Tiffany & Co. launches men’s line, hoping diamonds are a dude’s best friend

Tiffany & Co. hasn’t had any trouble getting men to come shop for the ladies in their lives.

Now the jeweler behind those iconic blue boxes wants them to stay and peruse … for themselves.

Tiffany is rolling out its first comprehensive jewelry line for men, the company announced Thursday, in a bid to attract younger shoppers and reverse declining sales. Come October, the collection will include nearly 100 designs, some of which will fetch prices as high as $15,000. Tiffany also plans to add home furnishings and accessories, such as ice tongs and beer mugs, with male customers in mind.

But retail experts say it could be a tough sell. The glitz and glamour of Tiffany has long been tied to feminine jewelry (along with Audrey Hepburn’s soft smile and bejeweled neck).

Rolling out masculine designs are one thing. But getting male customers in the door and with themselves in mind is quite another.

“[Men] still see Tiffany as a female-based proposition, just because of its heritage and even things like the color of the boxes,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail. “It could be quite difficult for them to really persuade male customers that they have something to offer and that is relevant to them.”

Reed Krakoff, Tiffany’s chief artistic director and who developed the collection, told the Associated Press that the new line will get its own floor space in Tiffany’s 300 stores, rather than being sold alongside other merchandise.

“Men all over the world are wearing jewelry and more accessories as part of a wardrobe,” Krakoff told the AP. “You started to see it on the runways, in social media.”

Krakoff said that men’s merchandise hasn’t historically been a large focus for Tiffany. But the company saw an opening given that half of the company’s global customers are men, most of whom come into Tiffany to buy women’s jewelry.

“We have a captive audience,” Krakoff said.

Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, gave credit to Tiffany for trying to become “more relevant” and less reliant on its aging “legacy customer.” That is key when younger shoppers “aren’t responding the way their parents did in terms of their affection for fine jewelry.”

But Cohen was skeptical that there was much Tiffany could mine in the men’s jewelry business. Gem stones and diamonds may glisten on the runway. But they do not carry the same currency for the average Joe.

“I just don’t see it as a meaningful business,” Cohen said. “To think this is going to be some sort of windfall — it’s just not going to happen.”

It is not just a lack of male foot traffic that has unsettled Tiffany. In November, company shares plummeted after Tiffany reported weaker-than-expected sales. Chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo said at the time that tourists, and specifically Chinese tourists, were traveling less, dampening sales in places like New York and Hong Kong. (Bogliolo said business in China was still strong, reaching double-digit sales growth throughout 2018.)

Though the fine jewelry market for men climbed to $5.8 billion worldwide in 2018, according to the market research firm Euromonitor International, it still lags far behind the $33.2 billion women’s market.

Saunders pointed to the athleisure brand Lululemon as a company that successfully pivoted from a mainly female audience and got more men in to shop. But Lululemon’s challenge was, in some ways, simpler to overcome, Saunders said. Lululemon does not carry the same “heritage” as Tiffany and could more easily persuade men to buy comfortable, practically gender-neutral workout clothes — not expensive bling.

Still, Tiffany has at least one major advantage: Even if men are not shopping for themselves right now, they are already inside and at the counter. Alexis DeSalva, a senior analyst of retail and e-commerce at Mintel, said Tiffany does not have to go after an entire new bucket of customers and woo them inside.

Rather, Tiffany can focus its pitch on existing male customers. Better yet, it can spread the word to its female fans who will then talk up the new line to male friends and family.

“Part of [Tiffany’s] legacy is on the service they offer,” DeSalva said. “They need to hone in on that and make sure they’re communicating [to men], ‘Hey, we have something for you too.’”

Source: DCLA

Tiffany & Co. launches men’s line, hoping diamonds are a dude’s best friend

Tiffany & Co. hasn’t had any trouble getting men to come shop for the ladies in their lives.

Now the jeweler behind those iconic blue boxes wants them to stay and peruse … for themselves.

Tiffany is rolling out its first comprehensive jewelry line for men, the company announced Thursday, in a bid to attract younger shoppers and reverse declining sales. Come October, the collection will include nearly 100 designs, some of which will fetch prices as high as $15,000. Tiffany also plans to add home furnishings and accessories, such as ice tongs and beer mugs, with male customers in mind.

But retail experts say it could be a tough sell. The glitz and glamour of Tiffany has long been tied to feminine jewelry (along with Audrey Hepburn’s soft smile and bejeweled neck).

Rolling out masculine designs are one thing. But getting male customers in the door and with themselves in mind is quite another.

“[Men] still see Tiffany as a female-based proposition, just because of its heritage and even things like the color of the boxes,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail. “It could be quite difficult for them to really persuade male customers that they have something to offer and that is relevant to them.”

Reed Krakoff, Tiffany’s chief artistic director and who developed the collection, told the Associated Press that the new line will get its own floor space in Tiffany’s 300 stores, rather than being sold alongside other merchandise.

“Men all over the world are wearing jewelry and more accessories as part of a wardrobe,” Krakoff told the AP. “You started to see it on the runways, in social media.”

Krakoff said that men’s merchandise hasn’t historically been a large focus for Tiffany. But the company saw an opening given that half of the company’s global customers are men, most of whom come into Tiffany to buy women’s jewelry.

“We have a captive audience,” Krakoff said.

Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, gave credit to Tiffany for trying to become “more relevant” and less reliant on its aging “legacy customer.” That is key when younger shoppers “aren’t responding the way their parents did in terms of their affection for fine jewelry.”

But Cohen was skeptical that there was much Tiffany could mine in the men’s jewelry business. Gem stones and diamonds may glisten on the runway. But they do not carry the same currency for the average Joe.

“I just don’t see it as a meaningful business,” Cohen said. “To think this is going to be some sort of windfall — it’s just not going to happen.”

It is not just a lack of male foot traffic that has unsettled Tiffany. In November, company shares plummeted after Tiffany reported weaker-than-expected sales. Chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo said at the time that tourists, and specifically Chinese tourists, were traveling less, dampening sales in places like New York and Hong Kong. (Bogliolo said business in China was still strong, reaching double-digit sales growth throughout 2018.)

Though the fine jewelry market for men climbed to $5.8 billion worldwide in 2018, according to the market research firm Euromonitor International, it still lags far behind the $33.2 billion women’s market.

Saunders pointed to the athleisure brand Lululemon as a company that successfully pivoted from a mainly female audience and got more men in to shop. But Lululemon’s challenge was, in some ways, simpler to overcome, Saunders said. Lululemon does not carry the same “heritage” as Tiffany and could more easily persuade men to buy comfortable, practically gender-neutral workout clothes — not expensive bling.

Still, Tiffany has at least one major advantage: Even if men are not shopping for themselves right now, they are already inside and at the counter. Alexis DeSalva, a senior analyst of retail and e-commerce at Mintel, said Tiffany does not have to go after an entire new bucket of customers and woo them inside.

Rather, Tiffany can focus its pitch on existing male customers. Better yet, it can spread the word to its female fans who will then talk up the new line to male friends and family.

“Part of [Tiffany’s] legacy is on the service they offer,” DeSalva said. “They need to hone in on that and make sure they’re communicating [to men], ‘Hey, we have something for you too.’”

Source: DCLA

Super-deep diamonds contain traces of a pristine chunk of early Earth

A unique haul of diamonds that formed incredibly deep underground has been found in Brazil. What is more, they contain evidence that points to the existence of a pristine piece of original Earth rock that remains intact far underground.

It is hard to believe that any of Earth’s early structure could still exist today after being churned up by more than 4 billion years of geological activity.

But several diamonds uncovered in the Juína area of Brazil contain chemical signatures that suggest such a reservoir of rock is still preserved deep under the surface.

The diamonds, which were analysed by Suzette Timmerman at the Australian National University and her colleagues, contain high levels of an ancient helium isotope called helium-3 that was incorporated into Earth’s first rocks.

Diamond time capsules

This suggests that the diamonds, which are themselves thought to be less than 500 million years old, formed in or above a remnant of Earth’s original rock, Timmerman says. As they formed, they encapsulated some of the ancient helium-3 that is slowly diffusing upwards from this primordial rock, she says.

The diamonds also contain a mineral called breyite that is formed at ultra-high pressures, suggesting they originated about 410 to 660 kilometres underground. This means the primordial rock must be deeper than at least 410 km, says Timmerman.

Normally, diamonds form less than 230 km underground. This makes these “super-deep” diamonds unique time capsules to study early Earth, Timmerman says.

The diamonds were carried by upwellings of hot rock and volcanic eruptions about 93 million years ago, finally ending up in the Juína mines at the surface, her team’s analysis shows.

The researchers are now hoping to work out the location and size of the preserved primordial rock that supplied the helium-3 now trapped in these diamonds. “Hopefully we will then be able to understand more about how it formed and survived,” Timmerman says.

Her best guess is that the primordial rock is a very dense structure close to Earth’s core, which would explain why it has managed to remain intact all this time.

It won’t be possible to access the rock directly because it is so far underground, but further studies of super-deep diamonds may help us to understand it better, she says.

Source: DCLA

Super-deep diamonds contain traces of a pristine chunk of early Earth

A unique haul of diamonds that formed incredibly deep underground has been found in Brazil. What is more, they contain evidence that points to the existence of a pristine piece of original Earth rock that remains intact far underground.

It is hard to believe that any of Earth’s early structure could still exist today after being churned up by more than 4 billion years of geological activity.

But several diamonds uncovered in the Juína area of Brazil contain chemical signatures that suggest such a reservoir of rock is still preserved deep under the surface.

The diamonds, which were analysed by Suzette Timmerman at the Australian National University and her colleagues, contain high levels of an ancient helium isotope called helium-3 that was incorporated into Earth’s first rocks.

Diamond time capsules

This suggests that the diamonds, which are themselves thought to be less than 500 million years old, formed in or above a remnant of Earth’s original rock, Timmerman says. As they formed, they encapsulated some of the ancient helium-3 that is slowly diffusing upwards from this primordial rock, she says.

The diamonds also contain a mineral called breyite that is formed at ultra-high pressures, suggesting they originated about 410 to 660 kilometres underground. This means the primordial rock must be deeper than at least 410 km, says Timmerman.

Normally, diamonds form less than 230 km underground. This makes these “super-deep” diamonds unique time capsules to study early Earth, Timmerman says.

The diamonds were carried by upwellings of hot rock and volcanic eruptions about 93 million years ago, finally ending up in the Juína mines at the surface, her team’s analysis shows.

The researchers are now hoping to work out the location and size of the preserved primordial rock that supplied the helium-3 now trapped in these diamonds. “Hopefully we will then be able to understand more about how it formed and survived,” Timmerman says.

Her best guess is that the primordial rock is a very dense structure close to Earth’s core, which would explain why it has managed to remain intact all this time.

It won’t be possible to access the rock directly because it is so far underground, but further studies of super-deep diamonds may help us to understand it better, she says.

Source: DCLA

Stornoway still seeking partner to ease finances

Stornoway Diamond Corp. of Montreal released its Q2 2019 report and repeated its plea for a partner or buyer for the money losing Renard mine 350 km north of Chibougamau.

The company began the hunt for a buyer or investor this spring, but no indications of interest were received by the July 15, 2019, deadline. Instead, the deadline has been extended to the middle of September and Stornoway arranged bridge financing to keep the mine open during this time.

For Q2 2019, Stornoway recorded a net loss of $346.3 million, due primarily to a non-cash impairment charge of $442.7 million. The impairment was driven by the sagging prices for rough diamonds that forced the company to write down the value of property, plant, equipment, right of use assets and deferred transaction costs.

Revenues during the three months ended June 30, 2019, were $189.4 million made up of cash sales revenues of $40.7 million and non cash revenues of $148.7 million. Cash operating costs per carat recovered was $63.8, compared to $147.7 in Q2 2018. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $21.3 million, excluding $5.1 million of restricted deposits related to debt service and reserve account.

Said Stornoway in its Q2 news release: “Management estimates that the working capital as at June 30, 2019, and forecasted cash flows will not be sufficient to meet the corporation’s obligations, commitments and budgeted expenditures through June 30, 2020, in the current diamond market price conditions.”

Source: DCLA

Stornoway still seeking partner to ease finances

Stornoway Diamond Corp. of Montreal released its Q2 2019 report and repeated its plea for a partner or buyer for the money losing Renard mine 350 km north of Chibougamau.

The company began the hunt for a buyer or investor this spring, but no indications of interest were received by the July 15, 2019, deadline. Instead, the deadline has been extended to the middle of September and Stornoway arranged bridge financing to keep the mine open during this time.

For Q2 2019, Stornoway recorded a net loss of $346.3 million, due primarily to a non-cash impairment charge of $442.7 million. The impairment was driven by the sagging prices for rough diamonds that forced the company to write down the value of property, plant, equipment, right of use assets and deferred transaction costs.

Revenues during the three months ended June 30, 2019, were $189.4 million made up of cash sales revenues of $40.7 million and non cash revenues of $148.7 million. Cash operating costs per carat recovered was $63.8, compared to $147.7 in Q2 2018. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $21.3 million, excluding $5.1 million of restricted deposits related to debt service and reserve account.

Said Stornoway in its Q2 news release: “Management estimates that the working capital as at June 30, 2019, and forecasted cash flows will not be sufficient to meet the corporation’s obligations, commitments and budgeted expenditures through June 30, 2020, in the current diamond market price conditions.”

Source: DCLA

Pink Russian Diamond May Rank Among World’s Most Valuable Gems

A 14.83-carat pink gem found and cut by Alrosa PJSC is expected to fetch one of the highest prices ever for a diamond when the Russian company puts it up for sale later this year.

The oval stone, named The Spirit of the Rose, has been certified by the Gemological Institute of America as fancy vivid purple-pink with excellent clarity, excellent polish and very good symmetry, said Alrosa spokeswoman Evgeniya Kozenko. The sale is planned for November, she said.

The Spirit of the Rose diamond.

Colored diamonds, formed by impurities such as boron or nitrogen, are the most expensive and rarest, with pink and red stones fetching the highest prices. The Spirit of the Rose may be one of the most expensive pink stones ever, according to Eden Rachminov, the chairman of the board of the Fancy Color Research Foundation.

He estimates the potential price at between $60 million to $65 million.

Sotheby’s set the record for any gem ever sold at an auction in 2017, with its $71 million sale of the 59.6-carat Pink Star to Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group The stone was mined by De Beers, and dethroned the Oppenheimer Blue, which fetched $58 million in an earlier sale at Christie’s.

Kozenko declined to comment on how much Alrosa hopes to raise from the sale, but said that The Spirit of the Rose will be the most expensive stone ever polished in Russia. The company is still considering how to conduct the sale, with a decision expected next month, she said.

It’s a good time for a sale, as pink stones are about to get even rarer after Rio Tinto Group confirmed earlier this year that it was shutting its giant Argyle operation in Australia. The mine produces about 90% of the world’s pink gems.

Alrosa found the 27.85-carat rough stone at its alluvial mines in Russia’s Far East in 2017 and named it Nijinsky, after ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. The preparation and cutting process, which took a full year, was done at Alrosa’s cutting factory in Moscow.

The Spirit of the Rose was named for the ballet Le Spectre de la Rose, staged by the Ballets Russes company, which premiered in 1911 and in which Nijinsky was a star.

Source: DCLA