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Jeweller - July 2023

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VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY JULY <strong>2023</strong><br />

Fire and Stone<br />

OPAL JEWELLERY IS IN HOT DEMAND<br />

WITHIN AUSTRALIA AND ABROAD<br />

Rise of the Hybrid<br />

THE FUTURE OF THE DIAMOND<br />

INDUSTRY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE<br />

Forget the Rules!<br />

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IS VITAL<br />

TO SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS<br />

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<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 3


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JULY <strong>2023</strong><br />

Contents<br />

This Month<br />

Industry Facets<br />

13 Editorial<br />

14 Upfront<br />

16 News<br />

30<br />

33<br />

64<br />

10 YEARS AGO<br />

Time Machine: <strong>July</strong> 2013<br />

LEARN ABOUT GEMS<br />

Influential Gemmologists: I<br />

MY BENCH<br />

Michael Purdy<br />

28<br />

EVENTS AT IJF <strong>2023</strong><br />

The Line Up<br />

66<br />

SOAPBOX<br />

David Kellie<br />

47 OPAL FEATURE<br />

Homegrown heroes<br />

Features<br />

4Opal jewellery has never been more popular on<br />

the international stage. SAMUEL ORD investigates<br />

the spike in popularity the iconic Australian<br />

gemstone has experienced in recent years.<br />

35<br />

47<br />

DIAMOND INDUSTRY REPORT<br />

Industry experts forecast the future of diamond jewellery<br />

OPAL AND OPAL JEWLLERY FEATURE<br />

Australian opals are increasingly popular abroad<br />

52<br />

AUSTRALIAN OPAL EXHIBITION<br />

Opals on show<br />

Better Your Business<br />

35 DIAMOND FEATURE<br />

Hybridisation<br />

4The international diamond industry is undergoing<br />

significant change. PRANAY NARVEKAR and CHAIM<br />

EVEN-ZOHAR discuss the future of the industry and<br />

the important role lab-created diamonds will play in<br />

what's to come.<br />

58<br />

60<br />

61<br />

62<br />

63<br />

BUSINESS STRATEGY<br />

Rules were made to be broken. GRAHAM JONES explains the right way to break them.<br />

SELLING<br />

RICH KIZER AND GEORGANNE BENDER detail simple methods for improving sales.<br />

MANAGEMENT<br />

Networking can be difficult. DAVID BROWN encourages you to embrace the challenge.<br />

MARKETING & PR<br />

MICHAEL HINSHAW discusses the importance of proactive marketing.<br />

LOGGED ON<br />

BRIDGET BROWN outlines a strategy for dealing with negative reviews.<br />

66 INDUSTRY EDUCATION<br />

Inspired and informed<br />

4Knowledge is the key!<br />

DAVID KELLIE explains<br />

the importance of<br />

educating consumers<br />

on the natural diamond<br />

industry's practices.<br />

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Editor’s Desk<br />

Voices of reason rising above the diamond melee<br />

The heated debate about the future of the international diamond industry<br />

continues unabated. ANGELA HAN reflects on recent calls for civility.<br />

It's been said by many important<br />

historical figures that ‘the first casualty<br />

of war is the truth’ and the conflict<br />

between ‘natural’ and lab-created<br />

diamonds supporters has been no<br />

exception to this rule.<br />

Which matters more: preserving the<br />

reputation of diamonds as a scarce<br />

resource worthy of luxury, or providing<br />

consumers with more options when it<br />

comes to jewellery?<br />

If the chemical makeup is the same, does<br />

it matter if one gemstone was formed over<br />

millions of years deep within the Earth, and<br />

another is created in a factory in India?<br />

The raging ‘diamond debate’ is fought<br />

over semantics, science, and philosophy<br />

and at stake is a multi-billion dollar per<br />

year industry.<br />

It’s been an important few weeks for the<br />

diamond industry, with calls for civility<br />

between the ‘natural’ and lab-created<br />

factions gaining significant momentum.<br />

The future of the lab-created market<br />

dominated headlines in June after<br />

Lightbox Jewelry, the De Beers Group’s<br />

brand, began trialling engagement rings.<br />

The collection features 16 items ranging<br />

between $AU895 and $AU8,950. CEO<br />

Antoine Borde said the decision to<br />

undertake the trial was based on<br />

consumer demand. Naturally, reception to<br />

the decision was divisive and indeed many<br />

came out in support of Lightbox.<br />

The detractors were quick to draw<br />

attention to statements from De Beers<br />

leaders in 2018 – when Lightbox was<br />

launched – suggesting that the brand<br />

would not offer engagement rings<br />

because there was no ‘emotional value’<br />

to the product.<br />

In a special presentation at the <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

and Gem ASIA Hong Kong trade show, Zulu<br />

Ghevriya, CEO of Smiling Rocks, said it was<br />

a decision that was years overdue.<br />

Smit Virani, managing director of Ethereal<br />

Green Company, joined Ghevriya on stage<br />

and the pair discussed the significance<br />

of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi<br />

presenting the US first lady Jill Biden with a<br />

7.5-carat green lab-created diamond.<br />

Virani said he couldn’t imagine a larger<br />

‘stamp of approval’ for the industry –<br />

and it’s hard to disagree!<br />

Hybridisation is coming<br />

Each year, Pranay Narvekar and Chaim<br />

Even-Zohar release a detailed review of<br />

the international diamond industry across<br />

the previous year.<br />

This year’s report – Embracing Reality: The<br />

Inevitable Rise of Hybrid-Diamond <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

– is a doozy! The pair detail the increasing<br />

significance of jewellery which features both<br />

natural and lab-created diamonds.<br />

The report predicts that in the future,<br />

retailers will offer three distinct types of<br />

diamond jewellery – natural, lab-created,<br />

and hybrid. Hybrid diamond jewellery is<br />

jewellery that features both natural and<br />

lab-created diamonds.<br />

The popularity of hybrid diamond<br />

jewellery may steady the expansion<br />

of lab-created diamonds and offer a<br />

transparent in-between alternative.<br />

Perhaps the most significant impact<br />

this ‘blending’ of categories may have<br />

will be arresting declining consumer<br />

faith in the diamond industry.<br />

“The day when consumers no longer aspire<br />

to own a diamond, if it ever comes, would be<br />

the death of the diamond dream,” the report<br />

dramatically concludes.<br />

Can’t we all just get along?<br />

Prominent voices in the jewellery trade<br />

have called for peace between the two<br />

fractured factions for many years.<br />

Among them is the new president of the<br />

International Grown Diamond Association<br />

(IGDA), Joanna Park-Tonks, who this month<br />

signed a new partnership with the World<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y Confederation (CIBJO).<br />

As part of the agreement, the IGDA will<br />

become a member of CIBJO’s Laboratory<br />

Grown Diamond Committee.<br />

This committee aims to define lab-created<br />

diamond trading practices to improve<br />

consumer education and confidence,<br />

something which I’m sure both ‘sides of the<br />

fence’ can agree is a good thing.<br />

Park-Tonks said the purpose of this<br />

agreement was to send a ‘clear signal’ to<br />

the international jewellery industry that it’s<br />

time to abandon personal agendas and egos<br />

and work for the best interest of the trade.<br />

She drew attention to the decision by some<br />

to deride natural or lab-created diamonds<br />

and said that approach is not conducive to<br />

improving consumer education.<br />

Which matters<br />

more: preserving<br />

the reputation of<br />

diamonds as a<br />

scarce resource<br />

worth of luxury,<br />

or providing<br />

consumers with<br />

more options<br />

when it comes to<br />

jewellery?<br />

During our research for an upcoming project,<br />

a member of the diamond industry told<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong> that he hasn’t seen the industry<br />

‘feeling so lost’ in a very long time.<br />

The panacea to this issue is leadership,<br />

and it’s pleasing to see representative<br />

organisations like CIBJO and the IGDA<br />

coming together to send a clear message.<br />

Meeting in the middle<br />

Approaching the issue from a different<br />

perspective is David Kellie, who features in<br />

this month’s Soapbox column (see page 66)<br />

as president of the Natural Diamond Council.<br />

While Kellie and Park-Tonks undoubtedly<br />

share different visions for the future of the<br />

diamond industry, it’s interesting to note the<br />

areas in which the pair are in agreement.<br />

Kellie agrees that the most important<br />

‘frontier’ for the industry to traverse is the<br />

education of consumers.<br />

Indeed, despite the considerable ‘evolution’<br />

of the industry in recent years, many myths<br />

about the diamond trade persist and the<br />

wider public still knows very little about<br />

where jewellery ‘comes from.’<br />

He suggests that these myths and the<br />

lack of clarity around the industry create an<br />

erosion of trust in the businesses behind<br />

diamond jewellery, which is a poor sign for<br />

the road ahead.<br />

Kellie also says that natural and lab-created<br />

diamonds both have a part to play in a<br />

prosperous jewellery industry; however, in<br />

order to reach such a future protecting the<br />

integrity of the industry is vital.<br />

This sentiment is becoming more<br />

widespread – that there is room for both<br />

natural and lab-created diamond products<br />

and that each will soon find its niche.<br />

The bottom line? Consumers are gifted<br />

with a chance to get more creative with<br />

their designs, and jewellers are also<br />

afforded a chance to boost their income.<br />

It’s a shame that the road to this new<br />

hybridised market has been filled with much<br />

vitriol and mud-slinging; however, when there<br />

are potentially billions of dollars at stake –<br />

who can blame the factions for getting a little<br />

hot under the collar?<br />

The jewellery industry has never been<br />

accused of being impassionate!<br />

Angela Han<br />

Publisher<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 13


Upfront<br />

Rewind: Best Bench Tip<br />

JUNE 2015<br />

“Always pass on skills<br />

and knowledge to<br />

keep our trade alive.<br />

Without this, many<br />

specialist skills will be<br />

permanently lost.”<br />

LINDA SMITH<br />

EMIL BRAUN/<br />

LINELA FINE JEWELLERY<br />

HISTORIC GEMSTONE<br />

Pearl of Lao Tzu<br />

4The Pearl of Allah, also known<br />

as the Pearl of Lao Tze, was once<br />

considered the largest known<br />

pearl. The pearl was discovered<br />

in the Palawan Sea in the<br />

Philippines. It is not considered<br />

a gemstone pearl and is instead<br />

known as a Tridacna pearl from<br />

a giant clam. It measures 24<br />

centimetres in diameter and weighs 6.4 kilograms. The only knowledge<br />

of the pearl's provenance comes from Wilburn Dowell Cobb, an<br />

archaeologist from San Francisco, who purchased the pearl in 1939<br />

and owned it until his death in 1979. The pearl is owned in three equal<br />

shares by the heirs of Joe Bonicelli, Peter Hoffman and Victor Barbish.<br />

In the US, the pearl was exhibited at the Ripley's Believe It or Not!<br />

Odditorium in New York, valued at $US35,000,000.<br />

Enter the Matrix<br />

4Virtual reality has been a hot topic<br />

in <strong>2023</strong>, transforming the online retail<br />

environment by enabling customers<br />

to visualise products before making a<br />

purchase. Whether it’s trying on jewellery<br />

virtually or placing furniture in a virtual<br />

room, this technology bridges the gap<br />

between the physical and digital worlds.<br />

The hope is that this will improve consumer<br />

confidence and reduce returns. Virtual<br />

reality offers unique opportunities for<br />

retailers to create digital showrooms and<br />

shopping environments. Virtual showrooms<br />

are also a cost-effective solution.<br />

Trend Spotting<br />

4Pearls have been the talk of the town<br />

so far this year, lighting up runways<br />

and fashion shows around the world.<br />

Australia’s own Autore Pearls recently<br />

hit the silver screen, with a collection<br />

appearing in Netflix’s Queen Charlotte:<br />

A Bridgerton Story. Head of marketing<br />

and communications Ruby Autore said:<br />

“Pearls have always been in fashion, but<br />

are really a strong trend now."<br />

Campaign Watch<br />

4Malaysian jeweller HABIB has<br />

launched a new campaign, GemFest,<br />

beginning with a private masterclass<br />

session on gemstones at Majestic<br />

Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Each store will<br />

be showcasing a different range of<br />

masterfully crafted designs and styles,<br />

showcasing the beauty and durability of<br />

colour gemstones and diamonds.<br />

Image credit: Netflix<br />

Image: HABIB, GemFest<br />

Stranger Things<br />

Weird, wacky and wonderful<br />

jewellery news from around the world<br />

Buried treasures<br />

4A diamond worker has been<br />

arrested in India after he allegedly<br />

spiked his colleagues' tea with a<br />

sedative and fled with diamonds<br />

valued at $US14,000. Police said<br />

the suspect made tea during a<br />

night shift for eight co-workers.<br />

He fled the workshop with more<br />

than 2,500 diamonds, with a total<br />

weight of 250 carats. The accused<br />

was arrested and the diamonds<br />

recovered.<br />

Crime doesn’t pay?<br />

4The Jewelers' Security Alliance<br />

has released a report suggesting<br />

crime impacting jewellers has<br />

more than doubled in the US in the<br />

past 12 months. Losses soared to<br />

a record high of $US129.4 million<br />

according to the 2022 annual<br />

crime report. That figure sat at just<br />

$US70.1 million in 2021. President<br />

John Kennedy, urged jewellers to<br />

remain vigilant. "Soaring crime<br />

needs to be a concern for the<br />

entire diamond, jewellery and<br />

watch industry," he said. The total<br />

number of crimes committed was<br />

a record 2,211, an increase of 31.1<br />

per cent on 2021.<br />

Under the sea<br />

4A starfish brooch designed by<br />

Salvador Dali featuring diamonds,<br />

rubies, and emeralds sold for<br />

$US982,000. It was the highest price<br />

ever paid at auction for a piece of<br />

jewellery created by the Spanish<br />

surrealist artist. The Etoile de Mer<br />

belonged to socialite Rebekah<br />

Harkness. She founded her own<br />

ballet company and had Dali paint<br />

backdrops for her.<br />

VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY<br />

Published by Befindan Media Pty Ltd<br />

Locked Bag 26, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 AUSTRALIA | ABN 66 638 077 648 | Phone: +61 3 9696 7200 | Subscriptions & Enquiries: info@jewellermagazine.com<br />

Publisher Angela Han angela.han@jewellermagazine.com • Journalist Samuel Ord samuel.ord@jewellermagazine.com<br />

Production Learoy Bangis art@befindanmedia.com • Advertising Toli Podolak toli.podolak@jewellermagazine.com • Accounts Paul Blewitt finance@befindanmedia.com<br />

Copyright All material appearing in <strong>Jeweller</strong> is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without prior written consent of the publisher. Befindan Media Pty Ltd<br />

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<br />

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<br />

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<br />

arising from the published material.


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News<br />

Russian diamond crackdown<br />

Mass refunds for aggrieved opal mining community<br />

Industry speculation over the future of diamonds<br />

sourced from Russia has ramped up, with media<br />

sources suggesting further prohibitions will be<br />

installed in early 2024.<br />

Rob Bates of JCK Online has reported that all G7<br />

countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,<br />

the UK, the US, and EU - will prohibit the import<br />

of gemstones mined in Russia, even those cut and<br />

polished overseas.<br />

“To date, the industry has not exactly provided<br />

a united front. US groups and companies —<br />

particularly bigger names that already have<br />

sourcing protocols in place — say they support the<br />

government’s aims,” writes Bates.<br />

“Antwerp initially opposed all sanctions, arguing<br />

the goods would just go to Dubai; it now insists<br />

that only a ‘science-based’ origin solution (such<br />

as Spacecode) would work. But most consider<br />

such technology a long shot, and lately the Belgian<br />

government has indicated it will move forward with<br />

sanctions, whether Antwerp likes it or not.”<br />

The report suggests that the new restrictions<br />

will come into effect in January, with regulations<br />

possibly limited to diamonds one-carat or larger.<br />

The minimum weight could decrease as over time.<br />

Customs will require importers to declare their<br />

diamonds aren’t from Russia, however; other<br />

provenance information will not be required.<br />

“Clearly, the diamond industry is about to undergo<br />

a major change. In 2000, when the trade agreed to<br />

form the Kimberley Process, it made a conscious<br />

decision to separate diamonds into two streams:<br />

non-conflict (inside the KP) and conflict (outside),”<br />

the report continues.<br />

Bates added: “Of course, no system will be perfect,<br />

and the G7 doesn’t have the same reach as the<br />

Kimberley Process — which encompasses almost<br />

every diamond centre or producer on Earth. Yet the<br />

US remains the biggest market, so the trade will<br />

have a hard time ignoring what’s going on.”<br />

In the US, these proposed new prohibitions<br />

will likely require either new legislation or a<br />

modification of the existing executive order<br />

banning Russian diamonds.<br />

The NSW Government has confirmed it will<br />

pay refunds to opal miners impacted by a<br />

recent administrative oversight which placed<br />

hundreds of livelihoods in jeapordy.<br />

Natural Resources Minister Courtney<br />

Houssos announced the refund scheme would<br />

pay for administration levies, licence fees and<br />

renewal costs.<br />

In May, it was revealed that opal miners in<br />

Lightning Ridge and White Cliffs had spent<br />

nearly a decade paying for invalid licences<br />

which were incorrectly approved by Mining,<br />

Exploration and Geoscience.<br />

The licences were reportedly invalid because of<br />

a previously unnoticed stipulation that miners<br />

must send a letter to landholders seven days<br />

before the approval process. More than 3,340<br />

licences were impacted by the error.<br />

The Perth Mint will face renewed scrutiny after<br />

the Federal Parliament agreed to a motion put<br />

forward by Liberal senator Dean Smith to form a<br />

new investigative committee.<br />

The committee will lead an inquiry that will<br />

cover a wide range of matters relating to the<br />

mint and its compliance with industry laws<br />

and regulations.<br />

A report is expected by 13 December, with the<br />

investigation to be led by seven senators – three<br />

from the opposition, two from Labor, one from<br />

the Greens, and one from the crossbench.<br />

The committee has already faced opposition,<br />

with finance minister Katy Gallagher suggesting<br />

that it will be a redundant process given other<br />

unfolding investigations.<br />

"AUSTRAC and the WA government are taking<br />

these matters seriously, as are we," she said.<br />

"I'm really sorry for the disruption that<br />

is caused to the miners and to the local<br />

communities during this peak mining<br />

season," Houssos said.<br />

"The department has advised me that we should<br />

have miners back on their leases within weeks<br />

— some of these will take longer."<br />

Lightning Ridge opal miner Shane Morris told<br />

ABC News the issue is far from resolved.<br />

"It's the least the minister could do at this<br />

stage because it's thrown chaos into the<br />

community and the industry," he said.<br />

"There's that much confusion, no-one knows<br />

what's going on."<br />

Among the issues raised by the mining<br />

community was the decision to deem the<br />

licences invalid retroactively, rather than applying<br />

the validation process to new licences.<br />

New federal investigation into Perth Mint proceeds<br />

"The senator [Dean Smith] knows this motion<br />

will not only duplicate this effort but also risks<br />

compromising these independent investigations.<br />

"We do not support a motion that is driven<br />

by state politics that would disrespect and<br />

undermine due process."<br />

A spokesperson for the Perth Mint told ABC<br />

News it would cooperate with all requests made<br />

by the federal committee.<br />

"We continue to actively engage with<br />

the regulator and are progressing a<br />

comprehensive, fully funded remediation<br />

program to strengthen our systems and<br />

processes," the spokesperson said.<br />

The operations of the Perth Mint are overseen<br />

by the Gold Corporation. CEO Jason Waters<br />

resigned from his role in May.<br />

16 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


News<br />

Lust for trust: Everledger in hot water for misuse of third-party intellectual property<br />

Brisbane-based technology company Everledger<br />

has been misusing the intellectual property of<br />

third-party organisations and may have breached<br />

Australian Consumer Law.<br />

The company, which focuses on the jewellery<br />

industry, collapsed eight weeks ago with close<br />

to $AU10 million in debts and was placed under<br />

voluntary administration on 24 April.<br />

The UK parent company, Foreverhold Limited,<br />

is in the process of being liquidated. Launched in<br />

2016 by Leanne Kemp, Everledger has received<br />

more than $AU54 million in funding and boasted<br />

Chinese tech giant Tencent - owner of WeChat -<br />

as an investor.<br />

The company’s rise to a ‘global power player’ led<br />

to Kemp’s appointment to the Office of the Chief<br />

Entrepreneur position by Queensland Premier<br />

Annastacia Palaszczuk in 2018, despite having<br />

previously faced personal bankruptcy proceedings.<br />

During her time as Queensland’s Chief<br />

Entrepreneur (2018-2020), her company racked up<br />

more than $AU5 million in losses. Everledger’s<br />

mandate, according to Kemp, is to improve<br />

transparency and ethics in the jewellery industry,<br />

especially in the international diamond industry.<br />

Kemp regularly speaks about the importance of<br />

trust and the company website states: “Everledger<br />

is the digital transparency company, providing<br />

technology solutions to increase transparency in<br />

global supply chains. Our purpose is to contribute<br />

greater clarity and confidence in the marketplaces<br />

where transparency is a strategic imperative.”<br />

The homepage goes on to describe the<br />

company’s purpose as “Helping everyone to<br />

trust in what they buy”.<br />

Furthermore, the website features the logos of six<br />

organisations with a claim that these companies<br />

‘trust’ Everledger, in what appears to be a<br />

promotion of the company’s credibility and integrity.<br />

The logos of the World Economic Forum, Brilliant<br />

Earth, Fred Meyer Jewelers, Blockchain Australia,<br />

Tencent, and FISITA all appear under the heading<br />

“TRUSTED BY”.<br />

The problem is at least two of the organisations<br />

featured on the website were unaware that<br />

their intellectual property was being used to<br />

promote Everledger.<br />

Representatives confirmed to <strong>Jeweller</strong> that<br />

permission to use the logos had not been sought,<br />

nor granted.<br />

A spokesperson for The World Economic<br />

Forum (WEF) told <strong>Jeweller</strong>, “It is important<br />

to note that the WEF has no involvement in<br />

Everledger’s business decisions.”<br />

“Furthermore, we would like to clarify the WEF<br />

never grants permission for any technology<br />

pioneer to use the WEF logo.”<br />

Likewise, Blockchain Australia head of<br />

operations Amy-Rose Goodey confirmed that<br />

Everledger has been using the logo ‘improperly’<br />

and without explicit permission.<br />

"Everledger is not a member and their website<br />

should not be displaying the Blockchain Australia<br />

logo. If they were not in liquidation we would ask<br />

them to remove our logo," she said.<br />

Chair of Blockchain Australia Michael Bacina<br />

contacted <strong>Jeweller</strong> to further emphasise<br />

that he views this behaviour by businesses<br />

as a serious problem. He and his staff could<br />

not find any connection between Blockchain<br />

Australia and Everledger and confirmed that<br />

his organisation does not provide a statement<br />

of trust to any third-party company.<br />

A website screen capture 27 June, showing the<br />

logos and implication that Everledger is “trusted<br />

by” the World Economic Forum and Blockchain<br />

Australia; both organisations deny any knowledge<br />

of the claims and advise no permission was<br />

granted for use of their logos.<br />

Transparency in question<br />

Brilliant Earth promotes its business as being<br />

at the forefront of blockchain technology: “We<br />

were one of the first jewellers to offer blockchainenabled<br />

diamonds at scale, to provide traceability of<br />

a diamond’s origin and ownership”.<br />

It is unclear if Brilliant Earth uses the<br />

Everledger platform or whether the company<br />

granted approval for the Brilliant Earth logo<br />

to appear on the Everledger website under<br />

the heading “TRUSTED BY”. After numerous<br />

attempts to seek clarification on this - and<br />

its own claims about transparency - <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />

was contacted by Victoria Del Rico, director of<br />

communications Brilliant Earth; however, she<br />

has subsequently remained silent.<br />

The Fred Meyer Jewelers logo appears under the<br />

same “TRUSTED BY” heading and Kirsten Darrow,<br />

group vice president Fred Meyer Jewelers is quoted<br />

on the Everledger website as stating, “We are<br />

excited to be able to offer Rock Solid diamonds to<br />

our customers as part of our ongoing commitment<br />

to responsibly sourced and transparent jewellery<br />

supply chains”.<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong> contacted Fred Meyer Jewelers on<br />

multiple occasions seeking clarity about the<br />

company’s apparent endorsement of Everledger<br />

and its own transparency practices; however, it<br />

failed to respond. FISITA likewise did not respond<br />

to various requests for comment.<br />

Tencent is/was an investor in Everledger and<br />

was responsive to emails; however, at the time<br />

of publication had not provided comment on the<br />

issues relating to its logo and/or the “TRUSTED<br />

BY” matter.<br />

Lust for trust?<br />

The Everledger website features a ‘profile’ page<br />

on Kemp which states: “In her role as CEO, she<br />

inspires and steers the team of Everlegends [sic] to<br />

increase transparency and trust with technology, in<br />

close collaboration with our industry partners.”<br />

In a 2021 interview with Rapaport, a diamond<br />

industry publication, Kemp spoke of the<br />

importance of trust in business.<br />

“There’s a lust toward trust,” she told the<br />

publication. The article continues by describing<br />

Everledger as being “on a mission to facilitate<br />

that trend [sustainability], using its blockchainpowered<br />

platform to help diamond and jewellery<br />

businesses keep a transparent record of their<br />

products’ provenance.”<br />

The company's future remains up in the air after<br />

a second creditors meeting was postponed to 28<br />

June. Everledger faces significant debt and the<br />

Administrator’s report concluded that the company<br />

has no intellectual property assets. In a surprising<br />

admission, the report also indicated that the<br />

company effectively survived on government grants.<br />

If a Deed of Company Arrangement is accepted in<br />

order to allow Everledger to continue, it could find<br />

itself running afoul of Australian Consumer Law<br />

(ACL) regarding claims that it has misused the<br />

intellectual property of third-party organisations.<br />

Section 18 of the ACL states, “a person must not,<br />

in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is<br />

misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or<br />

deceive.”<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong> sought clarification from Kemp about if,<br />

and why, her company would be exploiting the logos<br />

of external organisations - without approval - by<br />

suggesting that Everledger was “trusted by” them.<br />

At the time of publication she had not responded.<br />

MORE BREAKING NEWS<br />

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<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 17


News<br />

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Retail employees in New South Wales – including<br />

staff at jewellery stores – have been granted new<br />

legal protections by the NSW Government.<br />

The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Assaults on<br />

Retail Workers) Bill <strong>2023</strong> will implement three new<br />

offences into the Crimes Act.<br />

The reforms make it an offence to assault, throw a<br />

missile at, stalk, harass or intimidate a retail worker<br />

in the course of the worker’s duty, even if no actual<br />

bodily harm is caused to the worker. Offenders face<br />

a maximum penalty of four years behind bars.<br />

Offenders who assault a retail employee in the<br />

course of a worker’s duty may face up to six years<br />

imprisonment, while an 11-year maximum sentence<br />

has been set for those who wound or cause grievous<br />

bodily harm to a retail worker.<br />

NSW Premier Chris Minns said that retail workers<br />

deserved better protection.<br />

"Everyone should be treated with decency and<br />

respect while at work. There is no excuse for<br />

assaulting anyone, particularly not someone who is<br />

doing their job,” Minns said.<br />

“This bill reflects our government’s commitment to<br />

More than one-fifth of Australian businesses<br />

experienced a cyber security attack during the<br />

2021-22 financial year, a sharp increase from the<br />

previous year.<br />

According to the latest report from the Australian<br />

Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 22 per cent of businesses<br />

were targeted in a cyber incident. That figure sat at<br />

just eight per cent during the 2019-20 financial year.<br />

Scams and fraud were the most commonly reported<br />

incident at 16 per cent, with malicious software<br />

infections (five per cent) and unauthorised access or<br />

use (three per cent) also of concern.<br />

Head of ABS business statistics Robert Ewing<br />

support our workers and ensure their safety in the<br />

workplace.”<br />

Research from the McKell Institute found that 85<br />

per cent of retail workers have experienced abuse or<br />

assault at work.<br />

Australian Retail Association CEO Paul Zahra said<br />

retail employee abuse escalated during the COVID<br />

pandemic.<br />

“We’ve seen a frightening escalation in retail crime,<br />

where it is now becoming a matter of life-or-death<br />

for workers simply trying to do their job,” Zahra said.<br />

“Actions speak louder than words, and we’re<br />

extremely pleased that the NSW Government has<br />

listened to our views and the needs of retail workers<br />

and is taking strong action to deter these violent<br />

incidents and keep retail staff safe.<br />

“We’re mindful that the majority of customers are<br />

respectful and do the right thing, but the small<br />

minority are making retail a dangerous environment<br />

to work in.”<br />

In the past year, the SA Government introduced a<br />

maximum penalty of five years for those convicted of<br />

assault against a retail worker.<br />

Retailers urged to be vigilant amid cyber crime wave<br />

said: “Today’s ‘Characteristics of Australian<br />

Business’ data release is important because it gives<br />

governments and researchers information about the<br />

prevalence, impacts and nature of cyber attacks.<br />

“This helps them understand who they need to<br />

support and what strategies they need to use.”<br />

The release reveals that 34 per cent of<br />

businesses reported a loss of time in managing<br />

cyber security attacks and 18 per cent recorded<br />

downtime of service. A further 17 per cent<br />

reported a loss of staff productivity.<br />

Of those surveyed, 70 per cent said that they<br />

relied on some form of protection software,<br />

while just 13 per cent gave staff cyber security<br />

awareness training.<br />

With the International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair in Sydney<br />

(19-21 August) now just weeks away, vigilance<br />

concerning cyber security remains important for the<br />

jewellery industry.<br />

Scams in the lead-up to industry events such as the<br />

IJF are common, and tend to concern attendee lists,<br />

fair directories, and accommodation reservations.<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong> is aware of a number of emails currently<br />

circulating with offers to purchase the contact<br />

information for the attendee list of the IJF.<br />

Fair organisers Expertise Events advise that the only<br />

way to deal with scammers is to not reply.


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News<br />

De Beers denies violating<br />

Russian diamond sanctions<br />

Diamonds for unity: Industry groups CIBJO and<br />

IDGA forge partnership with focus on marketing<br />

The world’s largest diamond mining company, the De<br />

Beers Group, has issued a statement denying claims it<br />

sold diamonds sourced from Russia.<br />

Last week, ‘luxury’ publication Glitz.Paris reported that<br />

De Beers had “sold stones of Russian origin in the US”<br />

in 2022, suggesting the transaction involved Alrosa and<br />

an Israeli company.<br />

Botswana’s Sunday Standard cited the allegations as a<br />

front-page story over the weekend.<br />

“Let us be clear — this allegation is not true.<br />

De Beers only sources diamonds discovered in<br />

Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and South Africa, or<br />

from select companies that adhere to our strict and<br />

third-party audited sourcing policy,” the company<br />

said in a statement.<br />

“Following the start of the war, we removed Russia<br />

from our third-party sourcing list. We do not source<br />

diamonds from Russia.”<br />

The report from Glitz.Paris alleged that the De<br />

Beers’ Forevermark brand conducted more than<br />

100 transactions involving Russian diamonds<br />

destined for the US market.<br />

“It is no secret that we have been the subject<br />

of a number of headlines in Botswana over the<br />

past several months. While those stories were<br />

distortions, this particular story is dangerous,” the<br />

statement continues.<br />

“Beyond De Beers, it suggests to consumers that the<br />

natural diamonds they buy, a significant percentage<br />

of which come from Botswana, are tainted. This is not<br />

true, but in an attempt to discredit De Beers, the article<br />

risks damaging much more.”<br />

The Israeli company named in the transaction is<br />

sightholder Dalumi Group. Rapaport News contacted<br />

the company and a spokesperson denied the<br />

allegations.<br />

De Beers recently postponed its fifth and sixth sales<br />

cycle auctions for the year amid concerns about<br />

dwindling demand.<br />

The agreement was confirmed on 25 June in the UK as a memorandum of understanding, signed by CIBJO president<br />

Gaetano Cavalieri and IGDA president Joanna Park-Tonks. | Source: CIBJO<br />

The World <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Confederation (CIBJO) and<br />

the International Grown Diamond Association<br />

(IGDA) have formalised a new partnership in<br />

pursuit of protecting consumer confidence in<br />

the jewellery industry.<br />

The agreement was confirmed on 25 June in the<br />

UK as a memorandum of understanding, signed<br />

by CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri and IGDA<br />

president Joanna Park-Tonks.<br />

As part of the agreement, the IGDA will become<br />

a member of CIBJO’s Laboratory Grown<br />

Diamond Committee. The purpose of the<br />

committee is to define lab-created diamond<br />

trading practices in order to elevate consumer<br />

education and confidence.<br />

“Over the past several years the lab-created<br />

diamonds sector has grown into a large and<br />

prominent part of our industry, and we all have<br />

a vested interest in each other’s success,”<br />

Cavalieri said.<br />

“That definitely will be enhanced by having the<br />

IGDA as a permanent part of the discussion and<br />

the decision-making process.”<br />

The immediate focus of the committee will be<br />

addressing the need for ‘honest and accurate’<br />

marketing around sustainability issues – an area<br />

that Park-Tonks said requires cross-industry<br />

collaboration.<br />

“This sends a clear signal to the global jewellery<br />

industry to set personal agendas and egos<br />

aside, placing the consumer and their best<br />

interests at the heart of our work,” she said.<br />

“We all agree that a strategy of deriding<br />

natural diamonds or lab-created diamond<br />

products is not conducive to consumers’<br />

understanding of either sector. Together we<br />

are stronger and we jointly acknowledge the<br />

necessity of communicating clearly, honestly,<br />

and transparently.”<br />

Park-Tonks was appointed the president<br />

of the IGDA in January and during her brief<br />

tenure has emphasised the need for open<br />

communication between the lab-created and<br />

natural diamond industries.<br />

New owner of Swan Lake jewellery a mystery<br />

The auction of a pearl and diamond necklace<br />

with matching earrings, once owned by<br />

Princess Diana and known as the Swan Lake<br />

Suite, has been cancelled - as the collection<br />

now has a new mystery owner.<br />

The necklace features 178 diamonds in total<br />

and was expected to hit the block in New York at<br />

Guernsey’s auction house on 27 June.<br />

Guernsey's recently uploaded a message<br />

to its website that reads: "Princess Diana's<br />

Swan Lake Suite has been privately sold to a<br />

prominent museum. Accordingly, our auction of<br />

the beautiful jewels has been cancelled."<br />

The platinum necklace is mounted with<br />

brilliant-cut diamonds in a scroll motif.<br />

Suspended from the necklace are five South<br />

Sea pearls and seven marquise diamonds.<br />

The piece was created by former British Crown<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong> Garrard. Princess Diana wore the<br />

necklace in June of 1997 at the gala opening of<br />

the Swan Lake ballet at London’s Royal Albert<br />

Hall, just months before her death in Paris. The<br />

collection was expected to return up to $US15<br />

million ($AU22.1 million) at auction.<br />

20 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


News<br />

Lightbox begins to offer lab-created<br />

diamond engagement rings<br />

Lightbox Jewelry - the De Beers Group’s lab-created diamond jewellery<br />

brand - has launched a trial of engagement ring offerings, a notable shift in<br />

stance for the company.<br />

The collection includes 16 items featuring lab-created diamonds, including<br />

white and blue diamonds, which prices ranging from $AU895 to $AU8,950.<br />

Speaking to the media, a spokesperson for Lightbox Jewelry said that it<br />

was a ‘small in-market test’ of consumer preferences in the lab-created<br />

diamond engagement ring segment.<br />

“When De Beers launched Lightbox in 2018, Bruce Cleaver, the miner’s CEO<br />

at the time, presented lab-created as a product that ‘may not be forever, but<br />

is perfect for right now,’ writes Joshua Freedman of Rapaport News.<br />

“[He] claimed there was ‘no real emotional value in lab-created diamonds,<br />

because they’re not unique,’ and said the diamonds did not warrant<br />

grading. [Lightbox] later debuted the Finest line, introduced diamonds<br />

larger than one carat, and started declaring the cut quality, colour, and<br />

clarity of its diamonds.”<br />

In an interview with JCK Online earlier this month, Lightbox Jewelry<br />

CEO Antoine Borde said that any future decisions concerning<br />

engagement rings would be determined by consumer sentiment.<br />

“It’s a matter of listening to the consumer. We have a lot of consumers who<br />

ask, ‘when are you going to sell engagement rings?’ By the way, our loose<br />

stone business has done very well,” he said.<br />

“It’s possible those diamonds might be used for something outside of<br />

Lightbox. I can’t answer precisely this question, but for now we don’t have<br />

[engagement rings] in our range. But that’s a very, very consistent message<br />

[we are getting]. We are focused on listening to our consumers, because at<br />

the end of the day, it’s important to answer their demands.”<br />

In the latest analysis of the US jewellery market from Tenoris, the average<br />

retail price of lab-created diamonds declined 9.6 per cent in May compared<br />

with April.<br />

“The simple equation of rising demand leading to higher prices is not<br />

happening in the lab-created diamond sector and for a compelling reason,”<br />

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“The primary price drivers are oversupply that reduces prices, prompting a<br />

deep need of the midstream to sell rapidly to avoid inventory price erosion.<br />

Ironically, that advances prices down even further.”<br />

Sales of natural diamonds continued to decrease in May, with the number<br />

units sold declining 16.5 per cent on a year-on-year comparison. The value<br />

of sales decreased 20.6 per cent, completing a year of sales decline.


News<br />

Done deal: Michael Hill takeover of<br />

Bevilles complete<br />

Michael Hill International has officially assumed operational control of retail<br />

rival Bevilles.<br />

In late April the details of the $45.1 million deal were announced and as of<br />

Thursday, Michael Hill has assumed control of 26 Bevilles stores in three<br />

states – Victoria, NSW and SA.<br />

The company plans to open more than 80 new Bevilles stores by 2028,<br />

including expansion in New Zealand and Canada where Michael Hill<br />

already operates.<br />

This may include converting existing Michael Hill locations into Bevilles<br />

stores. The financing of this expansion comes from a new three-year $90<br />

million credit facility from ANZ and HSBC.<br />

“I’m excited the acquisition has been completed and welcome the Bevilles<br />

team members to the Michael Hill family,” CEO Daniel Bracken said.<br />

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“This acquisition not only demonstrates the board’s commitment to<br />

strategic investment but also provides a platform for significant store<br />

network expansion and delivery of incremental earnings.”<br />

As well as expanding Bevilles store network, the facility will fund a new<br />

digitally-led ‘bespoke' diamond jewellery brand and the rollout of its gold<br />

recycling platform.<br />

The company recently confirmed its plans for the branded watch category<br />

with <strong>Jeweller</strong>. Bracken noted that offers of new locations from a number of<br />

landlords have been tabled.<br />

Supporting emerging talent<br />

The Michael Hill International Violin Competition, supported by the<br />

Hill Family Foundation for Arts and Music, has taken place in<br />

Queenstown and Auckland.<br />

The competition concluded on 10 June, with 16 of the world’s<br />

youngest violinists going head-to-head for a prize package valued at<br />

more than $100,000.<br />

"As a company deeply connected to our heritage, craft, and community, we<br />

are proud to support such a prestigious event that reflects our values and<br />

resonates with our brand's philosophy," said Sir Michael Hill said.<br />

"The competition not only showcases the finest musical talents globally. It<br />

also helps to strengthen the local arts scene, especially after it was put on<br />

hold during COVID.”<br />

The winner of this year’s competition was 20-year-old Yeyeong Jenny Jin.


News<br />

Cause for celebration for<br />

Aussie jewellery retailers<br />

Industry mourns the loss of legendary diamond<br />

cutter Tolkowsky<br />

There’s optimism in the air for retailers following<br />

the latest sales analysis of Australia’s independent<br />

jewellery stores from Retail Edge, highlighted by a<br />

bounce-back.<br />

June data shows comparative overall sales dollar<br />

performance improved by five per cent compared with<br />

2022 and eight per cent on the two-year difference.<br />

Comparative units sold decreased by 3.4 per cent on a<br />

year-by-year comparison.<br />

The comparative average sale in inventory only<br />

increased by 10 per cent on a year-by-year<br />

comparison ($242 from $220) and improved by eight<br />

per cent on a two-year comparison. Looking at the<br />

performance across product categories, the diamond<br />

precious metal jewellery section improved by seven<br />

per cent compared with June 2022, Retail Edge sales<br />

manager Mike Dyer explained.<br />

“Colour gemstone set precious metal jewellery shows<br />

sales dollars were down 18 per cent compared with<br />

June 2022 and declined 4.6 per cent on the two-year<br />

comparison to June 2021,” he said.<br />

“Silver and alternative metals jewellery sales dollars<br />

were down eight per cent compared with June<br />

2022 and improved by 1.1 per cent on the two-year<br />

comparison to 2021.”<br />

Born in Tel Aviv in 1939, Tolkowsky learned the<br />

trade from his father, Jean, who owned the<br />

first diamond-polishing factory in Israel.<br />

The Tolkowsky family name remains<br />

renowned within the diamond industry, and<br />

Gabriel was the great-nephew of Marcel<br />

Tolkowsky, the inventor of the ideal-cut round<br />

brilliant diamond.<br />

In an interview with Rapaport News,<br />

Tolkowsky said some of his fondest memories<br />

came from his early days in the trade.<br />

“To polish diamonds, he [Jean] had to use a<br />

bicycle to turn the polishing wheel, because<br />

there was no electricity,” he said.<br />

“Many of the first diamond people in Israel<br />

were my father’s pupils. I learned my trade<br />

from him, and I am proud to have had such a<br />

rare opportunity.”<br />

From 1975 through 1995, Tolkowsky worked<br />

for the De Beers Group, gaining fame for the<br />

cutting of the 273-carat Centenary Diamond –<br />

a process that took more than three years.<br />

He would later earn the appointment as the<br />

cutter of the 545-carat Golden Jubilee Diamond.<br />

Reflecting on his storied career in an interview<br />

with <strong>Jeweller</strong>, Tolkowsky was humble about<br />

his many achievements.<br />

“Without having a team of 15 expert scientists,<br />

technicians, security guards, and master<br />

diamond cutters that communicated daily<br />

with me during three long years, I would have<br />

never been able to achieve the uniqueness of<br />

such a creation,” he said when discussing the<br />

Golden Jubilee.<br />

“Together we realised that every single<br />

diamond is effectively an individual that will<br />

attract every human’s senses; each one of<br />

them is a unique beauty.<br />

“As it is said, ‘beauty is altogether in the eye<br />

of the beholder.’ This, without any doubt,<br />

was and still is the basic reason for humans<br />

to continue to manufacture and deal with<br />

diamonds.”<br />

In 2002, his contributions to the diamond<br />

industry were acknowledged by a Knighthood<br />

Chevalier de L’ Ordre du Roi Leopold II from<br />

the Belgian government.<br />

In more positive news, the pattern in laybys increased<br />

by 14 per cent in dollar terms between new orders and<br />

pickups or cancellations. The pattern in services, such<br />

as repairs, was a 24 decline in dollar values between<br />

new incoming orders and pickups or cancellations.<br />

“This is the fifth consecutive month of double-digit<br />

negative movement in this area. An entrenched<br />

consumer pattern that may need more than a small<br />

shift in sentiment to flip the switch,” Dyer said.<br />

“This is not to say you should sit back and accept<br />

what is happening but make some noise about your<br />

services, skills and expertise. Repairs are still being<br />

done, you just may need to make an effort to get, or<br />

keep, your share and maybe someone else’s.”<br />

Special order numbers improved significantly (29 per<br />

cent) in dollar terms.<br />

Light of Peace diamond goes under the hammer<br />

Known as the Light of Peace Diamond, a<br />

pear-shaped brilliant-cut D colour diamond<br />

was sold for $US13.6 million ($AU20.15 million)<br />

at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction<br />

in New York.<br />

The 126-carat internally flawless diamond<br />

was expected to return at least $US15 million,<br />

falling narrowly short of its pre-sale estimate.<br />

“Exceptional diamonds, like exceptional houses,<br />

are always given names, and Christie's leads<br />

off its spring New York jewellery auction with a<br />

great example,” writes Carol Besler of Forbes.<br />

The source of the diamond is unconfirmed and<br />

was simply listed as ‘West Africa’ when it was<br />

purchased by the Zale Corporation in 1969.<br />

It’s believed the diamond was discovered in<br />

Sierra Leone.<br />

One highlight of that auction was a ruby and<br />

diamond bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels,<br />

named Jarretière, which actress Marlene<br />

Dietrich wore in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 film<br />

Stage Fright.<br />

The bracelet garnered $US4.5 million<br />

($AU6.67 million), reaching its top estimate.<br />

In total, the auction returned $US50.7 million<br />

($AU75.1 million).<br />

24 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


News<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y industry sentiment sky-high<br />

after Fiji Nationwide Conference<br />

Oceans Collection<br />

Nationwide <strong>Jeweller</strong>s’ annual Timeout Conference ended on Sunday with<br />

buyers and suppliers alike making the journey to Yanuca Island in Fiji.<br />

The buying group represents 376 members and 420 stores across three<br />

countries, with 306 members in Australia, 69 in New Zealand and one in<br />

Fiji. Approximately 150 attendees took part in this year’s conference<br />

and national membership manager Erin Keller described it as an<br />

overwhelming success.<br />

“The conference has exceeded our expectations, with more members<br />

than we anticipated bringing their families and adding additional days<br />

to their stay for a well-earned rest in the warm weather,” she said.<br />

“Both members and suppliers have expressed how much they enjoy<br />

Nationwide conferences because of the community value, education and<br />

networking provided. There is a common opinion that the culture of our<br />

events provides inclusivity and support for both suppliers and members.”<br />

Managing director Colin Pocklington delivered his eagerly anticipated<br />

annual industry update, covering the expansion of the industry since 2020.<br />

The presentation also included a detailed analysis of the economic factors<br />

that will influence the market in <strong>2023</strong> and beyond.<br />

“Glen Pocklington introduced our 'phygital' concept showing members<br />

how to move customers from their physical store and digital presence<br />

using the 'research online, purchase offline' theory,” Keller explained.<br />

“We also provided the key retail strategies members need to<br />

implement now to increase market share and profitability<br />

despite an economic slowdown.”<br />

Sessions covering this concept will take place at the International<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair (IJF) in Sydney on 19-21 August. Robyn Sparke of<br />

Stephen Sparke <strong>Jeweller</strong>s told <strong>Jeweller</strong> that events such as these are of<br />

vital importance to her business.<br />

“The word I think best describes how we feel after Fiji is ‘reinvigorated’.<br />

It was a fantastic weekend and I was pleased to catch-up so many young<br />

members in particular, with lots of great ideas for the future,” she said.<br />

“Colin’s presentation was excellent, offering insight into the trade<br />

well into the future, and I find that information really helps us with<br />

forward planning.”<br />

Nationwide will be an important presence at the Sydney Fair and this year<br />

they’ll introduce buyers from the Independent <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Organisation (IJO)<br />

for the first time.<br />

$169<br />

The two groups recently formed the Global <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Network with The<br />

Company of Master <strong>Jeweller</strong>s – representing more than 1,500 independent<br />

jewellery stores worldwide.<br />

Phone.03 9553 3777


News<br />

Cost-of-living pressures cause for<br />

concern for jewellery retailers<br />

Major retailers and small independents alike have expressed concern about<br />

consumer spending trends.<br />

Despite discretionary spending continuing to slow the Australian Bureau of<br />

Statistics reported that consumers spent more than $35.2 billion in April, a<br />

4.2 per cent increase on a year-on-year comparison.<br />

Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said that during a cost-ofliving<br />

crisis, sales could be expected to decline.<br />

“Cost-of-living pressures are the greatest current concern for retailers and<br />

their customers and this continues to affect retail sales – a trend we expect<br />

to see continue in the coming months,” Zahra said in a statement.<br />

“While the numbers are still positive – the slowdown in retail spending<br />

is certainly already in effect and when you factor in price increases these<br />

results are having an impact on margins.<br />

“Year-on-year spending on household goods continues to decline,<br />

but this also reflects the bumper trading in this category during the<br />

pandemic years.”<br />

Michael Hill International has reported a 3.5 per cent decline in sales for<br />

the second half of the financial year.<br />

According to the company, third-party transactional data for the total<br />

Australian retail jewellery segment has shown a double-digit decline in<br />

sales for the first four months of the second half.<br />

“Despite the more challenging market conditions and the resulting impact<br />

on many retailers, I’m encouraged by the Michael Hill performance, as we<br />

continue to take market share in our category,” CEO Daniel Bracken said.<br />

“Looking forward to 2024, I’m energised by the pipeline of strategic<br />

initiatives that underpin our aspirations for the group.”<br />

Retail Edge’s latest assessment of more than 400 independent<br />

jewellery stores revealed sales declined by 2.3 per cent in May on a<br />

year-on-year comparison.<br />

This softening of sales came off the back of an 11 per cent decline in April.<br />

Signet reviews forecast after sales decline<br />

Signet Jewelers has lowered its forecast for the remainder of the year<br />

after sales declined in the opening quarter. Revenue for the world’s largest<br />

retailer of diamond jewellery decreased by nine per cent on a year-on-year<br />

comparison, reaching $US1.67 billion ($AU2.18 billion).<br />

At locations open for at least 12 months same-store sales declined by 13.9<br />

per cent and CEO Virgina Drosos attributed the results to ‘macroeconomic<br />

headwinds’.<br />

“In line with our predictions, there were fewer engagements in the quarter<br />

resulting from COVID-19’s disruption of dating three years ago,” she said.<br />

Classiquewatches.com<br />

Become a stockist today 02 9290 2199<br />

She added: “We are proactively addressing the dynamic retail climate,<br />

leveraging our team's agility and flexible operating model to raise our<br />

cost savings target by up to $US150 million ($AU222.1 million) while<br />

maintaining strategic investments.”<br />

The company recorded a fourth-quarter sales slump of five per cent, with<br />

Drosos anticipating that an increased focus on excluding Russian diamonds<br />

from the US market would lead to positive sales.<br />

Signet owns more than 2,800 stores worldwide. The company is now<br />

forecasting sales of around $US7.3 billion ($AU10.81) for the financial year.


News<br />

Last Emperor of China’s classic Patek Phillipe watch returns $9 million at auction<br />

A Patek Phillipe once owned by the last Emperor of<br />

China has sold for $US6.2 million ($AU9.54 million)<br />

at auction at Phillips in Hong Kong.<br />

The platinum Quantieme Lune (ref. c96) triple date<br />

watch was manufactured in 1937 with moon phases,<br />

roulette-dial, enamel Arabic numerals, and pinkgold<br />

feuille hands.<br />

The timepiece crushed its pre-sale estimate of<br />

$US3 million.<br />

“Kept in its original untouched condition, including<br />

the strap and buckle with consistent patina<br />

throughout, this time-capsule piece comes with<br />

incredible historical importance, and is an epitome<br />

of its kind,” a statement from Phillips reads.<br />

“A once in a lifetime opportunity to obtain a<br />

timepiece that is worthy of a museum’s collection.<br />

For astute collectors, what is presented today is<br />

not only about collecting a significant part of Patek<br />

Philippe’s history, but world cultural history.”<br />

Aisin-Gioro Puyi, commonly known as Puyi, was<br />

the last emperor of China as the eleventh and Qing<br />

dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age<br />

of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate in 1912<br />

during the Xinhai Revolution.<br />

Puyi was an influential political figure in Asia until<br />

the conclusion of the Second World War, when he<br />

was imprisoned in Japan until 1959. He died in 1967.<br />

It is unclear how Puyi acquired the watch; however,<br />

it is known to have survived the five years he spent<br />

in a USSR prison camp in Siberia.<br />

“It is not known how Puyi acquired the timepiece,<br />

though records show it was initially sold via a<br />

luxury store in Paris. Phillips added that historical<br />

documents prove the former emperor took it with<br />

him to a Soviet prison camp in Khabarovsk,” writes<br />

Oliver Hollands of CNN.<br />

“H later gifted it to Georgy Permyakov, a fluent<br />

Mandarin speaker who served as his tutor and<br />

Russian translator during his time in detention.<br />

Almost a decade after returning to China, Puyi was<br />

pardoned and lived as a civilian in Beijing until his<br />

death in 1967.<br />

“Permyakov, meanwhile, kept the watch until he<br />

died in 2005, after which it was passed to his heirs<br />

before being consigned to Phillips by its current<br />

owner in 2019.”<br />

The watch was sold to an unidentified phone bidder<br />

from Hong Kong and is the most valuable timepiece<br />

sold by Phillips Watches in Asia.<br />

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Karrans of Hyde Park Watch and <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Specialists.<br />

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122245_La_Couronne_2022_International_<strong>Jeweller</strong>y_Fair_Trade_Ad.indd 1<br />

14/7/2022 10:46 am


International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

Fair <strong>2023</strong><br />

Something for everyone at blockbuster International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair<br />

The International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair is approaching<br />

and organisers Expertise Events have confirmed a<br />

schedule of special events and presentations.<br />

The major focus for this year’s industry gathering<br />

(19-21 August) will be innovation, headlined by the<br />

introduction of a new speciality education hub.<br />

With the introduction of this speciality hub, Expertise<br />

Events general manager Zac Fitz-Roy told <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />

the Sydney Fair was an opportunity not to be missed.<br />

"We are incredibly excited about the #MORE-Ideas,<br />

Inspiration, Information theme for this year's<br />

International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair," he said.<br />

“We have curated an exceptional line-up of exhibitors<br />

one of our biggest lists in a decade. The activities will<br />

ensure that attendees have access to unparalleled<br />

opportunities for improving their businesses, along<br />

with networking and knowledge-sharing.”<br />

Moreover, this year's fair will debut a new premier<br />

lounge, providing a luxurious retreat for VIP guests<br />

and industry leaders.<br />

The premier lounge is designed to serve as a haven<br />

for networking, fostering new connections and<br />

collaborating among industry professionals.<br />

One of the Australian jewellery industry’s most<br />

high-profile and influential figures, Karin Adcock,<br />

will make a surprise return to the Sydney Fair. Today,<br />

Adcock has traded one luxury for another - moving<br />

from jewellery to wine as the owner of Winmark<br />

Wines in the Hunter Valley.<br />

The Sydney Fair has three major sponsors this year.<br />

Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (SRK), a leading<br />

supplier of natural diamonds is a ‘diamond’ level<br />

sponsor while diamond jewellery manufacturer AV<br />

Diamonds will support the IJF as a ‘platinum’ level<br />

sponsor. US-based lab-created diamond company<br />

Classic Grown Diamonds is a gold level sponsor.<br />

Expertise Events managing director Gary Fitz-Roy<br />

said he admired the respective commitment of SRK,<br />

AV Diamonds, and Classic Grown Diamonds<br />

in supporting and elevating the jewellery trade.<br />

“Their commitment to excellence in the jewellery<br />

industry makes them a perfect fit for our event, and<br />

we look forward to working with them to create an<br />

unforgettable experience for our attendees,” he said.<br />

"We have already had to expand the floor area to<br />

accommodate increased demand, and the <strong>2023</strong> IJF<br />

will have the biggest number of exhibitors in the<br />

past decade."<br />

The IJF will be hosted at the International<br />

Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling<br />

Harbour over three days.<br />

» HAPPY HOUR<br />

The traditional happy hour<br />

cocktail party is scheduled to<br />

go ahead with free stubby<br />

holders distributed courtesy of<br />

Paterson Fine <strong>Jeweller</strong>y.<br />

The special Winmark winetasting<br />

session is also sure to be popular, led by<br />

former Pandora Australia CEO Karin Adcock.<br />

On the second day of the Sydney Fair (20 August)<br />

Adcock will host a four-hour wine-tasting session.<br />

“I still have a lot of love for the jewellery industry<br />

and have so many good friends not only among the<br />

retailers, but also with the wholesalers, and so to<br />

be able to come back and see everyone and share a<br />

glass will be quite special,” Adcock told <strong>Jeweller</strong>.<br />

» 'THE POWER OF VISIBILITY'<br />

• Publicist Karen Eck will be giving<br />

a special presentation titled ‘The<br />

Power of Visibility’ and lead a<br />

discussion about how to boost the<br />

profile of your business is a noisy<br />

and competitive environment.<br />

» WHAT’S MY BUSINESS REALLY WORTH’?<br />

Nationwide <strong>Jeweller</strong>s managing director Colin<br />

Pocklington will lead the ‘What’s My Business<br />

Really Worth’ session, detailing the importance<br />

of understanding the value of your business.<br />

In an era where retailers must adapt to rapidly<br />

changing market dynamics, understanding the<br />

true worth of your business is not a luxury; it<br />

is a necessity.<br />

» WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?<br />

Understanding industry laws and regulations<br />

is vital, and Alex Engel –<br />

assistant secretary<br />

of the transnational crime<br />

branch of the Attorney<br />

General’s Department – will<br />

host a session on proposed<br />

reforms to Australia’s antimoney<br />

laundering and counter-terrorism<br />

financing regime.<br />

The presentation will cover the purpose of the<br />

reforms, the consultation process and timing, how<br />

the proposed regulation may impact jewellery<br />

retailers and suppliers, and what it would look like<br />

to be regulated under the AML/CTF regime.<br />

“These reforms would extend the existing AML/<br />

CTF regime to help industry, including dealers in<br />

precious stones and metals, protect themselves<br />

from exploitation from money launderers and<br />

other criminal actors,” said spokesperson for the<br />

Attorney-General’s Department told <strong>Jeweller</strong>.<br />

» LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS<br />

» Innovation and technical creativity will be in the<br />

spotlight at the Sydney Fair, with Arya Opal Cutters<br />

hosting a live opal cutting demonstration while<br />

SABA Co will showcase live jewellery making.<br />

» WIN A DIAMOND<br />

As is always the case, special prizes will be<br />

up for grabs – with Salt and Pepper Diamonds<br />

hosting a contest to win a one-carat diamond.<br />

» FREE CARICATURES<br />

On the lighter side of things,<br />

free caricature drawings for<br />

visitors will be created by Sydney<br />

cartoonist Brett Bower.<br />

» PREMIUM VIP LOUNGE<br />

This year's fair will debut a new premier lounge,<br />

providing a luxurious meeting place for<br />

VIP guests and industry leaders.<br />

The premier lounge will encourage networking,<br />

discovering rewarding connections, and fostering<br />

comunication between industry professionals.


Long live<br />

love.<br />

International <strong>Jeweller</strong>y Fair.<br />

Stand E01. 19-21 August <strong>2023</strong>.<br />

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10 Years Ago<br />

Time Machine: <strong>July</strong> 2013<br />

A snapshot of the industry events making headlines this time 10 years ago in <strong>Jeweller</strong>.<br />

Historic Headlines<br />

4 Apple applies for iWatch trademark<br />

4 Swatch reveals Harry Winston plans<br />

4 Diamond crown shines at Miss Universe Australia<br />

4 Smuggler has 129 diamonds in sock<br />

4 Hollywood legends’ watches fetch high prices<br />

World’s largest synthetic<br />

diamond centre opens<br />

A new £20 million ($AU33m) synthetic<br />

diamond facility, which has been billed as the<br />

largest and most sophisticated in the world,<br />

has opened near Oxford in the UK.<br />

The Global Innovation Centre – operated by<br />

Element Six, a company that falls under the<br />

De Beers Group banner – will be used for<br />

the research and development of synthetic<br />

diamonds for industrial purposes like<br />

electronics and oil and gas drilling equipment.<br />

Given the increasing prominence of labcreated<br />

diamonds within the jewellery<br />

industry, <strong>Jeweller</strong> went to the source to<br />

ascertain what impact, if any, the new<br />

facility would have on diamond-sellers.<br />

Element Six will employ more than 100 staff<br />

members at the 5,000m² facility in Harwell,<br />

Oxfordshire.<br />

Michael Hill ‘satisfied’ with<br />

financial year results<br />

Michael Hill International has reported a 6.8 per<br />

cent increase in revenue for the financial year<br />

ending 30 June 2013, even though sales were<br />

said to be difficult in all of its markets during<br />

the fourth quarter.<br />

The company directors were reportedly satisfied<br />

with the performance results, especially given<br />

the “ongoing challenging environment”.<br />

Specific figures for the final quarter have not<br />

yet been released, but according to a company<br />

statement, sales were flat in Australia and<br />

negative in New Zealand, Canada and the US.<br />

Overall sales for the year increased to<br />

NZ$542 million (A$464.5m). Same-store<br />

revenue for the New Zealand stockexchanged<br />

listed retailer rose 0.4 per<br />

cent to NZ$493 million (A$421.9m).<br />

<strong>July</strong> 2013<br />

ON THE COVER Dora<br />

Editor’s Desk<br />

4What is fine jewellery?<br />

"Consumers are simply shopping for<br />

jewellery at a range of different price<br />

points and various styles, and yet I still<br />

come across people who believe there is<br />

a need to have two classes of jewellery<br />

even though no one can define them.<br />

In some cases, it’s a topic that can even<br />

incite extreme passion and rage.<br />

Since that first debate seven years ago,<br />

the industry has continued to evolve.”<br />

Soapbox<br />

4 Under-appreciation is our own fault<br />

“I, for one, don’t want to see the demise<br />

of the skilled artisan. It’s already tough.<br />

I had to beg my repairer to come out of<br />

retirement for another year to work for<br />

me.<br />

Don’t let jeweller training disappear,<br />

hire great salespeople and pay them<br />

well, educate customers about the value<br />

of a good jeweller and jewellery store<br />

and support the industry by sourcing<br />

quality product.<br />

Promote your expertise so that<br />

consumers appreciate what we do and<br />

are happy to pay for our services.”<br />

Mario Basso – Mario’s <strong>Jeweller</strong>s<br />

STILL RELEVANT 10 YEARS ON<br />

Paying the premium<br />

“Know what you want: this sounds fairly<br />

obvious, but all too often people write a<br />

brief without having this clearly defined,<br />

in the hope that it will pan out as the<br />

process unfolds.”<br />

Nick Fairburn<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y chains under fire<br />

READ ALL HEADLINES IN FULL ON<br />

JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM<br />

A number of jewellery chain stores may be<br />

breaking the law by forcing staff to purchase<br />

jewellery items that must be worn while<br />

working on the shop floor.<br />

The news comes after employees at retail<br />

outlets Diva and Lovisa claim that they were<br />

pressured into spending a significant portion<br />

of their salary keeping up to date with the<br />

store’s latest jewellery ranges.<br />

The aim is for staff to promote the store’s<br />

offering by actively wearing new product at<br />

work, however such practices may be a breach<br />

of the Fair Work Act.<br />

Under the Act, if an employer requires its staff to<br />

wear "special" items it must either provide the<br />

items or reimburse the cost of purchasing the<br />

pieces to the employee. Compensation cannot be<br />

made through staff discounts.<br />

$150 million jewellery heist<br />

For the third time this year, Cannes has<br />

featured as the location of a major jewellery<br />

robbery, this time to the tune of EUR103<br />

million (A$149m), also making it one of the<br />

world’s largest jewellery thefts.<br />

Authorities had initially estimated the heist<br />

was worth EUR40 million (A$57m), but after an<br />

inventory of the exhibition, the figure was revised<br />

up to EUR103 million.<br />

At around noon on Sunday 28 <strong>July</strong> (local time) a<br />

lone gunman, wearing a baseball cap with his<br />

face hidden by a bandana or scarf, walked into<br />

the prestigious Carlton Intercontinental Hotel<br />

through the front entrance. He then raided the<br />

“Extraordinary Diamonds” exhibition, escaping<br />

with jewellery and watches that he loaded into<br />

a briefcase.<br />

30 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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REVIEW<br />

Gems<br />

Game-changing Gemmologists: René-Just Haüy<br />

After the completion of the well-received Tools of<br />

the Trade series, it seems only fitting that <strong>Jeweller</strong><br />

should next delve into the men and women who have<br />

sharpened the modern world of gemmology.<br />

While he was not strictly a gemmologist, it makes<br />

sense to begin this series by introducing man<br />

considered to be the founding father of crystallography<br />

- René-Just Haüy.<br />

Haüy was a French priest and mineralogist, born in<br />

1743. The son of a poor linen worker, it was only after<br />

the prior of the abbey at his church noticed Haüy’s<br />

intellect and keen interest in learning that an education<br />

was arranged for him.<br />

He served as a professor at the Collège de Navarre,<br />

before becoming a professor of mineralogy at the<br />

Museum of Natural History in Paris in 1802 and later at<br />

the Sorbonne in 1809.<br />

In one version of the tale, a critical moment behind the<br />

discovery of crystalline structure occurred when Haüy<br />

accidentally dropped a calcite crystal onto the floor –<br />

shattering it on impact. If you’ve seen for yourself the<br />

step-like structure of a broken piece of calcite, you can<br />

see why this specimen piqued Haüy’s interest in the<br />

internal arrangement of crystals.<br />

Upon examining the fragments of calcite, he noted<br />

it “had a single fracture along one of the edges of<br />

the base. I tried to divide it in other directions and I<br />

succeeded, after several attempts, in extracting its<br />

rhomboid nucleus”. Haüy had discovered ‘cleavage’.<br />

By continuing to break calcite into smaller pieces and<br />

observing the same step-like feature, he concluded it<br />

had the same internal structure regardless of its size.<br />

Prior to Haüy's research, the understanding of crystal<br />

structure was limited to external morphology. An<br />

example of this is the important contribution Nicolas<br />

Steno made to the world of mineralogy with his<br />

observation that for a particular mineral, the angles<br />

between corresponding faces of a crystal are constant<br />

regardless of size, origin, or habit.<br />

Following his observations of how crystals cleaved,<br />

Haüy devised that all crystals were periodic, with a<br />

repetitive pattern formed by the stacking of what he<br />

termed molécules intégrantes or integral molecules.<br />

These ‘integral molecules’ are known to be unit cells.<br />

A unit cell is, by today’s definition, ‘the smallest unit of<br />

a structure that can be infinitely repeated to generate<br />

the whole structure’ of a crystal.<br />

René-Just Haüy<br />

FRENCH MINERALOGIST<br />

» Born: 28 February 1743<br />

Saint-Just-en-Chaussée, France<br />

» Died: 1 June 1822 (Aged 79)<br />

Paris, France<br />

Engraving from Prodomus Cristallographiae,<br />

de Crystallis Improprie sic Dictis<br />

Commentarium, M. A. Cappeler, 1723<br />

This explanation demonstrated that the external<br />

morphology of a crystal was an expression of its<br />

internal order and was enabled sense to be made of<br />

the different habits (different shapes) the same mineral<br />

may display.<br />

For example, both an octahedral diamond and the<br />

much rarer cubic diamond have the same unit cell that<br />

has been stacked differently internally on an atomic<br />

level to achieve two different shapes externally.<br />

This revelation contributed immensely to the<br />

separation and identification of minerals, as well as<br />

further developments in crystal symmetry.<br />

Throughout his career, Haüy published various works<br />

contributing to crystallography and other realms<br />

of science, including the four-volume Traité de<br />

Mineralogie (1801).<br />

Accompanying this Traité was a fifth volume - an atlas<br />

- complete with almost 600 diagrams and illustrations<br />

of the many crystal structures he had identified.<br />

Believed to be the same structures depicted in this<br />

volume, Haüy also had 597 crystallographic shapes<br />

commissioned as wooden models.<br />

This was done to showcase the three-dimensional<br />

nature of each structure - a teaching practice<br />

many student gemmologists still encounter and<br />

appreciate today.<br />

Reading of his contributions to the field of<br />

crystallography, some may think Haüy’s work to be<br />

a bit detached from gemmological practice today.<br />

However, as any good gemmologist would know, it is<br />

this understanding of a crystal’s internal structure that<br />

allows us to separate one gemstone from another.<br />

Haüy’s ground-breaking study opened the door for<br />

researchers to recognise cleavage and planes of<br />

weakness, to predict in which directions a gemstone<br />

may appear different colours (pleochroism), or to<br />

understand how light may interact with a gemstone,<br />

just to name a few of the properties dependent on<br />

crystal structure.<br />

Mikaelah Egan FGAA Dip DT began her career<br />

in the industry at Diamonds of Distinction in 2015.<br />

She now balances her role at the Gemmological<br />

Association of Australia with studying geology at<br />

the University of Queensland. Visit instagram.com/<br />

mikaelah.egan For more information on gems and<br />

gemmology, go to www.gem.org.au<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 33


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DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

Embracing Reality<br />

2.5CT NATURAL CENTRE STONE<br />

LAB-CREATED SHOULDER STONES<br />

NATURAL SHOULDER STONES<br />

by PRANAY NARVEKAR &<br />

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5CT LAB-CREATED CENTRE STONE<br />

THE INEVITABLE RISE OF<br />

HYBRID-DIAMOND JEWELLERY<br />

EMBRACING<br />

REALITY<br />

Who knows what the future holds? PRANAY<br />

NARVEKAR and CHAIM EVEN-ZOHAR examine the<br />

road ahead for natural and lab-created diamonds.<br />

FEATURE FIRST PUBLISHED<br />

BY IDEX ONLINE<br />

Our office secretary was overjoyed. The right man had<br />

finally popped the question and sealed it with a beautiful<br />

diamond ring. She showed it to all her co-workers. In the<br />

centre was a large lab-created diamond, surrounded by dozens of<br />

small natural diamonds.<br />

What would you call such a piece of jewellery? Is it mostly natural, partly<br />

lab-created, mixed, or something else entirely?<br />

In our latest pipeline report, we are adapting to reality and coining a new<br />

term - hybrid diamond jewellery – to describe a piece of jewellery that<br />

features both natural and lab-created diamonds.<br />

To ensure transparency and maintain consumer trust, it is essential for<br />

retailers to offer a choice between three types of diamond jewellery: natural,<br />

lab-created, and hybrid.<br />

The popularity of hybrid diamond jewellery will slow the pace of expansion for<br />

pure lab-created diamonds, offering a transparent in-between alternative.<br />

The hybrid label could herald the end, more or less, of the undisclosed labcreated<br />

that have tarnished the reputation of the entire diamond market.<br />

De Beers’ Lightbox brand may maintain its niche in the more affordable<br />

ranges. Hybrid diamond jewellery is already becoming a niche of its own.<br />

And it’s a beautifully appealing niche - just ask our delighted office secretary.<br />

Hybrid jewellery allows retailers to cater for a range of consumer<br />

preferences while maintaining trust in their products.<br />

Our industry is changing fast, and we are responding to that change by<br />

splitting our diamond pipeline for 2022 into two separate pipelines – natural<br />

and lab-created.<br />

The gemstone-quality lab-created diamond business is now a distinct,<br />

separate and expanding part of the industry. We believe it is important to<br />

differentiate accurately between the natural and gemstone-quality labcreated<br />

diamond pipelines.<br />

Chaim Even-Zohar published his first Tacy Pipeline back in 1988. Under the<br />

new management of Pranay Narvekar, we are embracing new realities.<br />

The natural diamond jewellery retail market in 2022 totalled $US73.85 billion<br />

($AU110.72 billion).<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 35


Embracing Reality | IDEX DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

The lab-created retail market mushroomed to $US12.24<br />

billion($AU18.35 billion). We can’t say exactly what share<br />

hybrid diamond jewellery represents out of the $US86.09<br />

billion ($AU129.07 billion) global diamond retail market,<br />

however; we do know it’s expanding.<br />

Diamond content in a natural diamond jewellery piece<br />

represents 25 per cent of the retail price, compared with 17<br />

per cent in lab-created diamond jewellery, according to our<br />

Pipelines. We estimate a figure of around 20.5 per cent for<br />

hybrid pieces.<br />

We believe the hybrid diamond jewellery market, at retail<br />

polished values, is worth $US2.2 billion ($AU3.3 billion) to<br />

$US2.6 billion ($AU3.9 billion).<br />

It could be more, however; certainly not less. Most of that<br />

is from lab-created companies seeking to ‘upgrade’ their<br />

product for marketing purposes.<br />

That would value the diamond jewellery retail market<br />

at around $US73 billion ($AU109.4 billion), lab-created<br />

diamond jewellery retail sales at $10.69 billion ($AU16.02<br />

billion), and 2022 hybrid diamond sales at $2.4 billion<br />

($AU3.6 billion).<br />

Transparent third category<br />

Diamond jewellery is part of a global jewellery market that’s<br />

increasing at eight per cent per year. Are we maintaining or<br />

increasing our share in that total pie? Or are we outpacing<br />

that expansion?<br />

The advent of lab-created means we no longer need to<br />

be preoccupied with the traditional constraints of limited<br />

natural production.<br />

We should be honest enough with ourselves to recognise<br />

that and turn the new reality to our advantage.<br />

If we assume the global jewellery market is worth $US210<br />

billion ($AU313.9 billion) to $US220 billion ($328.8 billion),<br />

and the global diamond jewellery market is estimated to be<br />

40 to 50 per cent of that amount, the global diamond retail<br />

market should be in the range of $US80 billion ($AU119.6<br />

billion) to $US110 billion ($AU164.4 billion).<br />

Our two pipelines put the 2022 total at $US85.57 billion<br />

($AU127.92 billion). We recognise that we have, over the<br />

years avoided overstating the facts we find.<br />

It could be more, but certainly not less. Our hybrid diamond<br />

jewellery category would bring greater transparency for<br />

more than one reason.<br />

K E Y STATS<br />

Hybrid<br />

Diamond<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

$US73.8b<br />

Estimated natural diamond<br />

jewellery retail market<br />

in 2022<br />

$US12.2b<br />

Estimated lab-created<br />

diamond jewellery retail<br />

market in 2022<br />

$US210b<br />

Value of the global<br />

jewellery market in 2022,<br />

with diamond jewellery<br />

comprising of at least 40<br />

per cent of that total<br />

26-28m<br />

Estimated total<br />

lab-created diamond<br />

production in carats in 2022<br />

20%<br />

Contraction of the diamond<br />

jewellery retail market in<br />

Hong Kong in 2022 due to<br />

the pandemic<br />

The presence of undisclosed lab-created diamonds in the<br />

market has inflated the apparent size and value of the<br />

natural diamond market, as some lab-created diamonds<br />

are sold at natural diamond prices.<br />

We hope the new hybrid classification will motivate<br />

diamantaires, when doing a cost-benefit calculation<br />

versus the risks taken, to lower the volume of<br />

undisclosed lab-created sales.<br />

US customs authorities require invoices for jewellery<br />

imports to include a breakdown of natural and lab-created<br />

diamonds. A retailer will instantly know that it’s hybrid<br />

diamond jewellery.<br />

The term is catchy, almost sexy, and currently very<br />

fashionable. Organisations fighting the lab-created<br />

market may not be happy, however; eventually they’ll<br />

come to realise that the hybrid diamond jewellery label<br />

provides added transparency and disclosure.<br />

And what about mixing with other gemstones? That can<br />

never be called hybrid diamond jewellery, a term that must<br />

be reserved exclusively for a mix of natural and lab-created<br />

diamonds. Nothing more. Nothing less.<br />

While most, or many, consumers may continue to prefer<br />

jewellery containing only natural diamonds, others might<br />

appreciate the cost savings and ethical advantages that<br />

come with incorporating lab-created diamonds.<br />

Lab-created volumes or sales exceeding those of natural<br />

diamonds is an inflection point for the business.<br />

The tipping point is consumers losing confidence in<br />

diamonds as a luxury product – leading to the eventual<br />

demise of the diamond dream.<br />

That’s why our office secretary is so happy with her hybrid<br />

diamond ring.<br />

Macro and transition<br />

Retail demand for diamond jewellery has been fueled in<br />

recent years by the US government’s $US5.7 billion ($US8.5<br />

billion) COVID-19 stimulus.<br />

More than half was handed out in 2021, driving demand<br />

for all goods, not just diamonds, well into 2022.<br />

Data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly<br />

shows a year-long plateau in US diamond jewellery sales<br />

from September 2021.<br />

Sales then started to decrease and are currently about<br />

seven per cent lower, a decline that was apparent by Q3<br />

36 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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Embracing Reality | IDEX DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

180<br />

160<br />

140<br />

DEMAND PLATEAU<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y Consumption Expenditure<br />

Demand Plateau<br />

120<br />

100<br />

80<br />

60<br />

40<br />

2018 2019 2020<br />

2021 2022<br />

JEWELLERY CONSUMPTION<br />

EXPENDITURE INDEX<br />

Demand actually exceeded expectations and<br />

the decline was lower than expected. Banking<br />

experts estimate that the US consumer used the<br />

stimuli to increase savings, but those savings<br />

are expected to run out by the end of <strong>2023</strong>.<br />

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis,<br />

US Department of Commerce<br />

2022.<br />

The authors have written previously about<br />

the expected slowdown in the US retail<br />

jewellery market and its impact on rough and<br />

polished diamonds.<br />

Demand actually exceeded expectations and the<br />

decline was lower than expected. Banking experts<br />

estimate that the US consumer used the stimuli<br />

to increase savings, however; those savings are<br />

expected to run out by the end of <strong>2023</strong>.<br />

Natural diamond pipeline<br />

High inflation, coupled with low unemployment,<br />

buoyed the jobs market in the US, despite the US<br />

Fed increasing the interest rate by a record 4.25<br />

per cent in 2022.<br />

Inflation and salary increases boosted consumer<br />

confidence. Overall jewellery demand increased by<br />

about three per cent, however; demand for natural<br />

diamond jewellery actually declined.<br />

The US dollar also strengthened significantly<br />

during 2022, with the dollar index being up<br />

about 12 per cent for the year. A higher US dollar<br />

adversely affects demand from countries with<br />

currencies not pegged to the dollar.<br />

Together they represent 35 per cent to 40 per<br />

cent of total demand. In China and Hong Kong,<br />

demand for jewellery was severely affected by<br />

lockdowns imposed as part of the government’s<br />

zero COVID-19 policy.<br />

The overall economy also faced headwinds, as<br />

imports into the US were affected by both the<br />

increasing tensions between the country as well as<br />

lower export orders due to geopolitical uncertainty.<br />

Hong Kong also had far fewer tourists from<br />

mainland China. Overall the market in the region<br />

contracted by nearly 20 per cent.<br />

India was one of the bright spots, with the market<br />

increasing by nearly seven per cent. The economy<br />

remained strong, despite a weak rupee.<br />

The overall global jewellery demand remained<br />

positive - about one per cent higher at $US86.09<br />

billion ($AU128.7 billion) - despite weakness in<br />

some countries.<br />

In the first couple of months of 2022, rough and<br />

polished demand and price increases rivalled<br />

those seen in the first half of 2008 and 2011.<br />

However, these increases were clearly market<br />

exuberance. The market for natural polished<br />

diamonds actually decreased as demand for<br />

lab-created jewellery cannibalised natural<br />

diamond demand.<br />

“Our industry is changing fast, and<br />

we are responding to that change by<br />

splitting our diamond pipeline for<br />

2022 into two separate pipelines –<br />

natural and lab-created.”<br />

After accounting for the bull-whip effect of<br />

stocking, polished demand declined by about eight<br />

per cent to $US20.36 billion ($AU30.52 billion).<br />

Fragmentation of rough supplies<br />

The Ukraine war, and the subsequent sanctions<br />

on Alrosa, helped the industry digest the excess<br />

purchases in the first couple of months as rough<br />

supplies were interrupted.<br />

As the industry recovered and new supply<br />

mechanisms from Russia were developed, the<br />

market was able to accept the supplies.<br />

Rough diamond supplies, which had been<br />

very global in nature before the war, started to<br />

become fragmented.<br />

Large clients, based on political or societal<br />

compulsions, started asking mid-stream suppliers<br />

to ensure there were no diamonds of Russian<br />

origin in the goods supplied to them.<br />

The sword of sanctions by the G7 continues to<br />

hang over the industry to date.<br />

This provided a boost for proponents of traceability<br />

and origin within the industry, which we believe<br />

remains an issue of cost.<br />

It will cost the midstream $US1 billion ($AU1.5<br />

billion) to $US1.5 billion ($AU2.25 billion) to<br />

implement it across the pipeline.<br />

Small diamonds remain the challenge, mainly due<br />

to the sheer volume, with an estimated billion such<br />

diamonds polished every year.<br />

Customers willing to pay the price will be able to<br />

get the transparency they desire.<br />

Overall, total rough production during 2022<br />

was more than 125 million carats, with both De<br />

Beers and Alrosa increasing production for their<br />

respective reasons.<br />

In terms of value, total mine sales were about<br />

$US16.49 billion ($AU24.72 billion) or about 6.6 per<br />

cent above those in the previous year.<br />

Polishing started to become unprofitable by the<br />

second half of the year, as demand declined.<br />

After a highly profitable 2021, polishers were able<br />

to sustain some rough buying, in the hope that<br />

prices would moderate.<br />

This weakness continued into <strong>2023</strong>, as polishers<br />

eventually started to reduce the amount of natural<br />

rough they put into production.<br />

From supply led to demand-driven<br />

The structure of the lab-created industry is much<br />

more vertically integrated than its<br />

natural counterpart.<br />

Most of the new chemical vapour deposition (CVD)<br />

capacity in India is by companies already in the<br />

natural diamond business.<br />

They polish most of their own rough, as opposed to<br />

CVD producers in other countries, which sell their<br />

rough to Indian polishers.<br />

High pressure high temperature (HPHT)<br />

technology-based rough is predominantly<br />

used for small diamonds in China, which<br />

has the infrastructure to produce industrialquality<br />

diamonds.<br />

Companies with distribution capabilities not only<br />

polish their rough, they also produce and sell<br />

jewellery, set with their own lab-created products,<br />

direct to retail companies.<br />

38 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


FEATURE FIRST PUBLISHED<br />

BY IDEX ONLINE<br />

NATURAL<br />

TACY'S 2022 DIAMOND PIPELINE IN $US BILLION<br />

IDEXONLINE.COM<br />

Direct costs of<br />

rough production<br />

7.55<br />

Direct cost of production<br />

Including stock value depreciation<br />

Rough production value<br />

16.53<br />

AUSTRALIA<br />

0.0<br />

ANGOLA<br />

1.85<br />

DRC<br />

0.41<br />

NAMIBIA<br />

1.26<br />

BOTSWANA<br />

5.12<br />

S. AFRICA<br />

1.65<br />

RUSSIA<br />

3.30<br />

CANADA<br />

1.89<br />

ZIMBABWE<br />

0.41<br />

LESOTHO<br />

0.33<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.31<br />

Mines sales to industry<br />

16.49<br />

INDEPENDENT<br />

6.91<br />

ALROSA<br />

3.60<br />

DTC/DB<br />

5.98<br />

Net rough used for<br />

local production<br />

16.10<br />

BELGIUM<br />

0.17<br />

ISRAEL<br />

0.38<br />

INDIA<br />

12.86<br />

USA<br />

0.10<br />

S. AFRICA<br />

BOTSWANA<br />

1.42<br />

CHINA<br />

0.45<br />

THAILAND<br />

& OTHERS<br />

0.29<br />

RUSSIA<br />

0.43<br />

Value of polished<br />

production<br />

20.56<br />

BELGIUM<br />

0.21<br />

ISRAEL<br />

0.50<br />

INDIA<br />

16.53<br />

USA<br />

0.12<br />

S. AFRICA<br />

BOTSWANA<br />

1.71<br />

CHINA<br />

0.57<br />

THAILAND &<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.38<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.54<br />

Polished sales<br />

20.36<br />

Value of recycled<br />

polished<br />

0.18<br />

Value of recycled diamonds<br />

(consumer sell backs) re-entering pipeline<br />

Retail diamond<br />

content<br />

19.37<br />

USA &<br />

CANADA<br />

10.94<br />

EUROPE<br />

& SA<br />

1.48<br />

HK/CHINA<br />

TAIWAN<br />

1.89<br />

JAPAN<br />

1.08<br />

INDIA<br />

1.33<br />

GULF &<br />

TURKEY<br />

1.42<br />

REST OF<br />

WORLD<br />

1.23<br />

Value of diamond<br />

jewellery<br />

73.85<br />

USA &<br />

CANADA<br />

42.90<br />

EUROPE<br />

& SA<br />

4.83<br />

HK/CHINA<br />

TAIWAN<br />

7.92<br />

JAPAN<br />

3.46<br />

INDIA<br />

4.71<br />

GULF &<br />

TURKEY<br />

6.11<br />

REST OF<br />

WORLD<br />

3.92<br />

© <strong>2023</strong> COPYRIGHTS BY TACY LTD. AND<br />

PHAROS BEAM CONSULTING LLP STRICTLY RESERVED.<br />

REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION FROM PRANAY NARVEKAR<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 39


Embracing Reality | IDEX DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

14%<br />

3%<br />

Overall, the retail jewellery market for gemstone<br />

quality lab-created diamonds is estimated to be<br />

about $US12.24 billion ($AU18.35 billion) or 14 per<br />

cent of the total global retail jewellery market.<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y demand increased by<br />

about three per cent, however;<br />

demand for natural diamond<br />

jewellery actually declined.<br />

In many cases sales are on memo, as retailers are<br />

averse to taking risks with lab-created stocks.<br />

This vertical integration also means values are<br />

more dependent on internal transfer prices within<br />

the companies as they move through the various<br />

stages of production and jewellery.<br />

As a result, we have skipped a few stages in our<br />

lab-created pipeline.<br />

The lab-created industry had its own transition<br />

during 2022, shifting from a supply-led industry to<br />

a demand-driven one.<br />

“The term is catchy, almost sexy,<br />

and currently very fashionable.<br />

Organisations fighting the lab-created<br />

market may not be happy, however;<br />

eventually they’ll come to realise that the<br />

hybrid diamond jewellery label provides<br />

added transparency and disclosure.”<br />

In 2020 and 2021 the lab-created segment was<br />

increasing its market share, as the market<br />

ballooned, leading to explosive expansion.<br />

It sold almost everything it could produce during<br />

those years. Companies that had taken the leap<br />

of faith and invested in lab-created technology 3-4<br />

years prior benefitted from that expansion.<br />

By mid-2022, just as the retail increase in the<br />

US plateaued, lab-created production capacity<br />

improved as penetration in retail stores started<br />

to slow.<br />

More than two-thirds of stores began carrying<br />

lab-created diamonds, leading to slower<br />

stocking demand.<br />

The bull-whip effect of the slowing stocking<br />

demand further impacted demand for polished<br />

lab-created diamonds.<br />

Prices across all polished lab-created categories<br />

declined as a result by about 50 to 65 per cent<br />

during the year.<br />

The US accounted for more than 82 per cent of the<br />

retail lab-created jewellery market. While it is the<br />

main market for natural diamonds as well, the labcreated<br />

market share reached about 19 per cent.<br />

It was initially expected that lab-created diamonds<br />

would fit into the fashion jewellery market,<br />

however; that wasn’t the case. They penetrated the<br />

bridal jewellery market first, driven by ever larger<br />

diamonds produced using the CVD technology.<br />

Lab-created demand in other countries is<br />

still nascent. Consumers in China and India<br />

put more emphasis on the resale value of the<br />

product, and have yet to wholeheartedly adopt<br />

the lab-created category.<br />

Overall, the retail jewellery market for gemstone<br />

quality lab-created diamonds is estimated to<br />

be about $US12.24 billion ($AU18.35 billion)<br />

or about 14 per cent of the total global retail<br />

jewellery market.<br />

The total value of lab-created diamonds which was<br />

polished globally is estimated at around $US2.78<br />

billion ($AU4.17 billion), with most goods polished<br />

in India due to the lower labour costs.<br />

Most smaller diamonds are polished in<br />

India, although a few producers polish larger<br />

diamonds elsewhere.<br />

Gemstone quality rough producers are more evenly<br />

distributed. China produces the most carats due to<br />

its greater reliance on HPHT technology.<br />

India has seen some of the largest investment<br />

in new CVD capacity, with many natural diamond<br />

companies diversifying into lab-created diamonds.<br />

Indian banks have also been more open to<br />

financing the establishment of lab-created<br />

production facilities.<br />

US production is dominated by three or four<br />

companies, including De Beers, which has its<br />

facility there. These companies currently seem to<br />

be the leaders in terms of production technology.<br />

Gemstone quality lab-created production is<br />

estimated at $US1.38 billion ($AU2.07 billion).<br />

There could be valuation differences in this<br />

estimate, as in many cases these are internal<br />

transfers with the companies.<br />

Total lab-created production is estimated at about<br />

26 to 28 million carats. The authors have previously<br />

stated their strong belief that lab-created<br />

diamonds are not a typical ‘diamond business’ and<br />

that regarding them as a separate business could<br />

lead to better management.<br />

As the lab-created market transitions from<br />

a seller’s market to a buyer’s, extra-normal<br />

profits from the lab-created pipeline will<br />

disappear, leading to eventual consolidation<br />

within the sector, as companies combine to stay<br />

afloat and stay relevant.<br />

Vertical integration can maximise the benefits of<br />

planning efficiencies.<br />

Lab-created industry – victim of its own success<br />

In the US bridal market, retailers sold larger labcreated<br />

diamonds as a same-price alternative to<br />

smaller natural diamonds.<br />

Retailers were able to capture the same consumer<br />

spend while making much better margins -up to<br />

70 per cent - on the products.<br />

“The overall economy also faced headwinds,<br />

as imports into the US were affected by both<br />

the increasing tensions between the country as<br />

well as lower export orders due to geopolitical<br />

uncertainty.”<br />

Happy customers felt they’d got an upgrade.<br />

That explains how lab-created diamonds have<br />

penetrated more than 25 per cent of the bridal<br />

market, however; this approach can cause longerterm<br />

problems.<br />

As lab-created diamond prices continue to fall,<br />

retailers now need to sell bigger lab-created<br />

diamonds than in the past year – to reach a similar<br />

transaction dollar value.<br />

This has the potential to leave older customers<br />

very dissatisfied. Retailers who may have made<br />

false promises about lab-created diamonds<br />

should beware.<br />

It may not take long for some enterprising<br />

lawyer in the US to file class action lawsuits<br />

against retail jewellery companies for misselling<br />

lab-created diamonds.<br />

Retailers have also benefitted from a decline<br />

in wholesale lab-created prices, leading to<br />

better margins.<br />

In <strong>2023</strong>, price wars are likely to extend into the<br />

retail space. All you need is a large retailer or<br />

40 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


FEATURE FIRST PUBLISHED<br />

BY IDEX ONLINE<br />

LAB-CREATED<br />

TACY'S 2022 DIAMOND PIPELINE IN $US BILLION<br />

IDEXONLINE.COM<br />

LGD<br />

production costs<br />

0.46 7.3<br />

Direct cost of production<br />

Including stock value depreciation<br />

LGD<br />

production value<br />

1.38<br />

CHINA/HK<br />

0.39<br />

EUROPE<br />

0.09<br />

INDIA<br />

0.32<br />

SE ASIA<br />

0.16<br />

USA<br />

0.28<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.14<br />

LGD used for<br />

local production<br />

2.05<br />

CHINA<br />

0.17<br />

INDIA<br />

1.58<br />

USA<br />

0.16<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.14<br />

Polished LGD<br />

production<br />

2.78<br />

CHINA<br />

0.22<br />

INDIA<br />

2.16<br />

USA<br />

0.21<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.19<br />

Retail LGD<br />

content<br />

2.03<br />

AMERICAS<br />

1.63<br />

EUROPE & SA<br />

0.08<br />

CHINA<br />

0.11<br />

JAPAN<br />

0.02<br />

INDIA<br />

0.08<br />

GULF<br />

0.07<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.04<br />

Retail LGD<br />

jewellery<br />

12.24<br />

AMERICAS<br />

10.08<br />

EUROPE & SA<br />

0.44<br />

CHINA<br />

0.62<br />

JAPAN<br />

0.11<br />

INDIA<br />

0.39<br />

GULF<br />

0.39<br />

OTHERS<br />

0.21<br />

© <strong>2023</strong> COPYRIGHTS BY TACY LTD. AND<br />

PHAROS BEAM CONSULTING LLP STRICTLY RESERVED.<br />

REPUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION FROM PRANAY NARVEKAR<br />

Note: The Lab Grown pipeline only considers the gem quality lab grown diamonds and does not<br />

cover the diamonds grown for industrial purposes.<br />

DeBeers' Lightbox<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 41


Embracing Reality | IDEX DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

6.6%<br />

25%<br />

In terms of value, total mine sales<br />

were about $US16.49 billion ($AU24.72<br />

billion) or about 6.6 per cent above<br />

those in the previous year.<br />

Diamond content in a natural diamond jewellery<br />

piece represents 25 per cent of the retail<br />

price, compared with 17 per cent in lab-created<br />

diamond jewellery, according to our Pipelines.<br />

online seller to come out with aggressive price<br />

points for lab-created staple products, such as<br />

studs or solitaire rings, to trigger a price war.<br />

Ultimately, retailers focus on their gross margin<br />

per square foot. Slashing prices, even with better<br />

margins, means they’d need to sell many more<br />

pieces to make up for the loss in value.<br />

This might not be easy, especially when highest<br />

value sales have been in bridal jewellery, and<br />

a decline in weddings and engagements is<br />

expected this year.<br />

Lab-created jewellery margins and profitability<br />

ratios are likely to achieve parity with natural<br />

diamond jewellery within a couple of years,<br />

however; retailers will now need to sell much<br />

higher volumes (or significantly larger sizes) to<br />

even maintain their gross income.<br />

There was great fear and anxiety in 2014-2016,<br />

as parcels of natural diamonds ‘peppered’<br />

with lab-created diamonds started appearing<br />

in the midstream.<br />

With the advent of reliable and affordable detection<br />

machines, those fears and anxieties subsided. De<br />

Beers’ Lightbox foray gave the lab-created industry<br />

the credibility it craved and opened up the path to<br />

the expansion witnessed in the past few years.<br />

Companies that started dealing in lab-created<br />

diamonds and jewellery are now seen to have<br />

made a smart choice.<br />

Disclosed lab-created diamonds are now part<br />

and parcel of an industry that has passed its<br />

inflection point.<br />

In fact, the production volume of polished labcreated<br />

diamonds under 0.2 carats, such as<br />

pointers and above sizes, exceeded the production<br />

of polished from natural diamonds for the first<br />

time in the past year.<br />

Market increases in 2021 masked the real damage<br />

it had suffered – something the authors lamented<br />

in the 2021 pipeline report.<br />

The diamond industry was, at the time, living in the<br />

hope that lab-created diamonds would find their<br />

own level in the market both in terms of price and<br />

market segment. And that natural and lab-created<br />

diamonds could co-exist and expand in their<br />

respective areas.<br />

Was this consensus view realistic, or were the<br />

initial fears and anxieties actually justified?<br />

The diamond market, both natural and labcreated,<br />

is based on the fundamental assumption<br />

that consumer desire for diamonds will continue.<br />

That desire stems from the perception of diamonds<br />

as a luxury. Given the current situation, we need to<br />

question whether that perception of diamonds will<br />

continue in the future.<br />

Natural diamonds have always been seen as a<br />

symbol of luxury. The biggest and the brightest of<br />

them have been flaunted by royals and celebrities,<br />

and wars have been fought over their possession.<br />

"Large clients, based on political<br />

or societal compulsions, started asking<br />

mid-stream suppliers to ensure there<br />

were no diamonds of Russian origin in<br />

the goods supplied to them.”<br />

Diamonds became the leading symbol of wealth<br />

and power, the ultimate social signifier.<br />

This aspirational nature of diamonds was<br />

cultivated by De Beers through more than 80 years<br />

of marketing campaigns and by limiting supplies<br />

through the cartel system, as limiting the supply<br />

of products is equally important to retain their<br />

perception of luxury.<br />

Establishing a bond between diamonds and<br />

emotional moments in the consumer’s life,<br />

together with the ‘three months’ worth of salary<br />

rule’ for wedding rings cemented their position as<br />

a social signifier.<br />

The wider availability of smaller and lower quality<br />

diamonds, the so-called Indian gemstone quality,<br />

democratised diamonds, however; larger and<br />

higher quality stones retained their luxury appeal<br />

due to continued scarcity.<br />

Just as luxury brands offer lower-priced<br />

accessories so that consumers can experience the<br />

brand, lower-priced jewellery allowed consumers<br />

to experience and build up their diamond dream.<br />

The size and quality of diamonds worn became a<br />

social signifier. The industry has been confronted<br />

with the vagaries of demand and supply in the past<br />

two decades since the De Beers cartel dissolved.<br />

Diamond prices initially stagnated and have<br />

actually fallen by more than 25 per cent since<br />

their 2011 peak, despite pandemic-induced<br />

price increases.<br />

Lab-created inroads to the larger diamond market<br />

have threatened the very status of diamonds as a<br />

social signifier.<br />

Our office secretary was overjoyed with her hybrid<br />

jewellery, and would even have been smiling with<br />

lab-created jewellery.<br />

Lab-created have made large diamonds<br />

accessible to the middle classes, and in doing<br />

so they have challenged the very notion of<br />

diamonds as a social signifier.<br />

This will have implications for not only natural<br />

diamonds but the lab-created category as well. We<br />

believe that in the next year or two, consumers will<br />

be able to purchase a pair of earrings – each with<br />

two five-carat solitaire lab-created diamond studs<br />

– for less than $US2,500 ($AU3,741).<br />

The natural diamond equivalent would cost 100<br />

times as much at today’s prices.<br />

One only has to look at what happened to Coach<br />

handbags or Ralph Lauren clothing when they<br />

became more widely available - regarded simply as<br />

a premium product - rather than a luxury.<br />

Such easy availability could threaten the very<br />

notion of a diamond being a luxury.<br />

To again quote from the Kapferer and Bastien<br />

book: “Luxury objects are objects of luxury brands.<br />

Only diamonds are luxury objects appreciated<br />

without brand.<br />

"What counts is their size and purity. For everything<br />

else, there is no luxury without brands: even an<br />

emerald is from Colombia, a ruby from Burma, a<br />

caviar from Iran.”<br />

The worst-case scenario is that we reach a point<br />

when any diamond jewellery is automatically<br />

assumed to be lab-created.<br />

Without visible branding, the diamond would<br />

have no aspirational value. Will celebrities still<br />

want to flaunt their diamonds when they no<br />

longer signify wealth?<br />

42 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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Embracing Reality | IDEX DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE<br />

5%<br />

A five per cent decline in global natural<br />

diamond jewellery translates into a decrease<br />

in polished demand of 11 per cent - or about<br />

$US18.1 billion ($AU27 billion) in sales.<br />

Will our secretary still be as pleased to get<br />

hybrid jewellery? Will this be the end of the<br />

diamond dream?<br />

Stores closing, business shrinking<br />

The impact of the tipping point - diamonds not<br />

being considered a luxury by consumers - will<br />

be felt right across the chain, from retail to<br />

rough and by both the natural and lab-created<br />

diamond pipelines.<br />

Consumers will still buy diamond jewellery, both<br />

lab-created and natural, however; price points and<br />

volumes will be much lower. Consumer desire for<br />

natural diamonds will shrink.<br />

Most buyers will be perfectly comfortable buying<br />

lab-created jewellery, with price points similar to<br />

other accessories.<br />

Many retailers would, as a result, end up selling<br />

predominantly lower-priced lab-created jewellery.<br />

They’d need to sell far higher volumes to achieve<br />

the same gross margin dollars. This would pile the<br />

pressure on retail jewellery stores and could spur a<br />

fresh round of closures in the US.<br />

In China and India, the retail impact would be less<br />

severe, as they mainly sell gold jewellery.<br />

Luxury brands would continue buying natural<br />

diamonds and paying the prices.<br />

Maintaining their image and the perception that<br />

they use only the best materials would outweigh<br />

any savings.<br />

This loyalty to natural diamonds would account for<br />

only a fraction of the total supply and only in very<br />

specific areas.<br />

In extreme cases, there could be a single flat price<br />

for polished diamonds, regardless of whether<br />

they’re natural or lab-created.<br />

Certifying lab-created diamonds would become<br />

irrelevant and the business of certifying larger<br />

natural diamonds would also shrink.<br />

With average prices at $US150 ($AU224) per carat<br />

or less, it would be uneconomical to certify polished<br />

lab-created diamonds.<br />

The mid-stream may, at least superficially, appear<br />

to be the most resilient. All diamonds, regardless<br />

of origin need to be polished, however; that may not<br />

be the case.<br />

The cut-throat competition for lab-created product<br />

may bring down labour costs, with a per-piece rate<br />

above a certain size.<br />

With low rough prices, speed and cost become<br />

much more important than polishing yields.<br />

Machines would be used to polish CVD stones and<br />

the lower volume of natural diamonds would not be<br />

able to sustain the existing number of polishers.<br />

Mining would see the greatest disruption. Mines<br />

with high operating costs or a product mix skewed<br />

towards smaller diamonds would face closure,<br />

leading to a decrease in natural carat production.<br />

“By mid-2022, just as the retail increase in<br />

the US plateaued, lab-created production<br />

capacity improved as penetration in retail<br />

stores started to slow.”<br />

It would become impossible to finance new mines<br />

or upgrade older mines, leading to the gradual<br />

tapering in natural diamond production. Recycling<br />

of diamonds from consumers could become the<br />

‘largest mine’.<br />

Laboratories too, would have to compete to ensure<br />

the lowest cost of production or be priced out of the<br />

market. Over time, creating diamonds would adopt<br />

a cost-plus model for the pricing of rough.<br />

This is an extreme ‘nightmare’ scenario. The reality<br />

may not be quite so bad, however; it could well be<br />

worse than our existing assumptions.<br />

<strong>2023</strong> projections<br />

In 2022, we forecast tough times for the industry<br />

and we believe the rest of <strong>2023</strong> will be difficult,<br />

however; we predict some respite in Q4.<br />

Assuming a mild US recession and a flat Chinese<br />

market, we expect the global natural diamond<br />

jewellery market to slow by five per cent.<br />

To put this in perspective, the 2008 crash saw retail<br />

demand decrease by 10 to 12 per cent globally. A<br />

deep US recession, rather than a mild one, could<br />

be catastrophic.<br />

A five per cent decline in global natural diamond<br />

jewellery translates into a decrease in polished<br />

demand of 11 per cent - or about $US18.1 billion<br />

($AU27 billion) in sales.<br />

This also means that the rough market will be<br />

down by nearly 20 per cent - to about $US13 billion<br />

($AU19.4 billion) of rough sales.<br />

The industry should batten down the hatches and<br />

wait out the storm.<br />

We believe mines currently have built-up stocks<br />

of about $US1 billion ($AU1.5 billion). They would<br />

need to decrease prices or reduce production to<br />

work through those stocks.<br />

Concluding remarks<br />

The current fall in demand for diamonds is nothing<br />

but a market cycle, albeit a severe one.<br />

The industry shored up its balance sheet during the<br />

past few years and should be able to weather the<br />

downturn - unless there’s a severe recession.<br />

For the lab-created industry, this is the first<br />

downturn in its relatively short life.<br />

It might be more difficult for companies that have<br />

either invested heavily or are leveraged.<br />

Margins will continue to come down and are likely<br />

to remain low. Lab-created retailers in the US will<br />

probably face their year of reckoning, as falling<br />

prices erode top lines.<br />

The real concern remains whether customers will<br />

continue to perceive diamonds as a luxury.<br />

That is why we believe that our third category of<br />

hybrid diamond jewellery may halt, or even reverse<br />

the erosion of faith in our product.<br />

If that faith wavers, both the natural and labcreated<br />

industries will suffer.<br />

The day when consumers no longer aspire to own a<br />

diamond, if it ever comes, would be the death of the<br />

diamond dream.<br />

CHAIM EVEN-ZOHAR is a retired consultant<br />

to the diamond industry and the former editor<br />

of the Israel Diamond Exchange’s Diamond<br />

Intelligence Briefs. PRANAY NARVEKAR<br />

is director of Pharos Beam Consulting, a<br />

firm providing analysis and insights into<br />

the supply, financing, and structure of the<br />

diamond industry.<br />

44 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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TREND FEATURE<br />

Opal<br />

Opal jewellery has enjoyed a sharp rise in popularity<br />

since the pandemic. SAMUEL ORD speaks with prominent<br />

members of the industry in a search for the reasons why.<br />

FP<br />

ADVERTISEMENT<br />

L<br />

ate last year I attended the first major international<br />

trade show since the COVID pandemic concluded –<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y and Gem World Singapore.<br />

The atmosphere was electric. JGW Singapore welcomed just<br />

shy of 1000 exhibitors from 30 countries with more than 11,000<br />

buyers taking part.<br />

As a stranger in a foreign land for the first time I did what came<br />

naturally – sought out familiar faces. I scanned the directory for<br />

Australian exhibitors and tracked them down for a chat.<br />

After pinpointing four opal jewellery exhibitors of interest, I was<br />

somewhat taken aback by what I discovered when I reached their<br />

respective stands.<br />

They were busy – and I mean really busy!<br />

Crowds packed in tight around their stands eager to take in<br />

the incredible array of colours displayed within these unique<br />

gemstones.<br />

From the most prized of all - vibrant red - to velvety purples,<br />

hypnotising greens and everything in between, people peered<br />

over shoulders and patiently waited for their turn to get up close<br />

and personal with a sample.<br />

The magnetic variety of colour capturing the attention of these<br />

passerby is caused by a unique optical phenomenon known as<br />

play-of-colour.<br />

Australia’s opal is the cream of the crop, so it should come as no<br />

surprise that the buyers in Singapore were eager to take a look.<br />

When I was finally able to speak with these exhibitors face-to-face<br />

they each confirmed that interest in Australian opals abroad was<br />

reaching dizzying heights.<br />

Hero Image: Cody Opals<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 47


The Opal Sensation | GEMSTONE FEATURE<br />

L to R: Ikecho Australia; Black Opal Direct; Firegem<br />

Reflecting on my experience with Peter Sherman,<br />

a third-generation wholesaler and exporter at<br />

Sherman Opals, he says he isn’t surprised to<br />

hear of the high demand for opals at an Asian<br />

trade show.<br />

“Australian opal is very big on the world<br />

stage right now. After a long period of COVID<br />

lockdowns, many people have quite rightfully<br />

decided that Aussie opals are the most beautiful<br />

natural gemstone,“ he tells <strong>Jeweller</strong>.<br />

“I think many overseas consumers have learned<br />

that Australian opal is not only beautiful, it’s rare<br />

and comes in many colours and types.<br />

“While being somewhat uniquely Australian,<br />

it’s also only found in only three states – NSW,<br />

Queensland and South Australia - which adds to<br />

the interest.”<br />

Boulder and matrix<br />

Australia is well-known around the world for black<br />

and white opal specimens; however, boulder and<br />

matrix opals are particularly popular.<br />

The classification of natural opal depends on the<br />

relationship between the opal itself and the host<br />

rock in which it forms. The more well-known black<br />

and white opals are termed ‘natural type one’.<br />

In contrast, boulder opal is ‘natural type two’, a<br />

single piece of opal that remains attached to its<br />

host rock.<br />

Matrix opal is ‘natural type three’, in which<br />

opal snakes through pores and grains or<br />

occupies holes within the host rock.<br />

An individual who understands the intricacies of<br />

opals well is Carl Babic of Absolute Opals, who<br />

today proudly continues a family tradition which<br />

was started by his father Marijan Babic in the<br />

1960s.<br />

Babic says that whether it be mining, cutting,<br />

dealing, or manufacturing, interest in the opal<br />

industry is increasing.<br />

“I certainly believe that Australian opals are<br />

becoming more popular both overseas and within<br />

Australia,” he says.<br />

“The emergence of the Chinese market in<br />

particular kickstarted the supply end back in 2012-<br />

2015. The increase in demand raised prices and<br />

made the ‘hardcore’ miners want to go back to<br />

prospecting.”<br />

"Australia's opal is the cream of the crop, so it<br />

should come as no surprise that the buyers in<br />

Singapore were eager to take a look."<br />

Based in Lightning Ridge, George Christianos is<br />

also a third-generation opal jeweller and trader.<br />

He’s carrying on a family practice which began in<br />

Coober Pedy in the 1950s.<br />

He explains that high-quality opals have had a<br />

vital revival internationally, beginning with demand<br />

in mainland China from around 2010, which then<br />

increased dramatically around 2015.<br />

“The Chinese economy softened after that, but not<br />

before consumers became hooked on black opals.<br />

Since that time China has played an important<br />

role internationally as a destination for Australian<br />

opals,” Christianos details.<br />

“In the meantime, the world has noticed the<br />

Chinese taking so much high-quality product<br />

off the market and there has been strengthened<br />

demand from traditional markets in the US<br />

and Europe.”<br />

He added: “Truthfully, the main problem we face<br />

is insufficient and sporadic supply of high-quality<br />

opals. We can sell all that we get but we are just<br />

not getting enough.”<br />

Challenges to overcome<br />

The cause of this supply constraint is multi-faceted<br />

and complex.<br />

There are a number of economic concerns,<br />

including the spiralling cost of prospecting and<br />

mining – namely fuel and machinery costs, as<br />

well as labour – that have increasingly caused<br />

headaches for those responsible for unearthing<br />

these natural beauties.<br />

In terms of labour, there’s also a major<br />

demographic change at play. Traditional miners<br />

are ageing out of the workforce, and inexperienced<br />

young miners are entering the field and finding the<br />

financial impositions of the industry a challenge.<br />

“Go to any bank and ask for a mortgage to buy a<br />

home. When they ask you what you do for work, tell<br />

them you’re an opal miner. They’ll laugh at you,”<br />

Christianos jokes.<br />

The geology of the opal deposits makes them<br />

impossible to detect and assay, and producing<br />

workable calculations of an available deposit is<br />

difficult and requires tremendous experience.<br />

Peter Sherman<br />

Sherman Opals<br />

Carl Babic<br />

Absolute Opals<br />

George Christianos<br />

Opals by Emmanuel<br />

Maria Ulas<br />

Artelia <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

“Australian opal is very big<br />

on the world stage right now.<br />

After a long period of COVID<br />

lockdowns, many people have<br />

quite rightfully decided that<br />

Aussie opals are the most<br />

beautiful natural gemstone”<br />

“I certainly believe that<br />

Australian opals are becoming<br />

more popular both overseas<br />

and within Australia”<br />

“The Chinese economy softened<br />

after that, but not before consumers<br />

became hooked on black opals.<br />

Since that time China has played an<br />

important role internationally as a<br />

destination for Australian opals”<br />

“As an Australian jeweller, we wanted<br />

to make something quintessentially<br />

Aussie, combining opals, sapphire<br />

and pearls to show how colourful our<br />

country uniquely is!”


Black Opal Direct<br />

Then, there’s the fact that not all opals discovered are what the<br />

market wants. <strong>Jeweller</strong>s require gemstone grade-opals, with the<br />

correct colouration scarce.<br />

“The scarcity in supply is created by a wide range of factors, it’s not as<br />

a result of any market manipulation,” he continues.<br />

“This situation is unlikely to improve so people who understand the<br />

circumstances are buying opal inventory up, anticipating that values<br />

will keep escalating.<br />

"The magnetic variety of colour capturing the<br />

attention of these passerby is caused by a unique<br />

optical phenomenon known as play-of-colour."<br />

1/2 PG V<br />

ADVERTISEMENT<br />

“Meanwhile several high-profile jewellery brands have made special<br />

pieces with opals as their centre stone and this has further spiked<br />

interest.”<br />

Fine jewellery flurry<br />

Indeed, when it comes to jewellery a number of high-end designers<br />

and manufacturers have ramped up their involvement with opals in<br />

recent years.<br />

Late last year Cartier’s creative director of high jewellery, Jacqueline<br />

Karachi, detailed the transformation in attitude she recently underwent<br />

concerning opal jewellery.<br />

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Karachi says at<br />

the start of her career she avoided working with opals as she dismissed<br />

them as far too common.<br />

Today, she’s embraced opals for the natural wonders that they are.<br />

This is most evident in the release of a remarkable necklace, brooch<br />

and earrings set called Apatura.<br />

John Doyle<br />

Boulder Opal Mines<br />

Dale Price<br />

Dale Price Opals<br />

“One important thing to<br />

understand is that opals are not<br />

enhanced in any way to improve<br />

their colours, they are just<br />

naturally gorgeous”<br />

“I think that people are looking for<br />

something to keep their spirits high.<br />

A nice piece of Australian opal does<br />

exactly that, it’s something very<br />

beautiful and quite frankly, magical.”<br />

L LUXUR Y Y PEA RRL L && OO PPA AL L J JEWEL LER YY<br />

WHOLESA L E L . E IKE . IKE CHO . C. CO OM M . A. AU<br />

U


The Opal Sensation | GEMSTONE FEATURE<br />

L to R: Opals by Christianos; Fortune Opal; Pink Kimberley<br />

50<br />

1/3 PAGE<br />

VERTICAL<br />

At Ikecho, new collections of rings, pendants, and<br />

necklaces which combine uniquely Australian pearls<br />

and opals have proven very popular.<br />

Earlier this year, Artelia <strong>Jeweller</strong>y creative director<br />

Maria Ulas told <strong>Jeweller</strong> that opals were always in<br />

high demand from her customers.<br />

“We’re about to launch a collection of opal<br />

jewellery with both white and black opals of all<br />

shapes and sizes,” she said.<br />

“As an Australian jeweller, we wanted to make<br />

something quintessentially Aussie, combining opals,<br />

sapphire and pearls to show how colourful our<br />

country uniquely is!”<br />

Don’t underestimate the impact of marketing<br />

A significant driving force in the rising popularity of<br />

Australian opals abroad has been the success of<br />

television shows such as Outback Opal Hunters.<br />

Following its launch in 2018, the show has now<br />

reached a ninth season, with the series broadcast in<br />

more than 100 countries, including the UK and the<br />

US.<br />

The premise is simple, following opal miners from<br />

a variety of backgrounds in various locations of<br />

Australia as they strive to uncover a hidden fortune.<br />

“Trade shows and trade media always provide<br />

an important ongoing platform of support,”<br />

Babic says.<br />

“Television shows like Outback Opal Hunters and<br />

individual online promotions on websites such as<br />

YouTube have massively contributed to education<br />

and exposure of our national gemstone both<br />

locally and globally.”<br />

Babic points to the popularity of opal jewellery on<br />

websites such as Etsy, Facebook, and eBay in recent<br />

years as examples of the positive impact this kind of<br />

promotion has had.<br />

Videos of opal hunters in action on YouTube routinely<br />

gather millions of views.<br />

Sherman says that the timing of the pandemic<br />

was also an important factor in the effectiveness<br />

of this marketing.<br />

“People had extra spare time in lockdown to<br />

scroll through and read lots of articles about our<br />

industry and that certainly contributed to their<br />

current popularity,” he explains.<br />

“It’s hard to look past the worldwide success of the<br />

Outback Opal Hunters in particular. It’s a television<br />

series that has led to huge love for Australian opal.”<br />

Sherman also suggests that the changing priorities<br />

of younger consumers is also an important factor.<br />

“In this age of climate change discussion and<br />

interest in the ethics of businesses, Australian opal is<br />

an increasingly popular option for jewellery,” he says.<br />

“People are now aware that Australian opal is<br />

ethically mined and is one of the few natural<br />

gemstones to not require extra treatment, which is a<br />

big selling point.”<br />

Something magical?<br />

The formation of opal is a complex curiosity and<br />

a matter that has inspired heated debate among<br />

geologists.<br />

There have been many theories produced over<br />

the years. What is agreed upon is the necessity of<br />

certain factors for the formation of opal – silica,<br />

water, the appropriate chemical and geological<br />

conditions, and time.<br />

Many of the major opal fields of Australia have a<br />

similar geological landscape, consisting of a thick<br />

layer of sandstone atop a layer of clay.<br />

The most generally accepted hypothesis is known<br />

as the ‘deep weathering theory’, in which water<br />

flows through the top sandstone layer, picking up<br />

silica and continuing down through cracks and<br />

crevices to the bottom clay layer.<br />

There, the now silica-rich solution is deposited<br />

and forms opal.<br />

The ongoing debate around the origins of opal may<br />

suggest that these natural beauties have another<br />

intangible attraction which provokes the passion<br />

seen by miners, jewellers, and consumers alike.<br />

John Doyle, the owner of Boulder Opal Mines<br />

Australia, says that it’s difficult to narrow down<br />

the specific reason why opal jewellery is so<br />

popular today.<br />

50 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


“We are experiencing an increase in interest and sales from the<br />

international market but when it comes to answering the question<br />

of ‘why’, I’m not 100 per cent sure of the answer,” he explains.<br />

“It could simply be because it’s a natural gemstone with a<br />

huge variety of colours, and even with a single opal you can<br />

get dramatic colour play.”<br />

Most precious opals are found in sandstones and mudstones that<br />

developed during the Cretaceous era, 60–144 million years ago.<br />

To date, Australia is the only place on Earth where opalised<br />

animal and plant fossils are found.<br />

Small opalised dinosaurs and primitive mammalian remains were<br />

found at Lightning Ridge, along with prehistoric shallow marine<br />

shellfish and crustaceans.<br />

The ancient nature of these gemstones only adds to the alluring<br />

mystery of opal jewellery.<br />

“One important thing to understand is that opals are not<br />

enhanced in any way to improve their colours, they are just<br />

naturally gorgeous,” Doyle continues.<br />

“Maybe, the world is starting to wake up and appreciate our<br />

Australian opal creating the strong demand we see today.”<br />

With that said, one of the fundamental appeals of jewellery is<br />

personal storytelling. Dale Price, owner of Dale Price Opals<br />

in Coober Pedy, suggests that the biggest selling point is<br />

emotion.<br />

“I’ve found increased demand, both within Australia and<br />

abroad,” he says.<br />

“I think that people are looking for something to keep their<br />

spirits high. A nice piece of Australian opal does exactly that, it’s<br />

something very beautiful and quite frankly, magical.”<br />

The story continues<br />

Whether it’s their natural beauty, the unique and mysterious<br />

origins of their creation, the emotion they provoke, or some<br />

kind of intangible metaphysical appeal, the opal industry<br />

remains somewhat divided on what’s driving the recent of<br />

boom of international and home-grown demand.<br />

Whatever the answer is, one thing is clear – opals and opal<br />

jewellery are enjoying a moment in the sun.<br />

Given the recent constraints on supply and the ensuing rise<br />

in demand those market conditions tend to provoke, there’s<br />

little reason to see why the love for opals won’t continue long<br />

into the future.<br />

1/2 PG V<br />

ADVERTISEMENT


ON SHOW<br />

Australian Opal Exhibition<br />

Learn all about the latest offerings from<br />

Australia’s leading opal and opal jewellery<br />

suppliers ahead of the Australian Opal<br />

Exhibition in Queensland (2-3 August).<br />

Austgems<br />

PO Box 3084<br />

Tuggerah NSW 2250<br />

0417 042 617<br />

enquiries@austgems.com<br />

facebook.com/austgems<br />

In January next year, Austgems will celebrate 30 years<br />

of proudly supplying Australian opal to the world.<br />

The allure of opal is magic and nothing can describe<br />

the thrill experience when finding, cutting, and<br />

polishing opal from Lightning Ridge.<br />

The company has a strong source of supply of raw<br />

opal material and the workshop is always a hub of<br />

activity at Austgems.<br />

Cody Opal Australia<br />

119 Swanston Street<br />

Melbourne VIC 3000<br />

03 9654 5533 | 0418 177 098<br />

opal@codyopal.com<br />

codyopal.com<br />

Cody Opal is your trusted source for exquisite<br />

Australian opals. With more than 50 years of<br />

experience, the company has been the go-to destination<br />

for the gemstone and jewellery trade worldwide.<br />

As Australia's premier opal cutters, wholesalers, and<br />

exporters, Cody Opal offers an unparalleled collection<br />

of loose opals.<br />

Discover the stunning selection of solid black, boulder,<br />

light, and crystal opals sourced from all the opal mining<br />

regions of Australia.<br />

Fortune Opal<br />

PO Box 1945<br />

Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109<br />

0429 075 903<br />

stefan@fortuneopal.com<br />

Fortune Opal Mining proudly mines and sources opal<br />

directly from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales.<br />

Backed by more than 90 years of collective industry<br />

experience, the staff supplies these stunning<br />

gemstones to the wholesale market worldwide with the<br />

aim of providing the perfect opal for every customer.<br />

52 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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Gemcrest<br />

PO Box 2525<br />

Cairns QLD 4870<br />

0411 18 28 18<br />

info@gemcrest.com.au<br />

Established in 1985, Gem Crest wholesales around<br />

Australia a complete range of Australian opal jewellery<br />

from solid, doublet and triplets all set in either 18-carat,<br />

14-carat, 9-carat gold and sterling silver.<br />

The family behind Gem Crest have been in the opal<br />

industry since the late 1960s with experience in mining,<br />

cutting, setting, wholesaling, retailing, and valuing.<br />

Opal Auctions<br />

Mermaid Waters QLD 2250<br />

0418 151 227<br />

opals@hotmail.com<br />

opalauctions.com<br />

Elevate your jewellery designs with opals and colour<br />

gemstones! Opal Auctions offers direct access to<br />

more than 250,000 opals and gemstones.<br />

Verified opal miners and sellers come together on<br />

the world's leading opal industry website for all of<br />

your needs.<br />

Rough opals, opal specimens and a wide range of<br />

gemstones and jewellery from all corners of the<br />

world - all in one place!<br />

Opals by Emmanuel Christianos<br />

Lightning Ridge<br />

NSW 2834<br />

0467 553 886<br />

opals@me.com<br />

christianos.com<br />

Opals by Emmanuel Christianos carries on a business<br />

which began in the 1950s in Coober Pedy.<br />

The company have since moved to Lightning Ridge<br />

where they drill, mine consolidate (wholesale) and<br />

export fine Australian Opals including incredible black<br />

and crystal opals.<br />

The company is run by George Emmanuel Christianos<br />

and his wife Liya as a third-generation business.<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 53


Australian Opal Exhibition | EXHIBITORS' SHOWCASE<br />

Opal by Mario<br />

Lightning Ridge NSW 2834<br />

0417 678 283<br />

opalsaustralia@gmail.com<br />

opalauctions.com/stores/opalbymario<br />

"Chasing colour at the cutting wheel drives Opal By Mario’s<br />

director, Mario Ikasovic, as an expert in Australian opal for<br />

more than 40 years.<br />

The company attends international jewellery trade shows<br />

with an extensive inventory of solid black, boulder and<br />

crystal opal, sourced both from miners and dealers.<br />

A former resident of Lightning Ridge and Coober Pedy, the<br />

company is now based in Sydney where cutting is completed<br />

in the workshop.<br />

Sherman Opals<br />

2/67 Castlereagh Street<br />

Sydney NSW 2000<br />

P: 02 9233 6355<br />

M: 0400 899 900<br />

opals@shermanopals.com.au<br />

shermanopals.com.au<br />

Since the beginning of time, people have marvelled at the<br />

dazzling beauty of opals.<br />

Sherman Opals, a family-owned Australian opal company,<br />

has been supplying opal in all forms - black, boulder, white,<br />

crystal - as well as jewellery in both gold and silver to local<br />

and international markets for more than 100 years.<br />

Expert service is a family tradition.<br />

True Blue Opals<br />

PO Box 1650<br />

Surfers Paradise Qld 4217<br />

P: 07 5504 5596<br />

M: 0419 785 454<br />

salopals@aol.com<br />

trueblueopals.com<br />

True Blue Opals is proud to supply Australian opals sourced<br />

from mines and miners directly with inventory in black,<br />

boulder, Yowah, Koroit, carvings and beads for over 30 years.<br />

Rough and pre-finished rubs and loose gemstones are<br />

also available, as well as collector items which are the<br />

company's speciality.<br />

54 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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EVENT FEATURE<br />

On the Horizon<br />

HONG KONG<br />

HOMECOMING<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y industry welcomes trade show return<br />

After a four-year hiatus, the action<br />

and excitement of <strong>Jeweller</strong>y and Gem<br />

Asia Hong Kong (JGA) has made a<br />

triumphant return.<br />

The focus was firmly fixed on ‘rebounding and<br />

recovering’ amid a turbulent economy at the<br />

four-day affair, which was hosted at the Hong Kong<br />

Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and<br />

concluded on 25 June.<br />

More than 1,680 exhibitors from 33 different<br />

countries took part, while the total number of<br />

visitors is still being determined.<br />

It had been ‘a long time between drinks’ for event<br />

organisers Informa Markets, who last hosted the<br />

JGA show in 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic.<br />

Senior vice president David Bondi said that after<br />

such a long wait, seeing the event successfully<br />

underway was an experience that stirred many<br />

emotions.<br />

“It’s an amazing feeling to see so many people<br />

members of the industry back together in Hong<br />

Kong trading under the one roof,” he said.<br />

“It feels like something of a rebirth for the industry,<br />

and perhaps the beginning of a promising new era.”<br />

At an industry leaders meet-and-greet,<br />

Informa Markets’ director of jewellery fairs,<br />

Celine Lau, echoed this sentiment and<br />

said that she believes that for the jewellery<br />

industry, the best is yet to come.<br />

“We are still feeling ‘fatigue’ from the<br />

pandemic; however, we should all be grateful<br />

to be gathered together as a single community<br />

once again,” she said.<br />

“It’s important to take the time to reflect on the<br />

challenges of the past three years, and also to<br />

rejoice over the prospects of the promising future<br />

which lies ahead.”<br />

With concern about the health of the global<br />

economy widespread, many exhibitors reported<br />

that buyers were consistently cautious when it<br />

came to finalising orders.<br />

Discussions about the impact of cost-of-living<br />

pressures and exchange rates were also<br />

commonplace.<br />

With that said, many exhibitors still proudly<br />

reported that their experience had been<br />

fruitful and chairman of Hong Kong’s <strong>Jeweller</strong>y<br />

and Jade Manufacturers Association, Cheung<br />

King Yau, said that events such as JGA were<br />

vital for a rebounding industry.<br />

“The focus for many indeed remains on recovery,<br />

as this is not an easy market to navigate for many<br />

industry figures. Globally, it’s a complex market<br />

and the jewellery industry is not the only sector<br />

facing challenges,” he said.<br />

“This doesn’t mean we don’t have many<br />

opportunities for expansion, and events such as this<br />

wonderful fair are the ideal place to do just that.”<br />

Dazzling diamonds<br />

As is always the case, the diamond hall was<br />

dominated by impressive visual displays as stands<br />

strived to make their mark and leave an impression<br />

on a competitive fair floor.<br />

The experiences reported by diamond exhibitors<br />

were somewhat uniform – cautious buyers eager<br />

for as much information as they could gather.<br />

“People are certainly cautious, which given the talk<br />

about the economy at the moment, I think that’s<br />

something everyone was prepared for,” Divyang<br />

Kakadiya of SKSM Diamonds told <strong>Jeweller</strong>.<br />

“We are getting a lot of interest in our diamonds<br />

from buyers which is good to see – most people are<br />

eager to take a look at what we’re offering and then<br />

to go away and consider it, which again, is exactly<br />

what we expected.”<br />

One exhibitor which consistently captured the<br />

attention of attendees was Kunming Diamonds,<br />

with its radiant display of fancy colour diamonds<br />

a clear favourite.<br />

Marketing director Shubham Maheshwari said<br />

that the market for fancy colour diamonds<br />

operates in a dramatically different fashion to<br />

that of white diamonds.<br />

“This Fair has unfolded perfectly to our<br />

expectations. People are very curious and keen<br />

to learn and gather as much information at the<br />

moment, particularly when it comes to fancy<br />

colour diamonds,” he explained.<br />

“In many ways, patience is vital for our<br />

customers as the market is so unique. Even<br />

factors such as currency rates are crucial.<br />

Timing can be everything.”<br />

Maheshwari said that yellow fancy colour<br />

diamonds – the most common variety – had<br />

proven particularly popular in recent months, while<br />

pinkdiamonds are of course still number one.<br />

“For us, events such as the Hong Kong fair are<br />

about establishing and maintaining the connections<br />

we have with customers and clients,” he said.<br />

“There’s no alternative to the insight you gain<br />

from a face-to-face encounter, and these kinds of<br />

opportunities are invaluable.”<br />

56 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


A WALK THROUGH<br />

THE HALLS<br />

In a neighbouring stand, visitors discovered<br />

Saboo Fine Jewels – a business which traces its<br />

origins to India in the 1930s. The family behind<br />

the business credits its past successes to<br />

meticulous attention to detail and the desire to<br />

create ‘perfection’ in jewellery.<br />

When it comes to trends, executive business<br />

manager Pranay Saboo said that colour seems to<br />

very much be in vogue.<br />

“Our diamond jewellery in particular has recieved<br />

a lot of positive feedback from buyers, so that’s<br />

pleasing for us,” he said.<br />

“But more than anything colour gemstones have<br />

been the big talking point. Our jewellery featuring<br />

emeralds and rubies, in particular, is very popular.”<br />

All the colours of the rainbow<br />

Colour gemstone jewellery has been popular<br />

with consumers this year and in Hong Kong,<br />

buyers consistently voiced their approval for the<br />

wide variety on offer.<br />

<strong>Jeweller</strong>y featuring sapphires, emeralds, and rubies<br />

to name but a few made the colour gemstone<br />

section come to life, and among the floor were<br />

several Australian companies offering opal jewellery<br />

– an increasingly popular niche in Asian markets.<br />

Based in Lightning Ridge (NSW), George<br />

Christianos is a third-generation opal jeweller and<br />

trader and he said the trip to Hong Kong was always<br />

worthwhile.<br />

“This is traditionally the slowest fair out of the three<br />

major Hong Kong shows each year, but it’s always a<br />

valuable experience,” he said.<br />

“We’ve found new customers, arranged future<br />

sales and cemented a few present partnerships,<br />

so it’s been well worth the journey.”<br />

Christianos said the hunger for opal jewellery<br />

remains strong in China in particular, and that<br />

supply, rather than demand, continues to be the<br />

talking point.<br />

“Everyone we are dealing with is experiencing a<br />

little bit of sticker shock, but we have no choice<br />

but to tell them that it’s about supply and not<br />

demand,” he said.<br />

“The opal mining industry is undergoing a period<br />

of change, as older members of the workforce<br />

are retiring and aren’t being replaced at a great<br />

rate. We need to remind our buyers that next year,<br />

it’s only going to be higher again – so you might<br />

as well get in now!”<br />

Precious pearls<br />

On the fifth floor of the exhibition centre, the pearl<br />

section was a hive of activity as buyers scrambled<br />

to get the best deal possible on seemingly<br />

endless strands of aquatic treasures.<br />

Sze Ho Yin, president of the Hong Kong Pearl<br />

Association, said that pearl jewellery continues<br />

to increase in popularity in the Chinese market,<br />

particularly with young consumers – both men<br />

and women.<br />

Among the exhibitors was a familiar face – Pinella<br />

Autore, founder of Australia Pearls. She said that<br />

one particular variety of pearls was in high demand.<br />

“It’s been a very productive fair from our<br />

perspective,” she said.<br />

“The buyers are going crazy for Akoya pearls<br />

at the moment. There is a massive demand for<br />

Japanese pearls in Asia as there is a significant<br />

shortage of supply.”<br />

The reasons for the shortage of Akoya pearls<br />

are varied. Similar to the opal industry, the<br />

Japanese pearl trade is undergoing a turnover<br />

in production and older farmers are not being<br />

replaced at the same rate as younger farmers<br />

are entering the workforce.<br />

Others have suggested that a mysterious<br />

virus causing the death of oysters is hindering<br />

production, while the impact of climate change<br />

is also an important talking point.<br />

Where to from here?<br />

In what was surely a welcome relief to the<br />

organisers, the June show was in many ways<br />

a ‘typical’ fair – beginning with a frantic first<br />

half of the opening day, before traded slowed<br />

to a steadier rhythm.<br />

While lulls later in the fair - particularly in the<br />

natural and lab-created diamond halls - raised<br />

some eyebrows, that concern was alleviated by<br />

the consistent excitement in the colour gemstone<br />

and pearls sections.<br />

As Victor Yiu, vice chairman of the Hong Kong<br />

Diamond Federation said: “Rebounding from the<br />

pandemic remains the key focus for our industry.”<br />

“In light of everything this industry has been<br />

through, it’s clear to me that Hong Kong is still the<br />

ideal place to do business for so many reasons.”<br />

With the return of the June show complete,<br />

organisers at Informa Markets will now turn their<br />

attention to <strong>Jeweller</strong>y and Gem World Hong Kong<br />

in September.<br />

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the show will<br />

open at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo from 18-22<br />

September, while the trading will continue at<br />

HKCEC from 20-24 September.<br />

* Samuel Ord attended <strong>Jeweller</strong>y and Gem Asia<br />

Asia Hong Kong courtesy of the event organiser.<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 57


BUSINESS<br />

Strategy<br />

Do you stick to the rules?<br />

How do you handle an employee who oversteps the mark? GRAHAM JONES<br />

examines the science behind rule breaking and discusses committing ‘own goals’ in business.<br />

"Rules were made to be broken" – that's<br />

what my Dad told me when I was a child<br />

and I caught him doing something wrong.<br />

He would also tell me, "When I'm right,<br />

I'm right, but when I am wrong, I am right<br />

because I am your Dad." There was one set<br />

of rules for my father and one set of rules for<br />

me as his son.<br />

In my varied career, I have worked with many<br />

people who have had their own peculiar<br />

views of the rules. One individual was<br />

often keen to bend the rules on the basis<br />

of a personal philosophy, which he would<br />

summarise by explaining "you only discover<br />

new ways of doing things when you break<br />

the rules”.<br />

I am sure you have also worked with people<br />

who have their own way of dealing with ‘the<br />

rules’ including individuals who completely<br />

ignored them. Bending and breaking the<br />

rules is not the sole domain of politicians.<br />

Indeed, businesspeople in varying sectors<br />

have gone to prison for a variety of reasons,<br />

such as fixing interbank interest rates or<br />

fiddling with the emissions of the cars they<br />

manufacture. The one thing these criminals<br />

all had in common was a blatant disregard<br />

for the rules!<br />

Research<br />

Researchers on business ethics point out<br />

that the incidence of rule-breaking and<br />

being prepared to bend the rules is rising.<br />

More people are willing to break the rules<br />

nowadays than ever before.<br />

One argument, of course, is that if the<br />

people in power break the rules, then why<br />

shouldn't we?<br />

If a company's CEO bends the rules on<br />

claiming expenses, what's stopping more<br />

junior staff from copying the behaviour? It's<br />

common to think that we break the rules<br />

just because other people are doing the<br />

same, however, it isn't true.<br />

The psychology of morals and ethical<br />

behaviour has been well researched and it<br />

shows that on average, we try to stick on the<br />

right path. What appears to be happening is<br />

that it is easier to break the rules these days<br />

than it was in the past.<br />

Clues to this came from interesting research<br />

conducted 10 years ago at Duquesne<br />

University in Pittsburgh. One study<br />

demonstrated that computers were enabling<br />

us to break more rules. At the same time,<br />

using computers also appeared to interfere<br />

with our morals.<br />

That's how you<br />

can break the<br />

rules and chase<br />

innovation<br />

and creativity,<br />

by focusing on<br />

what breaking<br />

the rules would<br />

do for others.<br />

In other words, computers make it more<br />

likely that we will break the rules at the<br />

same time as making it less likely we<br />

perceive the rule-breaking as a problem.<br />

That’s a powerful social problem to consider<br />

in this increasingly digital age!<br />

Justification<br />

Further research suggests that we appear<br />

to justify rule-breaking on the basis that it is<br />

legitimate for our purposes.<br />

US psychologist Tom Tyler, from Yale<br />

University is widely regarded as a leading<br />

authority on why we obey or break the rules.<br />

His research has shown that we do not fear<br />

being caught or punished.<br />

Indeed, the concern over the perceived risk<br />

of getting found out or caught for breaking<br />

the rules appears in only around 5 per cent<br />

of rule-breakers. What the Yale research<br />

shows is that people obey the rule when<br />

they respect the authority of the people or<br />

organisation setting those rules.<br />

In other words, if you need staff in your<br />

business to stick to the rules, it isn't the<br />

rules or the punishment for breaking them<br />

that matters. The crucial factor is ensuring<br />

that the individual setting the rules is<br />

respected. Then, they are much less likely to<br />

58 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


want to break the rules.<br />

When you find that employees are happy<br />

to break the rules or are using technology<br />

to help them cover up their rule-breaking,<br />

you ought to ask yourself, "why don't these<br />

people respect the rule-maker?"<br />

It is the perceived legitimacy of the business<br />

or individual that sets the rules, which<br />

makes it likely that people don't break them.<br />

The words ‘respect for the law’ do, indeed,<br />

sum it all up.<br />

Conundrum<br />

In business, however, we have a problem.<br />

How can you innovate, for example,<br />

unless you break some rules? How can<br />

your business be creative without ignoring<br />

the rules?<br />

A clue to what's important here comes<br />

from one study of hospitality workers,<br />

which showed four main reasons for rulebreaking.<br />

Two reasons were ‘pro-social’. In<br />

other words, we appear to be prepared to<br />

break the rules we respect if, in doing so, it<br />

can help other people.<br />

That's how you can break the rules<br />

and chase innovation and creativity, by<br />

focusing on what breaking the rules<br />

would do for others.<br />

Do you score own goals?<br />

The FIFA World Cup contest began amid<br />

controversy dating back 12 years ago<br />

when Qatar was awarded the right to<br />

host the games.<br />

The footballing authority FIFA may have<br />

thought that Qatar's investment in the game<br />

might increase the popularity of football<br />

in the Middle East. The millions of dollars<br />

coming their way, which they could use to<br />

improve the game worldwide, may have also<br />

been a lure.<br />

But the decision to host the contest in<br />

Qatar was a clear ‘own goal’ - much like<br />

the decision to ban alcohol when your main<br />

sponsor is a brewer.<br />

Recently in the UK, following the statement<br />

from the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the<br />

respected independent Institute for Fiscal<br />

Studies (IFS) said that the Government had<br />

to deal with its own "economic own goals".<br />

Wherever you look, own goals are<br />

commonplace. Whether it is politicians,<br />

organisations or business leaders, there are<br />

plenty of examples of people thinking they<br />

are doing the right thing, only to discover<br />

they are having the opposite impact to what<br />

was expected.<br />

Beneath the surface<br />

The underlying issue behind businessrelated<br />

own goals is the avoidance of<br />

risk analysis.<br />

When we believe we are on the right track,<br />

we are convinced we are right. Why would<br />

we assess the risk when we ‘know’ there is<br />

not much risk in what we are doing?<br />

Except we do not know there is little risk!<br />

We are making an unconscious assumption.<br />

I see this in businesses that have decided<br />

to go a particular route with office software,<br />

for example. They might have chosen to<br />

use the Microsoft 365 ecosystem rather<br />

than the Google Workspace option. Often,<br />

the reasoning behind that is that Microsoft<br />

is more ‘corporate’ and there is often an<br />

assumption that, as a result, it is more<br />

secure and reliable.<br />

However, for some organisations going<br />

with one office suite rather than the other<br />

can be an ‘own goal’. The office system you<br />

choose has an impact on productivity, staff<br />

motivation and on your customers.<br />

Just look at all those comparisons of the<br />

available office suites, and you will see that<br />

the decision as to which is best is always ‘it<br />

THE THREE<br />

REASONS<br />

FOR RULE-<br />

BREAKING<br />

Habitual<br />

behaviour<br />

When people are<br />

used to taking a<br />

certain type of<br />

action in a given<br />

situation but<br />

are placed in a<br />

similar situation<br />

with different<br />

rules, rules are<br />

broken out of<br />

habit.<br />

To save time<br />

or resources<br />

People knowingly<br />

break rules<br />

when it becomes<br />

inconvenient<br />

to stay on the<br />

‘straight and<br />

narrow.'<br />

Solidifies<br />

individuality<br />

Repetitive<br />

tasks tend to<br />

place certain<br />

types of people<br />

in situations<br />

they find<br />

uncomfortable.<br />

This leads to<br />

lashing out and<br />

insubordinate<br />

behaviour.<br />

depends’. I have seen organisations make<br />

the wrong decision based on assumptions<br />

or costs and find they are not as productive<br />

as they wanted.<br />

Getting out of that is difficult once you<br />

are wedded to a system, so the own goal<br />

is persistent.<br />

Assessing the risks of anything for a<br />

business doesn't just mean considering<br />

the cost impact, what other people say, or<br />

what you think or assume. For instance,<br />

although many companies decide between<br />

the Microsoft and Google ecosystems, there<br />

are plenty of options which may avoid an<br />

own goal.<br />

Learn from the errors of others<br />

When you look at the World Cup, there has<br />

been a lack of risk analysis. There is a risk<br />

to the tarnished reputation of FIFA, but there<br />

is also a risk to Qatar as the world gets an<br />

increasingly negative view of the country.<br />

The lure of cash and being in the global<br />

spotlight was too much; it would seem,<br />

leading to a lack of objective risk analysis.<br />

We all make own goals, some worse than<br />

others, but when we do, it should be a<br />

reminder that we did not adequately analyse<br />

the risks of our decisions.<br />

And sometimes there is a greater risk in<br />

doing something than not doing it – which<br />

can be a difficult lesson to learn.<br />

It’s time to review your business and<br />

identify where you may be scoring ‘own<br />

goals’. When it comes to rectifying any<br />

issues that you observe, don’t be afraid<br />

to break a few rules – so long as you<br />

measure your approach.<br />

GRAHAM JONES studies online<br />

behaviour and consumer psychology<br />

to help businesses improve website<br />

success. Visit: grahamjones.co.uk<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 59


BUSINESS<br />

Selling<br />

Simple ways to improve your selling mindset<br />

when you're swimming against the tide<br />

When faced with the challenge of running a jewellery store, it’s easy to fall into a rut.<br />

RICH KIZER and GEORGANNE BENDER explore simple fixes for struggling salespeople.<br />

It’s easy to get blindsided by challenges in<br />

your business, especially those that you<br />

never thought you would have to handle.<br />

What you do doesn’t have to be rocket<br />

science; it just needs to take you out of<br />

your routine.<br />

When cash flow isn’t consistent, sales go<br />

into hibernation, advertising stop working,<br />

and customers are bored, what’s a<br />

jewellery retailer to do?<br />

Keep a notebook so you can reflect on any<br />

new things you try. The 30-day challenge<br />

has reaped benefits for us both personally<br />

and business-wise.<br />

Consider employing the following<br />

strategies to improve your focus and<br />

build confidence when you’re feeling<br />

overwhelmed with your workload or feel<br />

that your business is ‘treading water’.<br />

Set new standards<br />

Successful retailers are forward-thinking<br />

planners who set written standards of<br />

operation for every area of their business.<br />

These standards help everyone do<br />

their jobs better and help owners<br />

and managers easily measure store<br />

performance at every level.<br />

Your business needs written standards<br />

and expectations for customer service,<br />

training, associate appearance, and use<br />

of personal social media. Brainstorm any<br />

additional standards that make sense for<br />

your store. Expectations should always be<br />

specific, attainable, and measurable.<br />

Remember, what gets measured<br />

gets done!<br />

Escape your comfort zone<br />

The ‘comfort zone’ is lethal to every<br />

business. The moment you hear your<br />

associates start to say things have ‘always<br />

been done a certain way’ you’re in trouble.<br />

Retail is a constantly changing<br />

environment and your business can’t afford<br />

to stand still. It’s common for successful<br />

retailers to repeat the actions of yesterday<br />

which proved successful, however; that<br />

can lead to problems.<br />

Exploring new areas is a great way to<br />

promote internal improvement. Attend a<br />

trade show that sounds interesting. Join<br />

a Facebook group to swap stories with<br />

other retailers.<br />

Consider hiring a consultant or personal<br />

assistant to make those changes you<br />

have talked about forever but never<br />

seem to get done.<br />

Let it go<br />

Are you one of those business owners<br />

who proudly tells others that you are a<br />

perfectionist? Do you constantly compare<br />

yourself to others – or your store to the<br />

competition? Do you focus on your flaws<br />

instead of your strengths? Do you think that<br />

there is a way for everyone who works for<br />

you to do it better? It’s time to stop!<br />

We know you’re willing to do whatever<br />

it takes for your store to succeed, but<br />

sometimes you need to give yourself a<br />

break. You run a retail store – that’s hard.<br />

There’s no right way to do anything. Many<br />

people open new stores every year and<br />

fail. If you’re still operating, you’re doing<br />

something right – so don’t torture yourself<br />

with needless comparisons.<br />

Do something new every day<br />

Marks and Spencer commissioned a<br />

study which found 96 per cent of people<br />

described themselves as living on<br />

‘autopilot’ - subconscious decision making.<br />

Ruts and routines can squash your<br />

creativity and to combat this in our lives we<br />

decided to take the 30-day ‘do something<br />

new each day’ challenge. We highly<br />

recommend it for jewellery store owners.<br />

Simple things can make a big difference.<br />

Business is<br />

important,<br />

but it’s not<br />

everything. No<br />

one on their<br />

deathbed ever<br />

said, ‘I wish I<br />

had spent more<br />

time at work.<br />

Make a difference<br />

Once upon a time retailers only had<br />

to compete for the business of their<br />

customers. Today, they need to compete<br />

for their hearts too. There are many<br />

reasons why people choose to shop at one<br />

store over another and a major factor in<br />

this decision-making process is the store’s<br />

charitable impact.<br />

In <strong>2023</strong> and beyond, supporting a cause<br />

will be mandatory! Sometimes you<br />

choose a cause and sometimes the<br />

cause chooses you. You may already be<br />

working with a charity, or perhaps you’re<br />

open to new causes. If you’re not sure<br />

where to start, ask your customers about<br />

which charities operate in your area and<br />

what they think of them.<br />

Get started now<br />

“Don’t wait too long. Your kids will only<br />

be little once; your spouse deserves<br />

your attention, and your dog needs to be<br />

walked. Business is important, but it’s<br />

not everything. No one on their deathbed<br />

ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time<br />

at work.’”<br />

These words were written long ago and<br />

they hang on a sign in our office to remind<br />

us of what’s important. Don’t wait for<br />

the right time to make changes to your<br />

approach to business because something<br />

will always get in your way.<br />

If you’re unsure where to start, try one of<br />

these ideas at a time – the most important<br />

thing is you start today!<br />

RICH KIZER AND GEORGANNE<br />

BENDER are retail strategists, authors<br />

and consultants. Visit:<br />

kizerandbender.com<br />

60 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


BUSINESS<br />

Management<br />

Networking for small business owners<br />

is crucial to relationship building<br />

Successful businesses are constructed off the back of fruitful relationships.<br />

DAVID BROWN discusses the importance of networking for small business owners.<br />

Whenever I mention networking, I often<br />

see the person I’m talking to squirm<br />

uncomfortably.<br />

Focus on building: Networking is not just<br />

about selling or promoting your business,<br />

it's about constructing relationships.<br />

Building relationships with other business<br />

owners, customers, and industry<br />

professionals can help you improve your<br />

business, expand your customer base and<br />

gain valuable insights and advice.<br />

Unfortunately, it’s not something that<br />

everyone feels comfortable with doing!<br />

In today's fast-paced and competitive<br />

business world, it’s more important than<br />

ever to build a strong network of contacts<br />

and maintain these relationships over time<br />

So, what makes it such a critical part of<br />

your small business strategy?<br />

Increased visibility and exposure:<br />

Networking provides an opportunity for<br />

you to increase the visibility and exposure<br />

of your business to potential customers,<br />

partners, and investors.<br />

By actively participating in local business<br />

events, online communities, and industry<br />

groups, you can get your business name<br />

and brand in front of a wider audience and<br />

improve your opportunity to secure sales.<br />

Access to new customers: Building<br />

relationships with other business<br />

owners can lead to new customers and<br />

sales opportunities.<br />

For example, you may meet a business<br />

owner who is looking for a product or<br />

service that you offer, or they may refer you<br />

to someone in their network who needs<br />

your services.<br />

Customers can come both directly and<br />

indirectly from the relationships that you<br />

build with others in the industry.<br />

Knowledge and insights: Networking with<br />

other business owners can also provide<br />

valuable insights and advice.<br />

You can learn about the latest trends and<br />

best practices in your industry and gain<br />

new ideas for improving your business.<br />

Many of the industry buying groups and<br />

meetings are as much about what you may<br />

gain from a coffee or drink with colleagues<br />

as official partnerships you get directly<br />

from the event itself.<br />

Building a support network: The<br />

past three years have highlighted the<br />

importance of a strong support network.<br />

Networking can help you earn the<br />

respect of other business owners and<br />

professionals who can provide support and<br />

advice when you need it.<br />

This can be especially valuable when<br />

you're facing a challenging business issue<br />

or decision. As the old saying goes ‘a<br />

problem shared is a problem halved!’<br />

Successful networking<br />

Be yourself: It’s important to be yourself<br />

and build relationships based on trust<br />

and authenticity.<br />

People are more likely to do business with<br />

someone they trust, so be genuine and<br />

show an authentic interest in others. Don’t<br />

allow being an introvert to restrict you.<br />

Be prepared: If it works for the scouts,<br />

it can work for you! Before attending a<br />

networking event, research the attendees<br />

and the purpose of the event.<br />

Come prepared with a clear idea of what<br />

you want to achieve. Have business<br />

cards and a clear, concise ‘elevator<br />

pitch’ to quickly introduce yourself and<br />

your business.<br />

People are<br />

more likely to<br />

do business<br />

with someone<br />

they trust, so<br />

be genuine<br />

and show<br />

an authentic<br />

interest in<br />

others. Don’t<br />

allow being<br />

an introvert to<br />

restrict you<br />

Take the time to get to know the people<br />

you meet and follow up with them after the<br />

event to continue the conversation.<br />

Offer value: When networking, it's<br />

important to offer value to others. This<br />

can include sharing your knowledge and<br />

expertise, making introductions to others<br />

in your network, and offering to help in any<br />

way you can.<br />

By offering value to others, you will<br />

establish yourself as a valuable member of<br />

the community and increase your chances<br />

of success. For more help with this, an<br />

excellent book is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg<br />

and John David Mann.<br />

Attend regular events: To be effective,<br />

networking should be a regular part of<br />

your business strategy.<br />

Attend regular events and join industry<br />

groups and online communities to meet<br />

new people and establish relationships<br />

over time.<br />

Follow through: After attending a<br />

networking event, follow up with the<br />

people you met.<br />

This could include sending a personalised<br />

email or LinkedIn message, or scheduling<br />

a coffee or lunch meeting to continue the<br />

conversation. Following up will help you<br />

build deeper relationships and increase<br />

your chances of success.<br />

Networking is a critical component of<br />

success for small business owners.<br />

By following these tips and making<br />

networking a regular part of your business<br />

strategy, you can build a strong network<br />

of contacts and push closer to success in<br />

your business endeavours.<br />

DAVID BROWN is co-founder<br />

and business mentor with Retail<br />

Edge Consultants. Learn more:<br />

retailedgeconsultants.com<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 61


BUSINESS<br />

Marketing & PR<br />

Your business desperately needs you to get proactive!<br />

Business is dominated by those who are forward-thinking.<br />

MICHAEL HINSHAW explores the concept of proactive customer engagement.<br />

When it’s done correctly, proactive<br />

engagement makes it easy for<br />

prospects to engage with your business<br />

and improves customer experience.<br />

You might be wondering exactly what I<br />

mean when I discuss ‘proactive customer<br />

engagement.’ The key to the concept<br />

is encouraging business owners to be<br />

proactive, rather than reactive.<br />

When considering the concept of proactive<br />

customer engagement, it’s important to<br />

understand three key factors.<br />

• Value: This is measured by the impact<br />

on your business - whether it be increased<br />

revenue, an improved reputation or simply<br />

more units sold.<br />

• Advocacy: How often do your customers<br />

recommend your products and services<br />

to others within the market? This is an<br />

important concept to measure.<br />

• Retention: It’s valuable to understand<br />

the duration of the ‘relationship’ your<br />

customers experience with your business<br />

and products.<br />

From an organisational perspective, it’s<br />

vital you communicate with customers<br />

with the appropriate information at<br />

the right time. It’s about more than just<br />

anticipating customer needs, increasing<br />

the relevance of your business, and<br />

boosting engagement.<br />

I’m sure you’ll agree that in the modern<br />

retail environment, customers want<br />

to gain access to whatever they want<br />

and need from your business on their<br />

terms: they want it when they want it<br />

and how they want it. If you examine the<br />

changes in strategy by major jewellery<br />

retailers in recent years, you’ll see<br />

that many businesses are adopting and<br />

developing strategies to enable proactive<br />

interactions with their customers.<br />

For example, many businesses focused<br />

on making it easier for customers to get<br />

the answers to questions immediately.<br />

In an online environment, this comes down<br />

to eliminating the need to go searching<br />

on other websites for answers – reducing<br />

the risk that the customer might end up<br />

choosing to shop with a competitor.<br />

If your business is interested in boosting<br />

engagement with your customers,<br />

consider the following six strategies. This<br />

list has been created by examining the<br />

priorities of many leading retailers.<br />

• Leverage the data: Every business has<br />

rich data concerning their customers –<br />

yet so many fail to make the most of the<br />

opportunities it presents.<br />

The challenge is to use this knowledge to<br />

better anticipate customer needs based on<br />

patterns, history, and preferences.<br />

• Make it easy for customers to connect:<br />

Facilitate connections across channels<br />

and interactions, including offline, online,<br />

direct, and indirect.<br />

Your social media should all be connected,<br />

and it should be simple to navigate from<br />

one to the other. On the topic of social<br />

media, don’t overdo it!<br />

We see many businesses today attempt<br />

to join every ‘flavour of the month’<br />

platform. It’s difficult to stay on top of<br />

more than a handful of platforms – use<br />

only the most relevant services to avoid<br />

The challenge<br />

is to use this<br />

knowledge<br />

to better<br />

anticipate<br />

customer<br />

needs based<br />

on patterns,<br />

history, and<br />

preferences.<br />

any wasted effort.<br />

• Enable intuitive self-serve options:<br />

Ensure these options are simple to find<br />

and use, making it easy to get answers and<br />

resolve issues.<br />

This doesn’t mean self-service replaces<br />

other channels, instead, it should provide<br />

additional ways to get the customers what<br />

they need.<br />

• Ensure swift resolution to any issues: A<br />

‘fast’ resolution should be fast as defined<br />

by your customer, not by the limitations of<br />

your processes within the business.<br />

How much time does it really take to call a<br />

customer back? If a customer reaches out<br />

to you via email and you plan to respond,<br />

why wait and risk irritating the customer?<br />

You’re going to respond anyway, so why<br />

not try to do it in a timely manner? Treating<br />

your customers to a first-class experience<br />

doesn’t have to be a tremendous expense.<br />

Show them that you care<br />

In aggregate, completing the five tasks<br />

above will go a long way toward showing<br />

customers you care. But don’t stop<br />

there! The bottom line is that proactive<br />

customer engagement isn't a one-time<br />

event. It's an important part of a wellrounded<br />

customer experience. It’s about<br />

looking for better ways to engage and<br />

anticipate the needs of your customers.<br />

In other words, proactive customer<br />

engagement is about the relationship<br />

between your business and the customer.<br />

It’s about delivering value at every<br />

interaction, whether it’s with the sales staff<br />

or when browsing your website.<br />

The focus is on helping you build a highly<br />

loyal and more valuable customer base,<br />

creating unassailable relationships at<br />

every stage of the customer journey — and<br />

driving business expansion as a result.<br />

MICHAEL HINSHAW is president of<br />

McorpCX, which focuses on customer<br />

experience management. Learn more:<br />

mcorpcx.com<br />

62 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


BUSINESS<br />

Logged On<br />

How do you respond to a negative review?<br />

Customers are increasingly relying on online reviews. BRIDGET BROWN says it’s crucial<br />

business owners understand how to handle negative feedback.<br />

Reviews matter – it’s a topic that’s been<br />

written about and studied extensively in<br />

recent years.<br />

A study by the Spiegel Research Institute<br />

demonstrated that 95 per cent of customers<br />

read online reviews to make ‘informed’<br />

purchasing decisions.<br />

Positive reviews can triple the chance<br />

someone is going to purchase a product<br />

from your jewellery store.<br />

customer was happy to remove the review<br />

once the misunderstanding was resolved,<br />

which is always the end goal in managing<br />

a negative review.<br />

Remember that you aren’t getting in contact<br />

with the disgruntled customer to ‘defend’<br />

your business or to win a fight – your aim is<br />

for them to remove the review so that your<br />

online reputation is salvaged.<br />

Know your rights<br />

I’m aware of another study that suggests 84<br />

per cent of customers trust online reviews<br />

as much as personal recommendations,<br />

which sounds unusual until you consider<br />

that it isn’t the evolved ‘rational’ part of our<br />

brain which determines how trustworthy<br />

reviews are - it’s the shortcut-loving<br />

‘emotional’ brain.<br />

One negative review can seriously damage<br />

a business. A series of negative reviews<br />

can end a business – it’s extremely difficult<br />

to overcome negative word-of-mouth, and<br />

when it’s on full display for the world to see,<br />

that’s a recipe for disaster.<br />

Stop the bleeding<br />

Dissatisfied customers tend to tell between<br />

nine and 15 people about their negative<br />

experience and that’s exactly how this<br />

negative word-of-mouth spreads.<br />

If one of these disgruntled customers<br />

appears on your online business profile,<br />

usually managed by Google, and leaves a<br />

one-star review it’s important you quickly<br />

attempt to rectify the situation.<br />

• Reply immediately: Read the review<br />

closely and formulate a professional,<br />

measured reply as quickly as possible.<br />

A 2022 study from ReviewTrackers<br />

demonstrated that 53 per cent of people<br />

who leave a negative review expect to<br />

hear back from the business in one to<br />

seven days.<br />

No matter the circumstances reply letting<br />

them know you’re sorry to hear they had a<br />

poor experience. The next step is to inform<br />

them that you’ll follow up ‘offline’ with a<br />

phone call. This part is key!<br />

Referencing one-to-one communication<br />

acts as a signal to readers that there is<br />

more to the story than they’re seeing and<br />

encourages them to keep an open mind<br />

about your business.<br />

• Don’t argue with the review: A wise<br />

man once said, “never argue with a fool,<br />

onlookers may not be able to tell the<br />

difference.”<br />

The audience reading your reviews is<br />

likely to lack context and will struggle<br />

to assess the nuances of the situation.<br />

Unless the reviewer’s point is totally<br />

egregious, for example making serious<br />

unfounded accusations, you stand to gain<br />

very little and have much more to lose by<br />

arguing with a ‘keyboard warrior.’<br />

The chances of you changing the mind of<br />

a customer disgruntled enough to leave a<br />

negative review with a simple reply is very<br />

low. For those uninvolved who read the<br />

exchange as an argument, you run the risk<br />

of appearing confrontational – which is<br />

not the experience customers want when<br />

dealing with a jewellery store!<br />

• Follow up: As soon as possible make<br />

contact with the customer who left a<br />

negative review and see what can be done<br />

to rectify the situation.<br />

I recently worked with a business that<br />

experienced a detrimental one-star<br />

review after dedicating many weeks to<br />

improving its business rating on Google.<br />

The owner of the business got in<br />

contact with the reviewer and quickly<br />

discovered the negative experience<br />

stemmed from a misunderstanding. The<br />

A wise man<br />

once said,<br />

'never argue<br />

with a fool,<br />

onlookers<br />

may not be<br />

able to tell the<br />

difference.'<br />

I was recently able to assist another<br />

business in removing several negative<br />

reviews simply by examining Google’s<br />

terms of service.<br />

Google will remove reviews that violate the<br />

TOS and other websites which host business<br />

reviews will do the same.<br />

If someone leaves you a review that is<br />

fraudulent or false flag it as inappropriate.<br />

If flagging doesn’t work, you can escalate<br />

your issue.<br />

Remember however that it isn’t ‘illegal’ to<br />

leave a mean-spirited review and it’s not<br />

‘defamation’ to simply express a negative<br />

opinion. Business owners who pour their<br />

heart and soul into a jewelley store often<br />

react emotionally to negative reviews, it’s<br />

human nature. However, you must remain<br />

rational and not overreact, no matter how<br />

hurt your feelings may be.<br />

There’s another important defense against<br />

negative reviews – an overwhelming number<br />

of positive reviews! Disgruntled customers<br />

are a part of business, especially for<br />

jewellery retailers.<br />

Sometimes the best defence is a good<br />

offense, so ensure you’re actively collecting<br />

positive reviews wherever possible so that<br />

on the day that a negative review comes in,<br />

it’s dwarfed in comparison by the positive<br />

comments left behind by other customers.<br />

BRIDGET BROWN is founder of Create<br />

That Copy & Marketing, a Canadian<br />

marketing firm focused on generating<br />

leads and increasing sales and revenue<br />

for small businesses.<br />

Visit: createthatcopy.com<br />

<strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong> | 63


My Bench<br />

Michael Purdy<br />

Soklich & Co. <strong>Jeweller</strong>s Perth, WA<br />

• YEARS IN TRADE 21 • LOVE JEWELLERY BECAUSE It’s fun and rewarding to design and create something and then see it through to fruition.<br />

SIGNATURE PIECE<br />

A cocktail ring like no other in 18-carat white/rose gold.<br />

Flora radiates elegance and style. A single heart-cut<br />

white diamond is a scintillating central feature at one<br />

carat. Split-style shoulders sweep up to an oval flat cutout<br />

bed with curved beaded edges, which are set with<br />

round brilliant cut white diamonds, 0.56 carats. The final<br />

flourish is provided by 16 round pink diamonds, from<br />

the Argyle Diamond Mine at 0.146 carats. Feel felicitous<br />

with Flora.<br />

4FAVOURITE GEMSTONE Merelani garnet.<br />

4FAVOURITE METAL 18-carat yellow gold.<br />

4FAVOURITE TOOL Microscope.<br />

4BEST NEW TOOL DISCOVERY Pneumatic graver.<br />

4BEST PART OF THE JOB Setting.<br />

4WORST PART OF THE JOB Rhodium plating.<br />

4BEST TIP FROM A JEWELLER You’re only as good<br />

as your last job. It's important to take pride in the<br />

work that you complete and continue to improve<br />

your skills wherever possible.<br />

4BEST TIP TO A JEWELLER Buy a microscope.<br />

If you're working as a bench jeweller without a<br />

microscope, you don't know what you're missing.<br />

64 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


OPINION<br />

Soapbox<br />

The dream of an inspired and informed<br />

consumer for the diamond industry<br />

The international diamond industry finds itself at an important crossroads. DAVID KELLIE says<br />

that education is the key to fostering productive long-term relationships with consumers.<br />

A tremendous amount of mystery and<br />

intrigue surrounds the modern diamond<br />

industry and each day, jewellery<br />

retailers field a range of questions from<br />

confused consumers.<br />

Is there a difference between a lab-created<br />

diamond and a natural diamond, and can<br />

that difference be detected?<br />

What is the natural diamond industry doing<br />

to reduce its carbon footprint and protect<br />

biodiversity? Do natural diamonds benefit<br />

the countries where they come from?<br />

What are the working conditions like in<br />

the diamond industry? Are lab-created<br />

diamonds a ‘sustainable’ alternative?<br />

These are just a handful of the questions<br />

that most of us hear regularly in the<br />

diamond industry.<br />

Despite the transformation and reform that<br />

has occurred in the diamond industry over<br />

recent decades, many myths surrounding<br />

the industry’s operations, its standards, and<br />

its ‘players’ continue to linger.<br />

Unfortunately, these misconceptions erode<br />

trust, and, in the long run, can be harmful,<br />

not only to the diamond industry but<br />

especially to those who most depend on the<br />

positive impact of natural diamonds: the<br />

communities from where they originate.<br />

Through the influence of the internet and<br />

social media, today’s consumers are more<br />

informed than ever before. They wish to<br />

align their values with those of the products<br />

they purchase. It is therefore vital for us all<br />

to support these consumers by providing<br />

information transparently.<br />

Research and education<br />

While the industry typically seeks to<br />

compare their environmental impact,<br />

our analysis shows it is not possible to<br />

make a simplistic general comparison.<br />

Within each category there is a wide range<br />

of production processes, geographical<br />

locations, power sources, productivity<br />

capabilities, and sustainability practices.<br />

We reinforce that natural diamonds and<br />

lab-created diamonds will both have a<br />

role to play in a prosperous jewellery<br />

industry, but only if we protect the<br />

integrity of the industry by sharing the<br />

respective values of each with honesty.<br />

I’d encourage everyone in the industry to<br />

read our recent report – Diamond Facts<br />

– so that they too can be fully educated<br />

on key topics when addressing not only<br />

consumers, but peers too.<br />

The natural diamond industry supports<br />

over 10 million livelihoods around the<br />

world. Up to 80 per cent of rough diamond<br />

value remains with local communities<br />

in the form of local purchasing,<br />

employment benefits, social programs,<br />

investment in infrastructure.<br />

That is without mentioning taxes, royalties,<br />

and dividends paid from the industry to<br />

respective governments.<br />

For example, in Canada, the natural<br />

diamond industry contributes to 24 per<br />

cent of the total GDP in the Northwest<br />

Territories, and since 1996, $US17 billion<br />

($AU25.1 billion) went toward NWT<br />

businesses and $US7.5 billion ($AU11<br />

billion) to Indigenous-owned businesses.<br />

In Africa it’s a similar story, and in<br />

Botswana diamonds represented 33 per<br />

cent of GDP in 2021.<br />

Despite these<br />

challenges<br />

in global<br />

economies,<br />

our industry<br />

remains robust.<br />

Consumers<br />

continue to<br />

spend money<br />

on goods and<br />

experiences<br />

that provide<br />

connection.<br />

Many miles still to walk<br />

A new ‘mystery shopper’ study in the<br />

US earlier this year showed that natural<br />

diamond education for jewellery retailers<br />

is critical to sales conversion. I believe<br />

that these findings are likely consistent<br />

with most markets in the world.<br />

Findings reveal 93 per cent of customers<br />

were more inclined to make a purchase<br />

of diamond jewellery when they felt<br />

sufficiently educated by a salesperson.<br />

This contrasted with only 19 per cent of<br />

consumers inclined to purchase when they<br />

felt uninformed.<br />

This demonstrates that the biggest<br />

opportunity to increase sales in the industry<br />

is to ensure that frontline sales staff are<br />

properly equipped to share the true values<br />

and stories of natural diamonds.<br />

Despite challenges in global economies,<br />

our industry remains robust. Consumers<br />

continue to spend money on goods and<br />

experiences that provide connection.<br />

Our collective role is to continually share the<br />

unique connections that diamond jewellery<br />

symbolises - whether it be between people,<br />

to mark occasions, or just to celebrate<br />

special moments.<br />

Each member of the trade has a unique<br />

part to play in taking the industry forward.<br />

For our part, we remain committed<br />

to bringing attention not only to these<br />

moments, but also to the many great<br />

retailers, designers, brands, and brand<br />

manufacturers that put their heart and<br />

soul in to making the natural diamond<br />

jewellery the incredible industry that we<br />

are proud to represent.<br />

Recent research by the Natural Diamond<br />

Council (NDC) has revealed the conditions<br />

under which both lab-created diamonds and<br />

natural diamonds are sourced and brought<br />

to the final consumer, and what they stand<br />

for, without presenting this as a dichotomy.<br />

Globally, the industry is also pursuing<br />

biodiversity protection and rehabilitation,<br />

covering an area almost four times the<br />

land they use, equivalent to the size of<br />

New York City, Chicago, Washington and<br />

Las Vegas combined.<br />

Name: David Kellie<br />

Business: Natural Diamond Council<br />

Position: CEO<br />

Location: New York City, US<br />

Years in the industry: 6<br />

66 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2023</strong>


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