite on-going Ukrainian conflict
French luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH)
has reported a strong 2022 first quarter performance marking a
strong rebound from the COVID-19 slump and challenges wrought by
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite its withdrawal from operating in Russia, the group posted
total revenues of €18 billion ($AUD26.38 billion) marking a 29 per
cent increase compared with the same period in 2021, while organic
revenue increased by 23 per cent.
The watches and jewellery business increased by 24 per cent at €2.34
billion ($AUD3.43 billion) for Q1 when compared against the same
period in 2021 at €1.88 billion ($AUD2.76 billion).
“LVMH had a good start to the year against a backdrop of continued
disruption from the health crisis and marked by the dramatic events in
Ukraine,” a company statement announced.
Double-digit revenues were recorded across all business groups,
especially in the US and Europe except for wine and spirits which was
hounded by challenges in the supply chain.
Surprisingly, the Asian market experienced an increase in sales
despite China’s reimposed health restrictions in March.
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“The LVMH Group is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine
and the region,” noting the group’s foremost priority is the safety
of employees in Ukraine and “provide them with all the necessary
financial and operational assistance.”
The LVMH Group - which owns Bulgari, Chaumet, and Fred, TAG
Heuer, Zenith, and Hublot – has ceased store operations in Russia
together with Richemont, Hermes, Chanel and Kering Group in light of
the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The decisions followed Swatch Group - which owns Omega, Longines,
Tissot, and Breguet, among others – which announced it has
suspended exports and trading operations after economic sanction
measures were imposed on Russia.
Colour diamonds shine at Christie’s
Colour diamonds dominated the Christie’s New York ‘Magnificent
Jewels’ auction, led by the 8.8-carat pink diamond dubbed ‘The Fuchsia
Rose’ which was sold for $US6.7 million ($AU9.1 million).
The stone – a potentially internally flawless fancy intense purple-pink
diamond – is a pear-shaped diamond set on a platinum ring flanked by
two 6.1-carat colourless diamonds.
The tender resulted in 68 of the 71 lots being sold at an estimated value
of $US25.1 million ($AU34.1 million).
Among the other standouts of colour diamond pieces were a 2.44-carat
fancy intense pink diamond sold for $US1.6 million ($AU2.17 million)
and a 15.31-carat vivid yellow diamond ring that fetched around $US1.3
million ($AU1.77 million).
White diamonds also showed strong results, highlighted by a
51.28-carat brilliant-cut round diamond ring sold for more than $US1.6
million ($AU2.17 million) and a 9.56-carat Bulgari diamond ring that
fetched $US630,000 ($AU855,858).
This month, Christie’s will auction a 228.31-carat pear-shaped white
diamond, dubbed ‘The Rock’, which is expected to fetch around $US30
million ($AU40.50 million) during the Luxury Week tender in Geneva.

News
Omega x Swatch chaos takes over Australian shopping centres
Featuring different colour schemes to celebrate the solar
system, Swatch made sure to differentiate each model.
Shopping centres in Melbourne and Sydney were
flooded with thousands of people trying to get
their hands on the latest headline generating
timepiece on Saturday 26 March, ahead of other
major global markets.
So, what was the watch generating all the buzz?
Well, watches to be exact: the new Omega x Swatch
Speedmaster Bioceramic MoonSwatch collection.
There are 11 models in the collection paying tribute
to the very solar system we inhabit, with each model
designed after one planetary figure. Each planet
from Mercury to Pluto has been covered, as well
as the Sun and Moon. The watch was set to launch
globally on 26 March, which meant that Australia
was one of the first countries to launch the model,
ahead of the US and European markets.
The watches are designed and modelled after
the iconic Omega Speedmaster Professional
Moonwatch.
In Melbourne, shoppers formed lines outside the
Swatch store at the Chadstone Shopping Centre well
before the doors were opened at 9am with some
having lined up at 6pm the Friday before and turning
up in the middle of the night to join the queue. It was
a similar story at the Pitt Street Boutique in Sydney.
Australians are not the only people caught up in the
frenzy, with similar queus observed everywhere from
Hong Kong to London, Singapore and New York City.
The crowd of anxious shoppers in New York City
reportedly topped 2,000 – despite the Fifth Avenue
store claiming they had just 150 units available.
Unfortunately the story didn’t end with a happy
ending for every shopper, with Swatch announcing
via social media that purchases would be limited to
one per customer in order to satisfy the demand.
“Due to the unexpected and phenomenal demand,
we are obliged to update the purchase limit to
one watch per person until further notice,” the
statement reads.
“We will revert back to two watches per person as
soon as possible.
“The watches are not limited and will be available in
selected Swatch Stores, with more opportunities to
purchase in the coming weeks.”
Much of the hype generated by the Omega x Swatch
Speedmaster Bioceramic MoonSwatch collection
has come about due to the pricing. At just $380 per
watch, the collection offers customers the chance
to own a watch close to the iconic Speedmaster at a
fraction of the cost.
Online auction sites such as eBay are already seeing
watches listed at more than five times the retail
price.
Another reason for the excitement has been
the origins of the collection as a collaboration
between luxury juggernaut Omega and industry
icon Swatch.
Police presence was required to man the line at Chadstone
in Melbourne that spanned hundreds of metres.
Moscow out of World Federation of Diamond Bourses
The Moscow Diamond Bourse has suspended its
membership of the World Federation of Diamond
Bourses.
The 17-year old trading centre announced a
temporary suspension of activity on 7 March
following the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict
in late February. However, the Bourse has now
gone a further step forward, announcing via letter
that it would suspend its membership from the
international organisation until the conflict is
resolved.
“We look forward to see the end of hostilities and
hope that we all will be able to return to normal in
the future,” the letter states.
In response to the self-imposed suspension,
WFDB President Yoram Dvash said “The Moscow
Bourse president Alex Popov acted responsibly
in shutting down its activities and suspending its
membership in the WFDB.”
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses was
established in 1947 and is headquartered in
Antwerp, Belgium. The aim of the organisation is
to provide bourses trading in rough and polished
diamonds, as well as other precious gemstones,
with a common and shared set of trading
practices.
The WFDB has 30 core members and the Moscow
Diamond Bourse was accepted as the 26th
member in June of 2006.
On 15 March, the WFDB released a public
statement addressing the invasion of Ukraine.
“The World Federation of Diamond Bourses
(WFDB) is deeply concerned over the loss of life
and suffering that is inflicted on so many as a
result of the conflict in Ukraine,” the statement
reads.
“As a leading international trade organisation
that incorporates diamond bourses from all
around the globe, the WFDB has always called
upon its members to encourage tolerance,
dialogue and cooperation, as well as compliance
with international business guidelines and the
prevailing laws.
“The current situation is complicated and volatile.
At this time, it is impossible to predict or measure
its impact on the world diamond industry. The
WFDB will carefully monitor all developments
associated with this crisis and will update its
members.
“The WFDB calls on all member bourses to
closely follow the mandatory guidelines and
decisions of the authorities within their relevant
jurisdictions and to guide their members to act in
strict accordance with such binding decisions and
the laws to which they are subject.”
May 2022 | 23

10 Years Ago
Time Machine: May 2012
A snapshot of the industry events making headlines this time 10 years ago in Jeweller.
Historic Headlines
4 De Beers antitrust action finally final
4 Australia’s $20 million, 12 carat pink diamond
4 Calleija and Aston Martin: Luxury brands unite
4 Hermes wins $100 million counterfeiting case
4 Jewellery retailer Miijo collapses
STILL RELEVANT 10 YEARS ON
Get on the same page
Smart sales leaders know that they are
in it for the long haul and they make
sure that, besides their vision, strategy
and processes being in place, clear,
unambigious performance expectations
are established and communicated to
everyone in the business.
READ ALL HEADLINES IN FULL ON
JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM
Jewellery association creates
own furore
A furore has erupted within the Jewellers
Association of Australia after CEO Ian Haddasin
issued an email inviting members to join Rapnet,
an internet diamond trading platform “that allows
diamond trade professionals to buy and sell
diamonds online without commission.”
Rapnet has no Australian or New Zealand office
and is part of the US-based Rapaport Group. The
email read: “JAA, in cooperation with Rapnet – a
Rapaport service, invites you to participate in
this special offer for JAA members only: get 13
months membership for the price of an annual
subscription.”
The uproar began when a number of diamond
dealers discovered that the JAA had distributed
the email only to retail members, not including
JAA supplier members. Many suppliers felt that
the JAA was promoting overseas trade against the
association’s own members.
Dealers call JAA to account
After the Jewellers Association of Australia
caused an industry outrage when its chief
executive officer Ian Hadassin endorsed Rapnet,
an international diamond trading platform, 11
local diamond merchants have written an 'open
letter' calling on Hadassin to explain what the
JAA received from the Rapnet promotion.
The letter pulls no punches, saying that Hadassin’s
email to members was “misinformed and
misleading”.
“Following your recent attack on the wholesale
diamond market in Australia (many of whom are
members and are generally supportive of the
industry), we think it is important that you fully
explain your motivation and actions,” the letter
reads.
May 2012
ON THE COVER Kagi
Editor’s Desk
4The quick and the dead: “I won’t
pretend to have all the answers. I won’t
even pretend to understand everything
that is happening.
However, what I do know is that we are
at the beginning of a radical change
to the way we do everything, and that
includes shopping for jewellery.
In addition, Australia is experiencing the
affects of a confluence of many atypical
events (global financial crisis, two speed
economy, increased personal savings,
high Aussie dollar) all of which demand
a rethink of everything.
Move or stand still.
Soapbox
4Talk security, fight crime : “This
lack of communication is making our
industry vulnerable to attack. As such,
we are throwing around the idea of a
database for industry operators to read
about and submit robbery information,
with access to the database restricted
to jewellery store owners and relevant
associates. Service stations have a
similar system and it looks like we are
overdue for one.”
– Toby Bensimon, Director of Sheils
Jewellers in Western Australia
Pandora’s Karin Adcock
calls time
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the tiny Pandora beads
changed the Australian jewellery industry.
Karin and Brook Adcock launched their new
jewellery business in 2004 from their garage in
Sydney. Little did she know that in only a few short
years the business would have grown to 200 staff
with sales revenue in the tens of millions.
Nor would she have known that the Australian
arm of the Danish designed brand would go on
to become the model for all of Pandora’s other
international markets.
All that in only eight years! However, such success
takes it’s toll and after eight years at the helm,
Adcock announced last week she would be
stepping down as president of Pandora Australia
and would hand the day-to-day management to
David Allen, the company’s vice president, sales.
Jewellery report gets it wrong
A major report on the Australian jewellery
industry was released late last month. The
only problem is it’s error-ridden.
The 34-page detailed report published
by IBISWorld includes information about
companies that no longer trade in the
Australian jewellery industry has wrong
store counts and even has errors in
financial analysis.
Jeweller obtained a copy of ‘Watch and
Jewellery Retailing in Australia – April
2012’ and began dissecting it. We presented
a number of questions to IBISWorld’s
analyst team over the last week in an
attempt to get to the bottom of erroneous
and misleading information.
24 | May 2022

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WORLD RANKINGS OF JEWELLERY
INDUSTRY PUBLICATIONS
As at 31 December 2021 Jeweller was ranked 54,878, in the world,
well ahead of other jewellery industry titles in more populous
countries. For example, the US magazines JCK, National Jeweler,
and Instore ranked 82,055, 134,498, and 238,570 respectively, even
though the population of the US is much larger than Australia.
POSITION PUBLICATION COUNTRY
WORLD
RANKING
1 Jeweller Australia 54,878
2 JCK USA 82,055
3 National Jeweler USA 134,498
4 Instore Magazine USA 238,570
5 Diamond World India 256,670
6 Retail Jeweller India 269,464
7 Jewellery Net Asia Hong Kong 307,988
8 Professional Jeweller UK 580,385
9 The Jewelry Magazine India 613,901
10 Jewellery Outlook UK 692,146
11 Jewellery Business Canada 745,214
12 Art of Jewellery India 769,354
Leaders and numbers
have one thing in common...
13 Jewellery World Australia 1,087,006
14 Solitaire Magazine Singapore 1,142,751
15 Indian Jeweller India 1,203,543
16 Retail Jeweller Magazine UK 1,305,323
17 Jewellery Focus UK 1,846,557
18 Preziosa Magazine Italy 2,198,671
19 The New Jeweller UAE / India 2,745,417
Jeweller has been the leading voice of the Australian and New Zealand jewellery
industries for 25 years, and today we rank #1 in the world.
Alexa, the independent global ranking system for measuring website traffic and
readership, now ranks jewellermagazine.com as the most widely read industry
publication in the world – by far!
Better still, the daily time spent on jewellermagazine.com averages 29 minutes, which
far exceeds all other international publications, which average only 2–3 minutes per
visitor. Moreover, our page views is miles ahead of all other industry publications.
Moreover, Jeweller’s social media presence dominates and our eMags boast more
than 12.3 million reads.
The numbers speak for themselves - follow the leader, and follow the readers too!
20 Canadian Jeweller Canada 3,726,881
21 The Retail Jeweler USA 4,158,087
22 Gold Book Magazine Turkey 4,942,352
23 Jewellery Monthly UK 5,386,955
24 Jewellers Network South Africa 6,005,766
25 Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Thailand NO DATA
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29 Solitaire International Singapore NO DATA
POSITION
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1 Rapaport Magazine* USA 48,447
2 Idex* Israel 84,120
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day. Jeweller leads the world with a Daily Time of 29.6 minutes,
while most other publications only manage 1-2 minutes. The
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POSITION PUBLICATION COUNTRY PAGE VIEWS
POSITION PUBLICATION COUNTRY
DAILY TIME
(IN MINUTES)
POSITION PUBLICATION COUNTRY
BOUNCE
RATE
1 Jeweller Australia 22.00
2 Retail Jeweller India 9.00
3 Jewellery Net Asia Hong Kong 3.60
4 The Jewelry Magazine India 2.10
5 Jewellery Business Canada 2.00
6 Diamond World India 2.00
7 Jewellery Focus UK 2.00
8 Retail Jeweller Magazine UK 2.00
9 Indian Jeweller India 2.00
10 The New Jeweller UAE / India 2.00
11 Canadian Jeweller Canada 2.00
12 The Retail Jeweler USA 2.00
13 Jewellery Outlook UK 1.80
14 Instore Magazine USA 1.80
15 National Jeweler USA 1.70
16 JCK USA 1.70
17 Professional Jeweller UK 1.50
18 Art of Jewellery India 1.40
19 Solitaire Magazine Singapore 1.00
20 Jewellery World Australia 1.00
21 Preziosa Magazine Italy 1.00
22 Gold Book Magazine Turkey 1.00
23 Jewellery Monthly UK 1.00
24 Jewellers Network South Africa 1.00
25 Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Thailand NO DATA
26 Solitaire International Singapore NO DATA
27 Jewel Trendz India NO DATA
28 Hong Kong Jewellery Magazine Hong Kong NO DATA
29 Jewellery Time New Zealand NO DATA
1 Jeweller Australia 29:60
2 Retail Jeweller India 20:06
3 National Jeweler USA 15:50
4 Jewellery Business Canada 02:17
5 Diamond World India 02:15
6 Jewellery Outlook UK 02:11
7 JCK USA 01:56
8 Professional Jeweller UK 01:55
9 Jewellery Focus UK 01:51
10 Jewellery Net Asia Hong Kong 01:44
11 The Jewelry Magazine India 01:43
12 Instore Magazine USA 01:42
13 Art of Jewellery India 01:38
14 Retail Jeweller Magazine UK 01:11
15 Solitaire Magazine Singapore 01:10
16 Indian Jeweller India 00:54
17 Jewellery World Australia 00:30
18 Preziosa Magazine Italy NO DATA
19 The New Jeweller UAE / India NO DATA
20 Canadian Jeweller Canada NO DATA
21 The Retail Jeweler USA NO DATA
22 Gold Book Magazine Turkey NO DATA
23 Jewellery Monthly UK NO DATA
24 Jewellers Network South Africa NO DATA
25 Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Thailand NO DATA
26 Solitaire International Singapore NO DATA
27 Jewel Trendz India NO DATA
28 Hong Kong Jewellery Magazine Hong Kong NO DATA
29 Jewellery Time New Zealand NO DATA
1 Jeweller Australia 22.80%
2 Jewellery Net Asia Hong Kong 33.80%
3 Retail Jeweller India 38.70%
4 Professional Jeweller UK 50.00%
5 Jewellery Outlook UK 52.00%
6 Jewellery Business Canada 55.00%
7 Art of Jewellery India 59.10%
8 Indian Jeweller India 60.00%
9 Diamond World India 61.50%
10 The Jewelry Magazine India 63.60%
11 Retail Jeweller Magazine UK 66.70%
12 National Jeweler USA 68.30%
13 Solitaire Magazine Singapore 70.00%
14 JCK USA 72.70%
15 Instore Magazine USA 73.40%
16 Jewellery World Australia 92.30%
17 Jewellery Focus UK NO DATA
18 Preziosa Magazine Italy NO DATA
19 The New Jeweller UAE / India NO DATA
20 Canadian Jeweller Canada NO DATA
21 The Retail Jeweler USA NO DATA
22 Gold Book Magazine Turkey NO DATA
23 Jewellery Monthly UK NO DATA
24 Jewellers Network South Africa NO DATA
25 Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Thailand NO DATA
26 Solitaire International Singapore NO DATA
27 Jewel Trendz India NO DATA
28 Hong Kong Jewellery Magazine Hong Kong NO DATA
29 Jewellery Time New Zealand NO DATA
POSITION
TRADING PLATFORM /
PUBLICATION
COUNTRY
PAGE VIEWS
POSITION
TRADING PLATFORM /
PUBLICATION
COUNTRY
DAILY TIME
(IN MINUTES)
POSITION
TRADING PLATFORM /
PUBLICATION
COUNTRY
BOUNCE
RATE
1 Idex* Israel 3.50
2 Rapaport Magazine* USA 1.70
1 Rapaport Magazine* USA 02:25
2 Idex* Israel 02:19
1 Rapaport Magazine* USA 60.60%
2 Idex* Israel 75.80%
All data collated as at 31 December 2021

On The Market
1 2 3
4
5
MAY
Product
Spotlight
Jeweller’s monthly compiled
snapshot of the latest and greatest
products to hit the market.
6 7
8
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Palloys Engagement rings in the ReadyMade collection are crafted from 100 per cent ethically sourced and certified Australian gold. Palloys can supply a fully finished engagement ring, ready to
set with a centre stone, or a fully finished diamond wedding band ready to ship the next day. 6 THOMAS SABO | Duraflex Group Australia Blue stones embeded in eye-catching charm pendants.
These octopus and turtle pendants are crafted high quality blackened 925 sterling silver. Octopus is hand decorated with zirconia. Turtle has a shell with faceted stones. 7 DESERT ROSE | Ellendale
Diamonds This 18-carat white androse gold trilogy statement ring features round diamond F VVS 0.72 carats, and two bezel set pear-cut Argyle pink diamonds that are 6PP SIAV totalling 0.122 carats.
8 IKECHO Stunning Edison Diamond Huggy earrings and pendant. Double row of diamond studs on the bail, a lusturous round pearl with the earrings and pendant available in 9-carat yellow, white or rose gold.

Image: Mikimoto
The pearl industry has always been susceptible to sudden and dramatic change, with everything from
diplomacy to disease capable of reshaping the landscape. SAMUEL ORD puts the industry under
a microscope in three key markets as a remodelled pearl industry enters a post-pandemic era.
The international pearl industry has been
forever changed by the impact of the global
COVID pandemic.
Pearls have been admired by cultures right across the
world since they were first uncovered, and they’ve tended to
symbolise different meanings to different people.
Ancient Japanese folktales described pearls as the tears of
mythical creatures, such as mermaids and nympths.
Venus, the Goddess of Love, was once believed to have been
the source of original pearls. The story supposed that after
emerging from the sea, Venus shook the water from her body.
The water fell as droplets, hardening as they met the air and
evolved into perfectly round pearls before returning to the
water.
Early Chinese civilisations believed pearls to be one of the
favourite gemstones of dragons, great beasts who would
carry them nestled between their teeth.
It’s common to see the pearl – embodying perfection, wisdom,
simplicity and of course beauty – associated with strength
too, and as the COVID pandemic appears to wind down within
Australia, the local pearl industry has demonstrated plenty of
strength of its own.
The pandemic threw challenge after challenge in the direction
of Australia’s pearl farmers, retailers and designers and
exiting the pandemic, the industry has reshaped itself and is
IN NUMBERS
Deep Dive
49.4 million
was the auctioned
price of Marie
Antoinette's pearl
pendant
6 months
the minimum
period of time
required for a pearl
to form
1858
the year that
Mikimoto Kokichi
was born, the
Japanese inventor
credited with
creating the first
cultured pearl.
prepared better than ever before to face unchartered waters.
Australia: Everything turned upside down
In Australia, prior to the global pandemic, the outlook was
optimistic for white South Sea pearl producers.
Demand had prompted steady growth from 2013 through
2019, however the first six months of 2020 saw a dramatic
drop in business operations and international consumer
confidence as government regulations were enforced.
By March, travel both within and out of Australia was closed
and pearl producers – the majority of which are located in
Western Australia – were left racing to find ways to continue
production and distribution.
While the farms themselves are, of course, restricted to the
coast, operations are rarely based in one area.
Paspaley Pearling, as one example, farms in Western
Australia while being headquartered in the Northern Territory,
in Darwin. The business also utilisies Japanese technicians
for six months of the year, who were barred from entering
Australia due to the border closures.
In order to overcome these obstacles, Paspaley Pearling was
forced to negotiate travel concessions with Federal, State and
Territory governments.
The business also developed a new online wholesale platform
in order to provide around the clock access fo wholesalers,
manufacturers and retailers across the globe. The first online
auction was held in April of 2021.

Post Pandemic Pearls | PEARL FEATURE
Blue Nile
The Autore Group was struck with a similar dilemma. The
business maintains 10 South Sea pearl farms, located in
Australia and Indonesia, but is headquartered in Sydney.
Following harvest, pearls are transported to Sydney for
examination – a task made difficult by the closure of all
borders in March.
Rosario Autore, CEO and founder of the Autore Group, says
his business was forced to entirely reshape the selling
process.
“Firstly, when the pandemic hit in March 2020, Autore was
due to have an international pearl auction in Hong Kong
which was subsequently cancelled,” he explains.
“During a normal year, we would host between two and
four auctions in Hong Kong and Kobe where 100-150 of our
international clients would attend, and our staff would travel
from Australia to run the auctions.
“When the borders closed, we had to pivot as we were at a
standstill due to our inability to travel. We had a very difficult
five months where sales were impacted dramatically due to
this inability to see our clients face to face, our habitual way
of effecting loose pearl sales.”
Autore said the company “worked with various colleagues
and associates overseas and were able to find a path
through this, and in September 2020 we held our first
auction.
“Today, the pearls travel from Australia to Japan, shown to
our clients for 3 days, then to Hong Kong, shown for another
3 days, and then finally to Shenzhen, where there is a lengthy
customs process.”
He explained that the entire auction period takes three
weeks however he says it “proved to be successful, and while
our staff haven’t been able to meet the clients face to face,
we have had the best results we have seen in several years,
with the prices of South Sea pearls increasing between 20-
40 per cent across various shapes, qualities and sizes.
Autore joked: “Today, the pearls get more frequent flyer
miles than our staff members!”
The Autore Group faced extensive challenges from a farming
perspective too.
He explains that managing staff due to work in both Western
Australia and Queensland was a logistically nightmare.
“The biggest challenge we faced on the farming side of the
business was the travel restrictions within Australia as we
had difficulty bringing staff in an out of our East Arnhem
Land farm.
“This impacted our operations dramatically and delayed the
Annoushka
Mizuki
Autore
Ikecho
seeding of more than 100,000 oysters for a period of over 12
months, hence delaying the revenue of those oysters for over
12 months.
“Furthermore, we were also impacted as we were unable to
provide proper husbandry to the seeded oysters growing a
pearl, which resulted in the loss of approximately 20 per cent
of our seeded stock.
“Our staff had to isolate for two weeks on their return to
Western Australia and Queensland, after their 4 week swing
working on the farm, which took up their time off; this was
incredibly challenging on them and the company.”
Australia: A new kind of dilemma
Atlas Pearls harvests pearls from six farms in Indonesia.
Kym Weir-Smith, chief marketing officer Atlas Pearls, says
it was a surprise to see the industry – which is notoriously
susceptible to massive loss of product due to elements such
as disease – challenged by issues on land for a change, and
not at sea.
“Like so many other industries around the globe, the COVID
pandemic has added extra layers of complexity to the
pearling sector, one already at the mercy of mother nature
and changing environmental conditions.
“Whilst the pearls themselves continued to grow and thrive
in the nutrient rich waters of our six farms, it was above
the water where the impacts were felt the greatest but also
provided some important opportunities.
“The impact of reduced commercial flights has been an
unavoidable disruption in the distribution of pearls to market
but has in turn created a customer attitude more open
to the new and emerging distribution channels we were
developing.
“These new online channels have made our pearls more
accessible geographically and to broader audiences outside
of the traditional markets.
“With a program already underway to diversify our
distribution channels the sudden change in global
environment presented an opportunity which supported this
new direction.”
Australia: Innovative nation
Australians have been lauded as inventive under pressure
and during the pandemic, the pearl industry has lived up to
that reputation.
In November, research from the University of Western
Australia was unveiled revealing that mother-of-pearl could
be used as synthetic bone substitute – research which has
the potential change the face of the pearl industry forever.
30 | May 2022

Post Pandemic Pearls | PEARL FEATURE
L to R: Atlas Pearls - An overhead view of an Atlas Pearls farm located in beautiful East Java; Ikecho necklace; Autore Pearls.
The project was dubbed PearlBone.
The collaboration by the University of Western Australia
and biotech business Marine Biomedical aims to develop
PearlBone using nacre - which is abundant in the region - as
a suitable alternative for patients needing bone grafting and
reconstructive surgery.
Minghao Zheng is Professor of Orthopaedic Research at the
UWA and is the co-inventor of the PearlBone project. He says
momentum behind the project is continuing to build.
“It’s a very exciting time for the project, we’ve recently been
awarded government support at both the Federal and State
level to establish a medical facilitiy in the Kimberely region to
manufacture PearlBone product,” he says.
“It’s a project that continues to have a very wide scope in
terms of application, the most common application will be
treating bone traumas which occur as a result of things like
car accidents.
“We’re also looking at applications in terms of dentistry, which
would mostly be fillings.
“PearlBone really has the potential to completely change the
face of the pearl farming industry in Australia forever.
“It’s completely reshaping the purposes of farming and what
can be achieved with the product. If the project is successful
it may lead to an increase in depmand which in turn leads to
more farms.
“That leads to a bigger industry with more and more
people being hired from local communities, boosting local
communities, which is great.”
Australia: Technological advance
Cygnet Bay Farms operates out of both Western Australia and
New South Wales and owner James Brown said there were a
lot of lessons to be learned exiting the pandemic.
“The biggest takeaway from the pandemic and everything
we’ve been through over the last two years I believe has been
the importance of tracking and tracing,” he says.
“We’d all heard of QR codes before the pandemic but did we
really utilise them, or understand how they work and what
they’re capable of? Learning how these sorts of technologies
can be used in the pearl industry is crucial to success.
“The restrictions on travel between borders really showed how
fragile of an industry it can be and how susceptible we are to
disaster. Thankfully we don’t need to rely on flying technicians
in from overseas but I know that’s one thing which really
troubled a lot of Australian pearl producers.
“Purchasing pearls continues to be a very emotive purchase
for consumers and using emerging technologies to
STATISTICS
Pearls in Numbers
7500
estimated age of
the oldest pearl
known to
researchers,
which was
discovered in
the UAE
100 million
estimated value
of the world’s
most expensive
pearl, found by a
fisherman in the
Phillipines
216
pearls are found on
the Susa necklace,
the world’s oldest
piece of pearl
jewellery
1
in every 10,000
wild oysters
contain pearls
6 kilograms
weight of
the legendary
Pearl of Allah
demonstrate to consumers that pearls are being produced
in an environmentally friendly way, by organisations that are
aware of the importance of something like climate change,
can go a long way towards allevating any stress or concerns
that a customer may have, and as a result keep those emotive
purchases viable.”
India: Safety comes first
India was one of the country’s hardest hit by the COVID
pandemic, recording the second highest number of confirmed
cases in the world – trailing only the the US. More than
500,000 people lost their lives.
Moksh Jewellery is based in Mumbai and represents more
than 50 years of family legacy and tradition creating high
fashion designs with an undertone of tradition.
Founder and owner Milan Tanvir Chokshi began the business
in 2005 and says that the pandemic was a challenge unlike any
other he had experienced before, and that it changed the way
pearls would be used in designs across the years to come.
“The biggest challenge for us was ensuring the health and
safety of our artisans,” he says.
“A business has to be geared up for any economic volatility, so
that wasn’t really as concerning for us. But an unprecedented
halt to life such as the one we witnessed is something that we
were the least prepared for.
“However with the support of the local government in Mumbai,
we were able to get the permissions to operate our export
business and this kept everything going. At a restricted pace
but it continued all the same.
“Pearls have become more and more visibe in jewellery over
the last few years and I think it’s possibly because they are
comfortable to wear and fit easily into a casual or luxury
mode. Comfort has been key for everyone, particularly while
they were stuck at home over the past couple of years.”
Affect on European pearl retailing
While pearls aren’t farmed in the UK they remain a staple of
high end fashion in cities such as London.
Yoko London was founded in the early 1970s and has three
generations of family business experienced working with 13
different pearl farms around the world, breaching markets
right across Europe.
Yoko London CEO Michael Hakimian said that international
retailers faced similar challenges to Australia’s homegrown
producers and distributers. Restrictions on travel were just
one of many challenges created by the pandemic.
“People had limited opportunities to shop for jewellery in
person,” Hakimian says.
32 | May 2022

Producing more than 550,000 pearls each year across 7 farm sites
throughout the South Seas, Atlas Pearls is a global leader in the
production of sustainable South Sea pearls, certified from the source.
Available online around the world.
ATLASPEARLSTRADE.COM

Post Pandemic Pearls | PEARL FEATURE
L to R: Melanie Georgacopoulos; Ikecho; Yoko London; Tiffany & Co.
“We responded by launching a brand new
e-commerce website in August of 2020 featuring
all of our collections which are available to ship
worldwide.
The restrictions on travel between borders
really showed how fragile of an industry it can
be and how susceptible we are to disaster.
“The other challenge we experienced was that
people had fewer occasions to wear fine jewellery.
However, as a result, we experienced a rise in
demand for easy to wear, fashion forward jewellery
which can be worn daily with more casual outfits.
“The pandemic has affected the supply of highquality
pearls, causing costs to rise, and we expect
this supply problem to remain for the foreseeable
future.”
Yoko London’s flagship store is based in
Knightsbridge. With the store featuring pearls
acquired from all around the world, Hakimain says
that Australian pearls are always popular with
consumers because of their innate qualities.
“We feature Australian South Sea pearls in some of
our finest jewellery designs,” he says.
“These pearls stand out for their exceptionally large
sizes, beautiful surfaces and magnificent lustre.”
China: Government forces change
China remains the world’s largest player in the pearl
farming scene, manufacturing more than 90 per cent
of global supply.
Located in the south east of the country, Zhuji –
nicknamed ‘the Pearl City’ – produces ton after ton
of freshwater pearls in the many waterways that
encompass the province.
The city’s status as the centre of China’s pearl
production may not last forever however.
In 2015, China’s central government released a
10-point action plan aiming to clean up the country’s
rivers and coasts and to preserve the quality of
groundwater reserves. Enforcement of these new
environmental laws quickly impacted the pearl
farming industry and while finding reliable data is
difficult, the overall production of pearls is believed
to have declined every year since 2015.
While the new regulations have forced dramatic
change within the industry, the hope is that the
changes will lead to more sustainable practices and
a higher quality freshwater cultured pearl product
after adjustments are made.
Dr Geng Li is a gemmology professor at China’s
University of Geosciences, located in Beijing. He told
Jeweller believes that concern over the environment
would have a far stronger impact on the future
of pearl farming industry than that of the COVID
pandemic.
“Total production of pearls in China has continually
dropped since 2018 because of environmental
concerns,” he says.
“I don’t think the pandemic will impact greatly on
the pearl farming according to my investigation and
the information from my friends in pearl industry in
Shanxihu, Zhuji, the pearl town.
“The farming industry in China is viewed more like
the fishing industry, and not the jewellery industry.
There has not been much effect on the fishing
industry from the pandemic, and so I think it will be
the same for pearl farming.”
While the new environmental policies were leading
to a decrease in overall production, Dr Li says the
quality of the pearls being produced continued to
improve as time goes on.
“It’s an industry which has greatly changed, not
just in terms of the quality of pearls, but also the
practices of farming,” he says.
“The size, lustre, surface perfection, colour and
shape, they’ve all improved very much. I do believe
that rates of production will continue to decrease if
the government continues to carry out it’s current
environment policy.
“We may see farmers change focus in terms of
quality, of perhaps change to other gems, or another
industry all together. Farming remains a rural job
indeed.”
Japan: Where it all began
Japan is of course, where it all began for the cultured
pearl farming industry.
In 1888, Japanese entrepenuer Mikimoto Kōkichi
obtained a loan to begin his first pearl oyster farm.
Following five years of trials and tribulations, Kōkichi
– facing bankruptcy and humiliation – successfully
seeded an oyster with a small amount of mother of
pearl.
The experiment was successful and he created
the first batch of hemispherical cultured pearls,
kickingstarting Japan’s iconic cultured pearl
industry.
Kōkichi was so beloved for his success that in 1985,
nearly 100 years after he first seeded an oyster,
Japan’s Patent Office named him as one of Japan’s
10 Greatst Inventors.
Today, the spirit of Kōkichi’s ingenuity lives on via the
saltwater farming of Akoya pearls.
The Akoya pearl oyster is the smallest pearl-bearing
saltwater oyster currently being used to create
pearls today.
It only holds one or two bead nuclei at a time, and
after the implantation surgery, the pearl is left
to grow for a period of 18 months to two years.
The longer, the better. Akoya pearls are loved
internationally for their perfectly rounded shape,
and in terms of lustre, they’re remarkably sharp and
highly reflective.
In Mumbai, founder and owner of Moksh Jewellery,
Milan Tanvir Chokshi, says that Japanese pearls
continue to be a staple in the world of design and
remain in high demand.
Chokshi told Jeweller that 2021 “was a very difficult
year for the farming industry in Japan”.
It’s an industry which has greatly changed,
not just in terms of the quality of pearls,
but also the practices of farming
“Auctions had to be postponed and there were
restrictions on the number of buyers who were
allowed to attend the auctions. In terms of
production, there wasn’t a big drop in production or
quality. Local demand in Japan dropped significantly
because big gatherings and events were restricted.
“In China however the demand for pearls was
as strong as it was pre-pandemic, so this helped
exporters remain in business.”
As the pandemic headed into a second year in 2022
restrictions on travel were eased in some countries,
while others ramped up intervention.
Chokski says that the market remained kind to
Japanese producers despite the uncertainty.
“In 2022 the production was back to pre-pandemic
levels and the prices were at the highest we’ve seen
for quite a few years,” he explains.
34 | May 2022

PEARL FEATURE | Post Pandemic Pearls
“Demand in China was very strong and the weak Yen also helped Japanese
exporters in servigin the demands of the Chinese market. With online sales
growing at a very rapid pace in China, the demand for pearls and pearl
necklaces that were were certified was the highest ever.”
Brighter tomorrow
Despite a challenging two year period for the industry, optimisim about the
future remains a common message coming from various business leaders.
Weir-Smith, says Atlas Pearls’ business is stronger having undergone the
challenge of operating in the midst of a global pandemic.
“Whilst the pandemic presented significant and sudden business
challenges, as the world slowly returns to normal, we strongly believe
the outcomes from the experience will only enhance our way of doing
businesses in the future,” Weir-Smith says.
“The past 24 months has seen unprecedented circumstances as a result of
the COVID pandemic but has highlighted the importance of our company’s
ability to be agile together with a collaborative and cooperative attitude
across every aspect of our business and the wider industry.
“Whilst we can return to the normalities of travel and the physical
connection and presentation of pearls to our customers, the positive
outcomes of the digital reach we have achieved during this time will
continue to support our on-going marketing strategy and global reach.”
For Autore, there were many positives to be found looking ahead to a postpandemic
market.
“During the pandemic, tourism to Australia was completely blocked,
creating difficulties from a retail perspective for the pearl industry,” he
explains.
“On the other hand, the Australia public was not travelling overseas, so
they were spending more on Australian products and supporting local
businesses including the South Sea pearl industry. This past year has in
fact been once of our best years to date!
“Pearls produced from the Pinctada maxima shell, which is the South Sea
pearl shell, have the thickest coating of nacre than any other pearl, providing
a better quality product with a higher lustre.
“This depth in lustre is the most important characteristic, and what we see
as the ‘soul of the pearl. Additionally, Australia pearls, which are from the
Pinctada maxima shell, are the biggest and best pearls in the world and it is
difficult to compare them to the other species.
“As the second largest producer and quota holder in Australia, I can
confidently say Australian South Sea pearls are widely recognised on the
international market as the best and most valuable in the world.”
There’s no doubting that the international pearl market has demonstrated
a willingness to change and adapt to adversity across the past two years.
Businesses are retooled with new skills and platforms. Innovators are
working to discover new uses for pearl products and searching for ways
to improve methods of production.
The industry is better prepared than ever before to face the unknown.
Timeless Elegance
Luxury Pearl and Opal Jewellery
+61 2 9266 0636
enquiries@ikecho.com.au www.ikecho.com.au

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Pearls Part II: South Sea & Tahitian
Above: Autore Pearls; Arosha Taglia
Below: Assael pearls; Musson
South Sea and Tahitian pearls are the most
prized of pearls cultured today. These
exceptionally lustrous beauties can only
be grown with meticulous care in the most
pristine environmental conditions.
The term South Sea pearls, by CIBJO
definition, refers to cultured pearls from
a Pinctada maxima oyster, grown in the
Indian and Pacific oceans off the coasts
of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines
(these being the most significant
producers), and Myanmar.
Compared to the saltwater cultured
Akoya pearls (to be explored in Part III),
South Seas have a particularly thick
nacre and distinctive lustre.
The classic white is in the highest
demand of all colours possible in South
Sea pearls, with appreciation growing
for the rarer golden tones. The specific
oyster in which these pearls are grown
determines the resultant colour.
The silver-lipped (or white-lipped) variety
that produces the famous white pearl with
a silvery overtone inhabits the waters off
northern Australia and southern Indonesia,
below the equator. Other colours can
include pinkish and bluish overtones.
Above the equator, the gold-lipped (or
yellow-lipped) variety occupies the
waters surrounding the Philippines and
Indonesia, though also in Myanmar. As
the name suggests, the champagne and
creamy colours this variety produces
can also extend to the rarest of colours -
impressively saturated golden hues.
Of all cultured pearls collectively, the
South Seas are the largest. The average
South Sea pearl will take around
four years to grow, though this varies
as more time is needed to produce
larger pearls. Their size ranges from
approximately 8mm to an outstanding
22mm. These larger specimens are
scarce and valuable.
Heading east and further out into the
South Pacific Ocean, Tahitian pearls
– as they're known – are cultivated
around the islands of French Polynesia.
CIBJO defines these as cultured pearls,
naturally coloured, grown in a natural
environment around these islands by
the Pinctada margaritifera cumingii
oyster. This oyster is black-lipped, and
hence the pearls that result include a
variety of cool hues.
Sometimes referred to as 'black pearls' or
even 'black South Sea pearls', the range
of colour seen in Tahitian pearls is much
more extensive than these names suggest.
Primarily shades of grey, brown, and black,
the possible overtones include blues,
greens, pinks, purples, and even creamy
yellows that give some fantastic colours.
Some popular names adopted by the
trade for Tahitian pearl colours are
'pistachio', 'aubergine' and 'peacock'.
The true black peacock pearls are rare
and carry a price tag to reflect this.
Tahitian pearls are similar to South Sea
South Sea &
Tahitian Pearl
Produced by the
Pinctada maxima and
Pinctada margaritifera
oysters
Colour: Multiple
Found in: Australia,
Indonesia, Philipines,
Myanmar
Mohs Hardness: 2.5 - 3
Lustre: Pearly
Formula: CaCO ³
pearls in size, typically ranging from
9mm to 18mm.
Being gems of an biogenic nature,
a particularly brilliant feature of the
pearling world is the positive impact on
conservation. As they require pollutionfree
waters and thriving ecosystems to
produce gem-quality pearls (which, even in
ideal conditions, is a small percentage of
production), the industry promotes healthy
and sustainable oceanic environments.
As is possible with all pearls, various
treatments can be seen in South Sea
and Tahitian pearls. Dyes, coatings,
lustre enhancements, waxing, and
chemical alteration are just some
potential treatments, all of which
require disclosure upon sale. Features
like uneven colour, unusual blemishes,
discrepancies in fluorescence, and a
waxy-look lustre, can all assist in flagging
possible treatment. However, it is not
always possible for gemmologists to
discern treatment without advanced
laboratory equipment.
Mikaelah Egan FGAA Dip DT
began her career in the industry at
Diamonds of Distinction in 2015. She now
balances her role at the Gemmological
Association of Australia with studying
geology at the University of Queensland.
Visit instagram.com/mikaelah.egan
For more information on gems and
gemmology, go to www.gem.org.au
May 2022 | 37

CELEBRATING
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ANGELA
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Gemstones: Lapis
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Angela HU
Melbourne, VIC
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Metals: Goldplated
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Christie
Nicolaides
Brisbane, QLD
HLSK
Austin Ring II
Metals: 9-carat
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Gemstone: Diamond
Hannah Stewart
Armadale, VIC
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Canberra, ACT
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Metals: Recycled
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Gemstones: Pearl,
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Melbourne, VIC
38 | May 2022

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GEMSTONE FEATURE
Responsibily Sourced
What on Earth does ‘responsible sourcing’ mean?
HUGH BROWN explores a world that’s far from
black and white, and one, which he says, makes
it impossible for retail jewellers to understand
let alone decide.
Sulphur Porters, Kawah Ijen Volcano, Indonesia. | Hugh Brown

GEMSTONE FEATURE | Responsibly Sourced
by HUGH BROWN
Left and above: Artisinal
sulphur labourers work at
Kawah Ijen Volcano, Indonesia.
Let’s say you’re the buyer, or a key decision-maker
in a jewellery store, and over the past few years
an increasing number of shoppers are asking
about ‘responsibly sourced’ jewellery.
You know it’s a topical issue – no different to eco-friendly
and sustainable products in other retail categories such as
consumables.
You’ve also heard that it’s complex issue. However, your
intention is to begin offering, or continue selling, products
that are ‘responsibly sourced’, whether they be gemstones,
diamonds, or other jewellery.
It’s about showing that your business has what is known
as ‘CSR’ – corporate and social responsibility – across the
board, even though you may only operate a small jewellery
store.
So how do you go about it? What are the guidelines, and,
most importantly, how can you guarantee that you are
sourcing responsibly?
And just because someone says a product is responsibly
sourced, does that make it true?
Defining the problem
The first issue is to work out what ‘responsibly sourced’
actually means. To the consumer, it may have many
meanings.
Some might be interested in ensuring that no child labour is
involved in the supply chain that produced, say, that beautiful
colour gemstone or gold jewellery piece.
For other customers, ‘responsibly sourced’ might relate to
the impact on the environment, say, in mining operations.
Others might be concerned about human trafficking,
organised crime or the involvement of extremist groups in
the supply channels.
And more politically savvy people may be concerned about
insurgent groups using the proceeds of mineral production
to finance armed conflict.
As you are probably starting to gather, ‘responsibly sourcing’
is not as simple as it first seems.
To add more complexity to the matter, responsible sourcing
is not the same as ‘sustainable sourcing’.
The former requires meeting or complying with accepted
levels of ethical or trustworthy practices in areas such as
human rights or pollution, whereas sustainable sourcing
goes beyond compliance to engage and improve the
AT A GL A NCE
Artisanal and
small-scale mining
45
million
the number of
people working in
artisanal mining
20
per cent of the
world’s gold is
courtesy artisanal
miners
80
The number of
countries where
artisanal mining
takes place
269
million
the potential number of
people downstream who
depend artisanal mining
80
percent cent of the
world’s sapphires
are courtesy
artisanal miners
Source: delvedatabase.org
conditions of sustainability that can include areas such as
livelihoods or climate-smart practices.
So when a customer is asking you about responsible
sourcing, their definition could be very different to yours – or
that of your suppliers – and they could even have sustainable
sourcing in their mind.
Complex subjectivity
The one reality in all of the above is that there are so many
factors involved in the adjudication of what is, and is not,
‘responsibly sourced’ that it’s impossible for there to be
unanimity between consumers as to what it means. It is an
entirely subjective process.
A noble concept, but subjective nevertheless! And after all
that, everything remains voluntary too.
After all the above, the process and definition then becomes
even more complicated when each element of responsible
sourcing needs to be weighted relative to the other, and then
scored to give an overall performance assessment.
It’s a process that every customer does intuitively, making it
impossible for there to be unanimity between customers.
The little guy
One of the major issues I raise with people and groups
who preach about ethics is that responsible sourcing and
sustainable sourcing both ignore the fact that almost the
entire focus is on the negative aspects of jewellery supply
chains, rather than the incredible positives that sourcing
from Third World countries can also generate.
And I say ‘Third World’ because the overwhelming
production of gemstones in particular comes from
impoverished nations.
Now, here’s the rub. I say ‘incredible positives’ because 85
per cent of the global mining of gemstones is carried out by,
what are colloquially known as, artisanal miners.
Artisanal mining, or small-scale mining, refers to
subsistence mining by people using primarily manual
means - forget machinery and automation, they work using
tools such as picks and shovels. Think of the photos we’ve
all seen of the Australian gold rush in the 1850s.
It’s estimated that there are 40 million people mining this
way around the world, while a further 240 million people
symbiotically depend on the activity.
The benefits not only accrue to these miners in the form of
employment, they also accrue in terms of opportunities for
others to gain skills they would otherwise not have because
May 2022 | 41

Artisanal gold miner, Burkina Faso.
High altitude artisanal gemstone miner, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan.
the large-scale mining companies are typically
looking for higher levels of education and training
than most of these miners could ever dream of
possessing.
So artisanal miners and their families can learn
how to be vendors, butchers, accountants, and even
microfinance providers. The list of occupations within
larger artisanal mining communities is large.
Artisanal mining operations are thriving and vibrant
economies where almost all of the money earned by
the workers stays within local communities and ‘incountry’
with some location-specific exceptions. For
example, the ‘narcos’ using illegal mines to launder
dirty money from drug sales into the US. There was a
very public example of this out of Miami recently.
Contrast this to the multinationals, which enter a
country, pay a small amount of taxes, employ far
fewer people and then repatriate most of their profits
to their country of origin and the home countries of
their shareholders.
As you are starting to see, the concept of responsible
sourcing is a minefield (pun fully intended!) and one
which consumers will find almost impossible to
navigate, let alone understand the complexity.
I have worked in the field for more than 16 years and
I have trouble understanding it, so what hope has the
consumer?
Fork in the road
Back to you, as a jewellery retailer who wants to
do the ‘right thing’ for your customers and your
business: what should you do?
The first decision is how do you find your responsibly
sourced jewellery?
Whether you source it directly, or whether you buy
from local or overseas wholesalers, you then have to
decide whether you will advertise and promote the
products as being responsibly sourced. If not, why
would you bother?
Assuming your aim is to promote your own CSR
values, then you will most likely promote your
business – or at least some of the products – as
responsibly sourced.
This leads you to another fork in the road. Will you
rely on your own values and definitions, or will you
rely on a supplier having third party accreditation?
The Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC) enforces the Australian
Consumer Law of which section 18 provides that “a
person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in
conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to
mislead or deceive”.
Now, considering there is no single, unilateral
definition for ‘responsible sourcing’ and it can
mean different things to different people – I think it
would be impossible for a consumer to be misled or
deceived – however, I would encourage you to seek
your own legal advice in that regard.
Artisanal mining operations are
thriving and vibrant economies where almost
all of the money earned by the workers stays
within local communities and ‘in-country’ with
some location-specific exceptions.
But let’s say you choose to pursue some assurance
from an external, third party before making claims
that your jewellery is responsibly sourced.
You might look to a body such as the Jewellers
Association of Australia (JAA) or the Responsible
Jewellery Council (RJC).
The JAA promotes itself as, “Advancing the
Australian jewellery industry through representation,
unity and consumer confidence” while the RJC tells
us that it is “the world’s leading standard setting
organisation for the jewellery and watch industry. We
promote standards that underpin people’s trust in
the worldwide jewellery and watch supply chain.”
How does any of this help you as the jewellery buyer
or decision-maker to decide whether your precious
stones and jewellery are responsibly sourced?
These two ‘official’ organisations should set your
mind at ease, right? Well, a review of the JAA’s
Industry Code of Conduct 2022 doesn’t engender
great confidence.
Three issues often talked about in the context of
responsible sourcing are mentioned without much
more, requiring Code Signatories (local retailers or
suppliers) to:
1. Implement the procedure provided by the CIBJO
and the World Diamond Council’s “System of
Warranties” to prevent trade in conflict diamonds;
2. Implement procedures recommended by the
JAA to prevent trade in conflict gemstones and
precious metals; and,
3. Make every effort to deal only with companies
that do not exploit children or use child labour,
provide adequate occupational health and safety
conditions and respect the environment.
CIBJO and the World Diamond Council’s (WDC)
‘System of Warranties’ will be addressed below but I
could find no procedures recommended by the JAA
to prevent trade in conflict gemstones and precious
metals.
Moreover the provision on child labour is so
ambiguous as to be meaningless. There is no
mention as to what child labour means specifically.
What ages are included? What occupations?
What even constitutes OH&S or respecting the
environment? All these details are left undefined.
In other words, it appears to me that its mere virtue
signaling, designed to make the JAA look as though
people actually care or that organisations are
honourable.
It’s window dressing, form over substance.
For anyone who might be unscrupulous or for
someone that doesn’t care about the substance and
importance behind these issues, it’s conceivable
that JAA membership could be used to present a
veneer of responsibility by promoting a company as
42 | May 2022

High altitude artisanal gemstone miner, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan. Artisanal coal scavenger, India.
‘responsible’ by being a signatory to the
Industry Code of Conduct.
In other words, the JAA’s Code is a waste
of time for someone that genuinely cares
about ‘doing good’.
Responsible Jewellery Council
This brings us to the RJC, which has been
recently hammered in the international
media over its association with Alrosa,
the Russian diamond mining company
which is one third owned by the Russian
government, and which has been accused
of helping finance Russia’s recent war on
Ukraine.
The RJC Code of Practices (COP) was last
amended in 2019 to bring it into alignment
with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance
for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals
from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk
Areas (the “OECD DDG”).
This updated system is much tighter than
the previous system and applies to gold,
silver, PGM, diamond and gemstone supply
chains. However, no matter how tightly
regulated a system may appear, it always
seems possible to find gaping holes.
Sadly, we usually find these imperfections
after the fact, when a breach has already
been committed.
Gemfields and Montepuez
This is where the entire concept of
responsible sourcing gets murky.
For example, in 2009, a local farmer
discovered a massive ruby deposit in the
north of the country, in Montepuez. The
find became the world’s richest ruby
discovery and currently accounts for about
40 per cent of global supply.
Within months of the discovery, it’s
reported that a local army General is
alleged to have moved to expropriate the
land and over which he subsequently
acquired prospecting rights.
The local farmer received nothing for his
land or for the ruby discovery and was too
poor to assert his legal rights.
Within the space of two years, the General
formed a joint venture company called
Montepuez Ruby Mines (MRM), which
was split 75:25 with a large-scale mining
operator, Gemfields Group.
Gemfields Group is incorporated in the
tax haven of Guernsey. It is listed on
the Johannesburg and London Stock
Exchanges.
In recent years activity at the MRM has
seen increasing controversy, which has
been reported widely by the world press.
Regional Protection Police and members
of Mozambique’s elite military unit
were engaged together with a private
security firm allegedly hired by Gemfields
to provide security on the mine’s
concessions.
There have been allegations of murder,
torture and beatings of local villagers and
miners working on those concessions by
nacatanas (machete gangs) and private
security personnel associated with the
General and Gemfields.
Leigh Day, a British legal firm that began
litigation against Gemfields in the UK on
behalf of scores of plaintiffs. Its cases
rarely, if ever, seem to get to trial, and that
is what also transpired with the Gemfields
case.
Gemfields settled out of court in early
2019 for the piddling amount of $US7.8
million, in a no-fault settlement. I gather
the company realises that the MRM
controversies refuse to go away.
Know your
Gemfields
258
million
US dollars, the
revenue generated
by Gemfields in
2021
133
million
US dollars,
Gemfields profit
in 2021
230,500
carats of emeralds
at Kagem mine
in 2021
3.3
million
carats of rubies
mined at
Montepuez mine
in 2020
Source: Gemfields Annual
Report, December 2021
Until further updates, watch that space!
Third party certification
This brings me back to the RJC. While it’s
clear that many of the artisanal miners
and villagers were illegally operating on
MRM concessions, they have received
much worse than a raw deal by none other
than one of the world’s largest gemstone
producers.
While all this is on-going, these same
Montepuez rubies are being marketed to
global consumers as ‘responsibly sourced’
by Fabergé, a subsidiary company of
Gemfields.
Interestingly, Fabergé is a certified member
of the RJC, however Gemfields is not, even
though a major component of Fabergé
jewellery is the gemstones and rubles
mined by Gemfields.
Its website states: “Today, Fabergé is a
member of the Gemfields Group – a world
leading supplier of responsibly-sourced
gemstones”.
Therefore, the obvious question that
arises is: how can gemstones that do not
seem to be sourced responsibly within the
context of the RJC’s COP somehow then
be responsibly sourced by its wholly owned
subsidiary?
It raises many more questions around
the meaning of the word ‘responsible’
and leaves us wondering how product
sourced by Faberge from the MRM
concessions can be considered to meet
the COP requirements for certification if
the circumstances under which its parent
company Gemfields came to own a share in
the mine has so many ethical issues – and
controversies - hanging over it?
For example, is it not correct to question the
manner in which the largest ruby discovery
May 2022 | 43

High altitude artisanal gemstones miner, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan.
Artisanal coal scavenger, India.
in history could somehow lead to the expropriation
of land from local villagers and that these people,
including the farmer who made the discovery, could
receive next to nothing for his discovery?
And further, how can it be ‘responsible’ for that
land to be rezoned and issued to a high-ranking
government official before then being part-sold to
one of the world’s largest gemstone miners?
One example of many
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.
There seems to be one rule for some of the world’s
poorest – artisanal miners mining by hand and
fighting to feed their families – and another rule for
the large mining companies.
Recently, I was talking with a colleague who is a
mining company senior executive who has spent
many years supplying contract services to gold
mining companies. He told me that one of the
world’s largest gold miners – a Western company -
had just made a substantial royalty payment to the
government in one of its countries of operation.
The village immediately adjacent to the mine which
generated this royalty payment has no sewerage,
and barely any electricity.
I’ve witnessed this first hand. Some of the worst
poverty I’ve seen in Africa has been right next to
some of its biggest gold mines.
However, for some reason, it’s ‘taken as gospel’
that most Western mining companies operate
responsibly because, regardless of whether this gold
producer is a member of the RJC, one can almost
certainly assume that gold sourced from its site is
being labeled as ‘responsibly sourced’!
While it’s true to say that the world’s poorest
artisanal miners, which everyone seems to love
taking a big stick to, are by no means perfect,
there are so many issues that must be considered
adjudicating on whether a mineral is responsibly
sourced.
Most of these issues are continually overlooked
44 | May 2022
Emerald
Sapphire
Ruby
Source: Gemfields
and responsible sourcing needs to be much more
holistic.
Evaluating the impacts of mining on local
communities - and that’s for large and artisanal
mines – must include factors such as employment,
in-country and regional stability (because people
are gainfully employed), environmental impacts, the
opportunity for people to acquire new skills and the
retention of wealth ‘in-country’.
My issue is that we all seem to be happy to attack the
small guys – the artisanal miners – because they are
easy to target and can’t fight back.
At the same time, we ignore the misdemeanors and
perils of the larger producers because they have
many more financial resources and powerful people
watching their backs.
In other words, holding the largest producers to
account is a much tougher task. Just look at Russian
diamond mining juggernaut Alrosa, if you need an
example.
'Responsibility’ sector
The RJC’s COP is clearly an improved attempt at
a more stringent and responsible due diligence
standard, however, no matter how rigorous people
attempt to make guidelines there will always be
loopholes that are in almost direct proportion to the
amount of subjectivity and latitude allowed within
those standards.
The subjectivity and loopholes vary from consultant
to consultant and auditor to auditor and the level and
extent of their life experience with the impoverished
nations of the Third World. Then you can overlay the
inequality of bargaining power between large and
small and you can start to understand the problem.
If you’re a small miner then your capacity to argue
that you are doing anything ‘responsible’ will
be almost minuscule when compared to any of
the world’s largest mining companies that hold
certification and have powerful board members,
lawyers and litigation budgets to fight anyone who
attempts to take them on.

Underground silver miner, Cerro Rico, Bolivia.
Meat vendor, artisanal gemstones miner, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan.
And these challenges pervade the entire responsible
sourcing sector, whether that involves the RJC, WDC
or CIBJO. The legislation and codes of conduct are
only as tight as the interest groups controlling them
will allow.
If you have powerful vested interests fighting you the
entire way, the chances are that legislation or codes of
practice will tend to offer leniency towards those same
interest groups. At the same time, they will block every
nook and cranny for those without sufficient resources
to fight their case.
To see this logic in practice, it is instructive to look at
the EU CAHRA legislation that came into effect on 1
January 2021. This legislation was released with much
fanfare and is still trumpeted by the international
responsible sourcing groupies as being the high-water
mark in global responsible sourcing legislation.
The legislation followed the OECD Due Diligence
Guidance, however, when the legislation was
published, it applied only to the 3Ts and G - the 3Ts
being tin, tantalum and tungsten and the G being gold.
A senior OECD official recently wrote to me and said
that the Guidance was limited to these minerals
because it takes time to get the industry prepared.
That’s accepted, but I pointed out and suggested
to him that the draft legislation was first produced
in 2017 and that the responsible sourcing push by
legislators around the world had been happening
since the Obama administration began in 2010.
Further, that the OECD Guidance was originally
finalised in 2013.
How much ‘time’ is enough? And how much time
should be enough?
This is to assume that the participants involved are
genuine about the process and not merely virtue
signaling. A mounting body of platitudes and evidence
seems to support the latter.
The apparent lunacy of it all is then amplified by
the fact that the EU CAHRA legislation has no
enforcement or penalty provisions and that any
changes to this may be considered when a review of
the legislation is slated for 2023 or 2024.
To quote responsible sourcing consultants and risk
management firm, Achilles, when the new CAHRA
legislation was published: “Both the law in the US
and EU currently lack any real teeth. However, it
is expected that sanctions or penalties could be
introduced in Europe at a later stage if little progress
is made, potentially following its first review in 2023.”
[Emphasis added].
Biggest question for retailers
This brings us all the way back to the original
question: How can I do ‘good’ and buy responsibly
sourced jewellery?
If I’m being honest, I still can’t answer that question.
Clearly if you’re a member of the JAA or RJC then
there will be some obligations that you will need to
follow.
If you have powerful vested interests fighting
you the entire way, the chances are that
legislation or codes of practice will tend to offer
leniency towards those same interest groups.
However, whether there are penalties for failing to do
so is another question entirely. On the other hand, if
you’re not a member, it’s pretty much happy days – do
what you like!
Regardless of whether you are a member of the JAA
or RJC or not, then in my view it matters not as to
whether the gemstones you are buying have been
bought responsibly. What really matters is visiting
the communities where the resources are produced
and building some sense of understanding as to what
positives or negatives will come from your buying
decision.
No matter how hard people try to package up and
present responsible sourcing as the solution to
difficult problems around the world, these things still
come back to the same things as they always have.
The big guys write the rulebook and the little guys get
pushed around and kicked out.
If legislators around the world were serious about
responsible sourcing in the minerals industry there
would be no exclusions by legislators for any mineral.
The rules would be enforced equally whether breaches
relate to the artisanals or the largest companies.
At the moment this isn’t happening.
There is a reason that not all minerals fall within
legislation and COP guidelines and it’s because some
people are more powerful than others. And as many
times as they may say it, this has nothing to do with
legislators and policy-makers not having had enough
time to get it right and everything to do with politics
and influence.
I believe that the existing system that has arisen is
fundamentally flawed and will never be fixed. But
that’s a discussion for another time.
In the meantime, you may now be wondering whether
‘responsibly sourced’ includes enormous profits
being repatriated back to wealthy countries from
impoverished countries or, if it means giving some of
the poorest families in the world the chance to survive
and prosper?
Whatever your intent, I wish you all the best in
trying to ensure your responsibly sourced jewellery
and gemstones are actually ‘responsibly sourced’,
depending on what that means to you, and your
customer.
Good luck!
HUGH BROWN has dedicated the past 15 years
to a publishing project about artisanal miners.
The book – The Garimpeiros Project aims to
raise the profile of the world’s poorest miners,
and to educate rich and powerful about the
value they bring- hbrownofficial.com/msp
He is active on Facebook at HUGHBROWN9
or linkedin.com/in/hugh-brown-37a73132
May 2022 | 45

BUSINESS
Strategy
Looking back to make the
most of what’s ahead
Sometimes the best way to predict the future when it comes to market change and adaptation is to study the past.
BRYAN PEARSON examines the lessons learned in 2021 and how they may impact 2022 as it continues to unfold.
If the past two years have taught the
retail industry anything, it’s to meet the
unexpected, eye-to-eye, with more of
the unexpected.
I mean ’unexpected’ as in surprising
channels, unpredictable brand partnerships
and even a dose of the expected. Consumer
desires have not changed; they still want
shopping to be stress-free, convenient,
personalised and good value.
When asked to rank how much 14 major
retailers care about them – in terms of
value and understanding– shoppers gave
an average score of just seven out of 10,
according to research by WSL Strategic
Retail, in New York.
The reason may be that consumer
expectations continue to evolve in
unexpected ways. The most cost-effective
methods for maintaining relevance
throughtout 2022 and into next year,
therefore, will hinge on consumer
understanding. We can gain that
understanding by looking back on
2021 in detail.
Lessons learned in 2021
If retailers and consumers think price
tags are high today, consider everything
– including non-dollar costs – that will
influence purchase decisions tomorrow,
such as time, convenience and experience.
Any of these factors could change a
shopper’s choice. Every one of them
can coalesce to form expectations that
are unparalleled and shifting with every
rip of the calendar page. Yet while 2021
may have been a challenge, nearly every
month of it delivered a ‘return’ gift waiting
to be unpacked.
Looking back on the top retail news in last
year, here are nine trends and behaviors that
should inform retailer strategies in 2022.
The trends
Earth-friendly appetites will persist: the
emergence of climate-conscious eating is
gaining market support. This preference
extends beyond food to the packaging it
comes in. The next year will be telling for
eco-friendly innovators.
Technology will serve a bigger role in
wellness: in 2021, many consumers
struggled with anxiety and depression
due to the pandemic, and merchants
responded with a range of products
to improve restfulness, creativity and
a sense of purpose. We’re travelling
through 2022 with the continued hum
of uncertainty, so the desire for these
products will likely continue.
Consumers will visit new stores: nearly
3,000 stores were expected to close in 2021,
but close to 6,000 retail openings were
announced during the first three quarters
of the year. Look closer at the kinds of retail
experiences that are being added, and
one can see the decisions behind these
additions hinge on emotional values: the
human urge to resume social activities and
Meeting the
unexpected
with the
expected
requires a
review of the
basics.
Namely, how
shoppers are
using stores,
what cements
their purchase
decisions and
how they pay.
to pamper ourselves in indulgent, frivolous
activities. Retailers that make these
experiences easy will attract customers.
‘May I?’ advertising will take hold: More
retailers will adopt permission-based
advertising, asking customers to opt-in
to sharing their data. This follows a year
when many retailers, especially startups,
approached this marketing model as a
standard. To consumers, it should be
standard; 70 per cent think it’s unacceptable
for a business to share their details with
vendors without their permission.
AI will continue to set the price: in 2020,
58 per cent of the top retailers said they
planned to implement some form of AI
pricing technology by the end of 2021.
We’ve reached 2022 and record-making
inflation is underscoring the urgency for
intelligent modeling.
The youngest consumers will be more
active shoppers: sales are not wasted on
the young. In 2020, a reported 80 per cent
of children under the age of 12 influenced
family purchases, translating to $US500
billion ($AUD665 billion) in purchases a
year. Now all of those digital shoppers are
a year older and exploring more ways to
shop. Be tech-forward, be sustainable, be
transparent – and be ready.
Retailers will make rewards cryptic, yet easy
to understand: cryptocurrency, or digital
money such as bitcoin, is becoming less
enigmatic, so it’s a safe bet there are now
enough crypto-curious consumers to justify
46 | May 2022

ewards in that form. However, retailers will
need to make the crypto-concept easier to
interpret for new adopters.
Fortunately, cryptocurrencies are
intangible, so simplifying and explaining
the process, as well as providing some
guarantees of value, will go a long way in
stoking consumer interest.
Consumers will want to shake things up:
in 2021, Home Depot’s 12-foot decorative
skeleton became a national figure.
However, the story behind ‘Skelly’s’ success
is what should matter to retail in 2022.
It served as an outlet of expression, from
frustration to humor, and a device that
provided a sense of control. The pandemic
may have kept consumers in, but they could
still act out on their lawns and they loved it.
Untraditional retail hubs will become
Main Street: Following nearly 8,700 store
closures in 2020, developers registered a
wealth of opportunity in all of those vacant
fronts on main streets and suburban
malls. What followed was a movement of
innovative merchant combinations sexy
enough to get shoppers away from their
digital devices.
Profiting from these skills
The price of attracting new customers, and
retaining existing customers, increases like
inflation depending on the environmental
factors that guide all buying decisions,
from pricing, to the channel, to the most
rewarding shopping experience.
Retailers that trust their customers as
guides, and combine that input with
insight-enriching resources such as
machine learning, should be able to
detect worthy trends, as well as guide
their trajectory.
What’s around the corner?
Meeting the unexpected with the expected
requires a review of the basics. Namely,
how shoppers are using stores, what
cements their purchase decisions and
how they pay.
These five trends embody activities and
services that click with consumers, through
novelty, ease or necessity.
#1. Shopping in the stream will bring live
retail therapy. Live-streaming – realtime,
interactive video streams that
sell products, often on social platforms
– bring in-store personal service to the
screen by enabling viewers to comment
during the events.
The US women’s apparel chain Chico’s now
livestreams on Facebook with regularity,
as does Saks Fifth Avenue. Among Saks’s
recent styling streams: a live wedding suite
event with celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger
featuring dresses from designers Carolina
Herrera, David Koma, Alexander Gaultier
and Manolo Blahnik.
#2. Malls emerge in stores for a mini revival.
In the US, traditional shopping centres may
be closing, but a scaled-down version is
emerging among big-name chains through
store-within-a-store formats.
Unlike the Starbucks in the supermarket,
however, in-store co-branding will be taken
to a more sophisticated, digitally-driven
level in 2022. Take the Hy-Vee store in
Iowa (a supermarket) which is formatted
to operate like a mini mall with a digital
footprint so it can meet large-scale needs.
#3. Buy-now purchase plans coming
sooner than later. Fee-free ‘buy now, pay
later’ payment plans will become the norm
in 2022 and beyond as more competitors
enter the ‘pandemic economy’ fray.
Among the 10 installment services listed
in the US publication US News and World
Report in June are PayPal’s Pay in 4,
Afterpay, Klarna and an option by Amazon.
THE
DEFINING
FACTORS OF
2022?
Livestreaming
Major retailers
will continue to
breach the digital
space by livestreaming
key
releases
Mini-malls
Stores-withinstores
will grow
in popularity
BNPL
Buy now, pay
later will take the
world by storm
Swap meets
Consumers
will pursue the
best prices at a
community level
Crypto
More and more
consumers
will take up
cryptocurrency
as a vehicle for
digital spend
Unlike traditional layaway plans, these
plans enable shoppers to get their items
up front without interest or other fees,
assuming they pay within the allotted
number of installments.
The service is more prominent online,
and as the option becomes more visible,
consumers will come to expect it and
choose the retailers that offer it.
#4. Swap meets to beat inflation. Supply
chain issues are forcing some consumers
to consider alternative options, and ‘buy
nothing’ giveaway groups are taking
advantage.
The New York Times describes the
movement as “a network of social media
groups, mostly on Facebook, where people
give and receive things, treating the stuff
taking up space in their homes as gifts
meant to be shared and treasured.”
This trend can pose a threat to retail sales,
unless retailers can position their reworked
items as the next best thing to buying
nothing. This trend may especially have
legs among younger consumers, including
Gen Z, who are increasingly concerned
about sustainability.
#5. Digital commerce will become
less cryptic. There are more than 6,000
cryptocurrencies on the market, and
more retailers are accepting them.
Crypto shouldn’t block them from also
testing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) –
digital files linked to blockchain that
grant ownership to digital content, such
as an image of Twitter CEO Jack Dorey’s
first tweet.
BRYAN PEARSON is president and
CEO of LoyaltyOne, and has more than
20 years' experience in developing
customer relationship. Visit: loyalty.com
May 2022 | 47

BUSINESS
Logged On
From little tweaks, big savings grow
Businesses have a habit of avoiding routine maintenance, preferring to perform costly large overhauls every few years.
GRAHAM JONES explains that small but consistent tweaks leads to big savings further down the line.
I recently arranged for some tradesmen
to paint our garden. It hadn’t been done
for several years, so it took them a long
time to remove the grime before they
could paint. The preparation time was the
longest part of the job.
It soon became clear that the excessive
time it took to prepare the fence for
painting could have been saved if we’d
had it painted every year.
While the painters were slapping the
paint on the fence, I was running a oneday
consultancy session for a client in
the Netherlands.
Before the day began, I was concerned
about how I would fill the time they had
booked because, prior to the global
pandemic, I had visited them at their
lovely offices in Amsterdam.
We had spent time discussing their
online options and when I returned to the
UK and checked their internet activity
a few weeks later, it was clear they had
made significant changes following my
consultancy.
They had improved their Twitter
following from around 25,000 to
almost 600,000, showing they were
doing a brilliant job.
The right approach
I approached our new session with
trepidation. I was worried that they
would think they were paying for
nothing. They had done a great deal
of work following my advice, and it
was clearly successful for them. After
analysing everything, I could only find a
few ‘tweaks’ they needed to improve
their current approach.
In the end, I need not have been
concerned.
We spent the day discussing plenty of
elements of their digital operations and
activity. We tweaked something here,
made a minor alteration there, and
before I knew it, our time was up. I asked
if the day had been helpful.
Regular checks and actions avoid a massive task in the future.
They said it was tremendously valuable
and that they would like to book another
session in a year to check they were still
on track.
I made summary notes outlining the
ideas we had produced. There were only
half a dozen key things they needed to
do, plus a handful of smaller items. It
didn’t seem much for a day’s work.
Yet, the client was thrilled with what had
been delivered.
I looked out the office window into the
garden and saw my shiny new fence. I
realised that my client was behaving in
a way that I hadn’t done with my fence.
Rather than waiting several years to see
if their online performance was up to
scratch, they were reviewing every year.
That meant that the time taken to deal
with changes would be a lot less than
if they waited several years to consider
what they were doing.
Unlike my garden fence, which had been
left to get into a sorry state, they were
ensuring that their online presence only
needed a quick ‘touching-up’ every year
or so.
Don’t fall behind
Sometime later I received a request
from a potential client asking if I could
review their website.
When you don’t
reconsider
your social
media strategy
every year,
you also leave
it to wither,
requiring
significant
investment at
a later date.
The company was thinking about a
redesign and wanted to provide some
information to web design companies.
The email told me that they hadn’t done
anything to their website for almost
seven years and they had decided it was
time for a refresh.
I looked at their website and realised it
resembled my neglected fence.
There was a lot of work that needed to
be done to prepare their website for the
designers to do anything fruitful.
When you don’t reconsider your social
media strategy every year, you also
leave it to wither, requiring significant
investment at a later date.
And if you do not look after your digital
footprint on an annual basis, addressing
the necessary changes in one colossal
effort after several years takes more
time and energy than is necessary.
My clients in the Netherlands had the
right idea.
Regular checks and actions mean that
there is never a massive task in the
future.
There is a tendency to go for significant
changes every few years in business,
rather than progressive alterations over
shorter periods. If you are a ‘big change’
business, then you are like my garden
fence.
Leaving it unpainted for so long has
created much more work, at a higher
cost, than if it had been tended to every
year.
Ignoring reviews of your online activity
for long periods also means you make
more work for yourself and raise your
costs.
GRAHAM JONES studies online
behaviour and consumer psychology
to help businesses improve website
success. Visit: grahamjones.co.uk
48 | May 2022

BUSINESS
Selling
Fuel and friction: the psychology of sales
Successfully reaching lofty sales targets is usually about more than just offering better products or selling harder.
TOM MARTIN explains how retailers can increase sales by eliminating friction.
All of us - every person, organisation and
sales team - is surrounded by hidden
forces that make it more difficult to
convince others to adopt the new ideas
necessary to close more sales.
So when your sales numbers aren’t
meeting expectations, what do you do?
Loran Nordgren, author of The Human
Element, believes that most companies
add more ‘fuel’.
Staff are encouraged to sell harder, to
improve or invest more in marketing, to
offer new and improved products and to
consider additional hiring.
However, what if you took a different
approach? What if, instead of adding fuel,
you removed friction?
It’s an important question because
answering it incorrectly wastes
investment, time, and effort, which leads
to failure. Fuel in sales is anything that
elevates or enhances the appeal of an idea,
product or decision.
Typically this involves incentives,
supportive evidence, emotional appeals
or demonstrating the value of a new idea,
product, or service to end-users.
Friction meanwhile is anything that resists
change. It’s defined as any set of forces
that drag on innovation and change.
Retailer learns a lesson
In Nordgren’s book, he uses the example of
a hypothetical furniture retailer which sells
customisable one-of-a-kind furniture.
The problem is that the customers love
using the website to customise potential
products and, using online design tools
for hours at a time, but they don’t buy the
finished product.
The retailer attempts to resolve the
problem with ‘fuel’ - reduced prices and
improved fabric options both of which don’t
increase sales.
The retailer then engaged a research
consultant who discovered the real
problem: customers didn’t know what to
What if, instead of adding fuel, you removed friction?
do with their existing furniture in order to
make room for their customised product.
The retailer had added fuel in order to
stimulate sales, when all that was required
was eliminating the ‘friction’ keeping the
customer from making the purchase.
The retailer employed an additional service
offering to remove any existing furniture
as a part of the delivery process. Sales
took off!
Forget the easy way
It’s easier and sexier to build a bigger
rocket instead of a lighter spaceship.
The human mind instinctively processes
behaviour through the lenses of motivation
and intent. The same principles are at play
when people make the mistake of adding
more fuel, rather than eliminating friction.
If people aren’t buying what we’re selling,
we assume the lack of desire is driven by
a product’s lack of appeal. We instinctively
add more fuel in hopes of winning the sale.
Identifying friction can take a lot of time
and energy, which takes our attention away
from our customers.
The University of Chicago, as an example,
had a smaller applicant pool in comparison
to similar colleges and universities. The
school had a reputation for being rigorous
and they wrongly, as it turns out, believed
their brand was causing students to shy
away from applying.
If people aren’t
buying what
we’re selling,
we assume the
lack of desire
is driven by a
product’s lack
of appeal. We
instinctively
add more fuel
in hopes of
winning the
sale.
In truth, students weren’t afraid of applying
to a rigorous college, the issue was the
ease of application. A number of other
colleges and universities had joined a
program, which allowed students to file a
single application that was distributed to
all participating schools.
Once the University of Chicago joined that
same program, applications increased
dramatically.
Simple techniques
Next time you find yourself facing a sales
issue, instead of just trying to sell hard,
consider making it easier for people to buy
what you’re selling by fighting friction.
Make the action easier. Netflix
automatically plays the next episode of any
series because they knew it improves the
chances that you’ll keep watching. Even the
most minor changes to friction can keep a
customer engaged.
Make the customer feel as though they
are the author of the change. We are
most influenced by ideas that we believe
we generated on our own. Guide your
customer to the right purchase, don’t tell
them what to buy.
Remove negativity bias. Everyone knows
that negative experience carry greater
weight in comparison to positive ones.
You need five good experiences in a
relationship to outweigh one bad one.
Think about how that principle can
be applied to your relationship with
customers.
The bottom line
Before you begin any sales process
consider things from the view of your
audience first. Uncover any source of
friction and address them.
TOM MARTIN is the founder of
Converse Digital, a sales and marketing
agency. He is also a keynote speaker
and author of The Invisible Sale.
Visit: conversedigital.com
May 2022 | 49

BUSINESS
Marketing & PR
Make the most of local events and the chance
to get face-to-face with new customers
Communities often organise street fairs and shopping events, which to the untrained eye, may seem like a waste of time.
NANCY GEORGES explains that these events are in fact an excellent chance to expand your business.
Brick and mortar stores have a major
advantage over digital stores – it’s the
human connection.
It’s all too common to see retailers give
up on their unique physical space and
focus on online sales without realising
they are losing the human connection.
It’s true that the COVID-19 pandemic has
encouraged customers to shop online
more, but it’s noisy, impersonal and
cold. Now more than ever customers
want to connect and have a great
experience outside the house.
Councils organise street fairs and
shopping events and they’re a great
opportunity to build your business on
their dollar.
The atmosphere tends to put customers
in a good mood, which makes their
minds open to positive memories and
feelings.
If you can connect and collaborate with
a neighbouring store, even better!
There is strength in numbers and your
message is amplified when you are can
collaborate on themes and messages.
Create magic and theatre in your
store! It doesn’t have to just be
for a one-off, special event. Give
customers something unique to look
at and experience. Make sure you’re a
memorable, positive host too.
Before we delve any deeper into
specifics, let’s talk preparation.
Before the event
In the lead up to a street fair or special
shopping event, focus on creating an
interesting and engaging store window.
Showcase your products and services
with creativity, and find a way to include
a relevant quote or saying – personally,
I love a clever and funny sandwich board
out the front of a store for messaging.
Create an offer for the special event and
not just a discount or sale.
The atmosphere tends to put customers in a good mood.
Make that offer available only for those
shopping during the event, or those
who have signed up to your business’
database.
Consider offering a special offer for
those who sign up for your database on
the day to develop new connections.
Speak to any relevant suppliers too,
ensuring you’re ready for the special
event. They may even have special
branded packaging they can offer just
for the day, or perhaps even a discount.
You can design vignettes and eyecatching
displays throughout the store
that show products or services in a
way that’s memorable, and may even
encourage customers to promote the
store itself online.
This will show customers you have
flair and are digital savvy and it’s an
attractive way to encourage sales.
Encourage pictures be taken and shared
online, as that also becomes content for
your business.
Another simple idea is to place a poster
which promotes the event itself in your
window and in your store, but make sure
it’s done with style and class – consider
a frame, or making it part of a larger
display.
It’s important to make sure your
address and contact details, including
phone number and email, or updated
If you can
connect and
collaborate with
a neighbouring
store, even
better! There
is strength in
numbers and
your message
is amplified
when you are
can collaborate
on themes and
messages.
online in the lead up. Audit your site and
social media presence.
Promote the event on your website or
social media pages and find ways to link
in with the organisers at large, which is
a great way to reach larger audiences.
Use organiser hashtags, or create your
own.
Don’t just invite your regular customers
either; contact to friends and family for
support and to build excitement.
Make sure you take plenty of great
pictures of your displays, and share the
online too.
In the aftermath
The opportunity to grow your business
doesn’t end when the street fair or
special shopping events does.
Send customers who visited a thank you
email, and consider offering then an
exclusive offer for their next purchase.
Post the pictures from the event on your
website and social media pages. Tell
any stories that may go with them and
tag customers and organisers using the
relevant hashtags.
Link to your website and digital store
and send a newsletter a couple of weeks
after the event or find another way to
touch base with your database.
These are all important ideas but
they’re just a basic start. There are
so many other next level activities
that can lead to sales success, but
the foundation needs to be set before
getting too advanced.
Above all, focus on enjoying your time
with the new people you meet. Enjoy
showing them fruits of all the hard
work you put into the event, and positive
connections will follow.
NANCY GEORGES is a retail strategist,
consultant, coach and trainer. Her focus
is marketing, planning, execution. Learn
more: magnoliasolutions.com.au
50 | May 2022

BUSINESS
Management
Entrepreneurship 101 for leaders
and those who want to be
Business data and intelligence are vital in any organisation. MICHAEL HINSHAW explains
the mechanics in leveraging customer-centric actions to better manage your business.
Most businesses intuitively understand
the need to connect their products and
services to the needs of the market.
Failing to determine a specific need and
align your offerings to meet it leaves you
with little chance of success.
Early into venture creation, the pursuit of
product-market fit is driven by identifying
and closing the gap between customer
issues and proposed solutions.
As a mentor and teacher, I share my view
that customer-driven evidence must lead
to conclusions without letting biases get in
the way of what the market actually needs.
My role as a mentor is mirrored in my job
as a customer experience strategist. I
help small businesses understand what
customers need and act based on what
is learned, while building the institutional
muscles to do so.
Unfortunately, many retailers have
difficulty dealing with customer
perspective. They are hindered by tradition
and habit - established processes,
systems, rules, and reward structures.
Whether you’re establishing a business or
improving customer experience, the most
common factor associated with success is
an understanding of customer needs and
providing them in ways that are relevant
and unique.
Customer development manifesto
Bob Dorf and Steve Blank, authors of
The Startup Owner’s Manual, a guide to
building a great business, created a list
of 17 customer development principles
but I’ve narrowed it down to eight that
are equally relevant to any established
organisation striving to connect with their
customers regardless of size, industry,
location, or product.
#1. Get outside
There are no facts inside your building,
so get outside! You don’t know what
customers think without interacting with
them. Using one-on-one interviews,
qualitative focus groups and formal data-
A factor associated with success is an understanding of customer needs.
gathering such as surveys and behavioural
analytics, there’s no substitute for looking
at your business from the customer’s
perspective.
#2. Finding the heart
Whether you’re improving existing systems
and processes or designing products,
services, or experiences, the ability to
gather, analyse, integrate, and act on
customer input is crucial in changing
expectations. Adopting an iterative design,
deploy, and assess approach to experience
improvement is at the heart of the most
customer-centric businesses.
#3. Insight-driven pivots
What worked yesterday may not work today
or tomorrow. Consequently, you must
have the ability to shift focus or direction
based on insights from your customers
and data. Continually identify pain points
and experience gaps, then prioritise their
improvement based on customer needs
and your business objectives.
#4. Validate hypothesis with experiments
Always aim to turn your informed guesses
— another definition for hypothesis — into
facts by testing improvements with the
customers who actually use or interact
with them. In the context of customer
experience, think of your efforts as ‘pass/
fail’ experiments that provide insights to
learn from and take action on.
What worked
yesterday may
not work today
or tomorrow.
Consequently,
you must have
the ability to
shift focus or
direction based
on insights from
your customers
and data.
#5. Failure is an integral part
As noted in Mark Coopersmith and John
Danner’s book The Other “F” Word,
failure can be a game-changing resource
— provided you learn from it. It’s about
finding what works and what doesn’t,
based on what the data and outcomes
reveal. And of course, set yourself up
to fail small, since tests and iterative
improvements lead to big gains over time.
#6. Startup metrics are different
Businesses are comfortable with
traditional metrics like balance sheets,
P&L, and cash flows. Customer experience
metrics link customer interactions to
the feelings those interactions drive and
behaviours customers exhibit. Those
behaviours are what drives traditional
business metrics — and why linking them
is foundational.
#7. Communicate and share learning
Customer experience professionals need
to share knowledge with others, especially
affected parties across the organisation.
Customer-driven data is effective at
aligning the organisation around problems
and collectively pursuing solutions.
#8. Success begins with buy-in
Adopting a customer-centric strategy can
change almost every aspect of a business,
from go-to-market to metrics, systems,
and processes. Up-front stakeholder
buy-in is critical. But make no mistake —
any experienced leader will require you to
prove the value of your efforts.
After all, no matter how well-aligned to the
market your brand, messaging, products,
or services are, if the experience of using
them becomes challenging, customers
won’t use them at all.
MICHAEL HINSHAW is president of
McorpCX, which focuses on customer
experience management. Learn more:
mcorpcx.com
May 2022 | 51

My Bench
Muhammad Taqi Shakoor
York Jewellers. Penrith NSW
Age 34 • Years in Trade 18 • Training Certificate 3 in Jewellery Manufacture • First job Jeweller in Afghanistan
SIGNATURE PIECE
OPAL COCKTAIL RING
Two-tone, 18-carat white and yellow gold dress ring with
14X 1.13-carat RBC diamonds with two 0.47-carat, Half
Moon cut diamonds, claw set in a halo surrounding a
stunning 3.81-carat Boulder Opal with yellow gold fleur
de lis shaped claws.
4FAVOURITE GEMSTONE Blue sapphire.
4FAVOURITE METAL 18-carat white gold.
4FAVOURITE TOOL Fretz hammer.
4BEST NEW TOOL DISCOVERY Artgraver handpiece.
4BEST PART OF THE JOB Handmakes and stone setting.
4WORST PART OF THE JOB Having to finish other
people’s work.
4BEST TIP FROM A JEWELLER Always be honest,
patient, and punctual.
4BEST TIP TO A JEWELLER When you stress,
things can go wrong. Always take it easy.
4BIGGEST HEALTH CONCERN ON THE BENCH
My back.
4LOVE JEWELLERY BECAUSE I get to work with my
hands and challenge myself to meaningful pieces
others will enjoy.
52 | May 2022

OPINION
Soapbox
Strengthen customer relations by
lending a helping hand with coverage
Everyone wants to be protected in the event of a sudden disaster. LACHLAN RENSHAW
says retailers have an important part to play in helping customers pursue quality insurance.
What processes do you have in postsales
customer care for your client?
Most jewellers place jewellery insurance
in the ‘too hard basket’ and leave their
customers to fend for themselves.
Many customers protect their jewellery
through home and contents insurance
and assume that they are protected in the
event of a claim.
Unfortunately, this often leads to underinsurance
– which is when the item
insured on your insurance policy —
that is, the amount listed as the maximum
you will be paid if you make a claim —
isn't enough to cover the full cost of
replacing the stolen or lost jewellery.
The problem is exacerbated when people
travel or take a holiday because they do
not consider their policy conditions.
For example, a recent report by Allianz
Australia stated that more than 68 per
cent of Australians do not have insurance
for the valuables they take with them
on holiday.
Considering the number of people who
travel overseas on their honeymoon,
this is a considerable risk that they
unknowingly expose themselves to.
A recent case between a consumer and
an insurer best illustrates the problem.
A home and contents policyholder, who
had specified to the insurer the jewellery
items that she wanted covered before
purchasing the policy, lost a dispute over
sentimental jewellery pieces that went
missing during a hotel stay.
The home and contents insurance
provider denied her claim on the grounds
that she had not taken out the optional
extra cover for ‘portable valuables’,
which would apply for loss away from
the insured address.
So, how protected are most customers
who seek to insure their jewellery through
home and contents? The short answer is
not very well protected at all.
In the recent Australian Financial
Complaints Authority (AFCA) ruling
for this case, it was said, “She had the
opportunity to check and ask the insurer
about any concerns before the loss
occurred, but she did not do so”.
The ruling went on to say, “The full terms
and conditions are set out in the policy
documents which were provided at the
time (and again at renewal)”.
In another AFCA case in October 2020,
a homeowner who lost her engagement
ring after it fell through her deck was
awarded $50,000 for the jewellery in
a claim dispute hearing. A prominent
home and contents insurance provider
in Australia declined the claim to the
policyholder, saying the policy specifically
excluded cover for valuable contents that
are in the open air at the site.
“As the engagement ring was not lost
or damaged inside the home, but rather
lost while on the exterior deck that is
in the open air at the site, coverage is
not available in this circumstance,” the
insurer said.
However, in good news for the
policyholder, the AFCA determined that
the ring was covered.
The question jewellers need to ask
themselves is, by allowing customers
to fend for themselves to insure their
jewellery, are they providing exceptional
post-sales customer service? Particularly
when they have the knowledge and
experience to assist them in making an
informed choice?
So, how
protected are
most customers
who seek to
insure their
jewellery
through home
and contents?
The short
answer is
not very well
protected at all.
Post-sale customer service
Considering the ever-increasing
operational expenses for jewellers, it’s
no secret that ‘customer acquisition
costs’ are also rising. How much does
it cost you to advertise and promote
your business in order to gain a new
customer?
This includes advertising spend,
production costs, inventory upkeep,
salaries, commissions, technical costs,
overheads, creative costs, and many
others.
For this reason it’s in the best interest
of jewellers to educate and inform their
customers about adequate insurance
cover for their jewellery.
For most people the ideal insurance
offers worldwide cover, guarantees the
customer can return to the jeweller of
their choice and with no cash settlements
on the policy, just to name a few.
You don’t have to offer advice. Your valued
and loyal customers will appreciate the
fact that you are pointing out things that
they may not have considered.
It can be doubly appreciated when it
involves heirloom jewellery and other
items that hold great sentimental value.
There are a number of industry-specific
insurers that specialise in jewellery and
you can compare what they offer as a way
to investigate which might be best suited
to your clientele.
Name: Lachlan Renshaw
Business: Centrestone Jewellery
Insurance
Position: Director
Location: Sydney, NSW
Years in the industry: 8
54 | May 2022

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