De Beers decided to call time on offering lab-grown diamonds for engagement rings even as the man-made alternatives continue to cannibalize demand in one of the company’s most important markets.
After vowing for years that it wouldn’t sell stones created in laboratories, in 2018 De Beers reversed that position and only this year started testing sales of the diamonds in the crucial engagement-ring sector.
The diamond industry leader said Wednesday that the trial showed that it wasn’t a sustainable market.
De Beers’ move comes as the kinds of stones that go into the cheaper one- or two-carat solitaire bridal rings popular in the US have experienced far sharper price drops than the rest of the market, with the lower-cost lab-grown competition seen behind the collapse.
De Beers has said the current weakness is a natural downswing in demand after the pandemic, with engagement rings particularly vulnerable. The company concedes that there has been some penetration into the category from synthetic stones, but doesn’t see it as a structural shift.
Lab-grown diamonds — physically identical stones that can be made in matter of weeks in a microwave chamber — have long been seen as an existential threat to the natural mining industry. Proponents say they can offer a cheaper alternative without many of the environmental or social downsides sometimes attached to mined diamonds.
While the price of some natural stones used in lower-quality engagement rings have plummeted in the past year, the fall in lab-grown prices has been even steeper. De Beers has said it expects lab-grown prices to continue to decline as more supply comes into the market
Retailers would need to double the number of lab-grown carats they sell every two years, just to maintain profits, De Beers said.
Diamond processor and trader HB Antwerp said on Monday it had removed one of its three co-founders from management following differences over strategy, a development that comes amid a pending sales pact with major producer Botswana.
Oded Mansori, who co-founded HB Antwerp in 2020 with partners Shai de Toledo and Rafael Papismedov, said he was taking them to court over his removal.
“On September 1, HB terminated Mr Oded Mansori’s management role in all the HB Companies,” the Belgian company said in a statement, citing a “sharp difference in strategic vision and approaches to business”.
The government of Botswana, the world’s No. 1 diamond producer by value, said in March that it had agreed to buy a 24% stake in HB Antwerp. As part of the deal, state-owned Okavango Diamond Company would supply HB with an undisclosed quantity of rough diamonds for five years.
The deal is yet to be signed.
Mansori, a long-time diamond dealer, said in a separate statement that he was “determined to defend his vision and to fight for the wellbeing and the future of HB,” and that “a legal process is currently underway in court.”
Mansori, who declined to comment further, said he was still a shareholder in the company.
HB also has a partnership with Lucara Diamond Corp, buying stones of 10 carat quality and above from the Toronto-listed miner’s Karowe Mine in central Botswana at prices based on the estimated polished outcome of each diamond.
Lucara did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the legal tussle could impact its own deal with HB Antwerp.
In 2022, HB Antwerp partnered with Microsoft to track mined gems via blockchain, as consumers focus on clearing the supply chain of fraudsters and diamonds mined in war zones and sold to fund insurgencies.
Other diamond miners, including Anglo American’s unit De Beers, also use blockchain platforms to trace their diamonds and verify authenticity.
Sanctions-hit Alrosa, the world’s biggest diamond-producing company, said on Sunday it has mined the largest gem-quality diamond in Russia in the past decade.
The 390.7-carat diamond was mined at one of the company’s mines in the Republic of Sakha, Alrosa said in a statement. The region, commonly known as Yakutia, lies in Russia’s Far East along the Arctic Ocean.
“The found diamond is a light crystal of an irregular shape, bordered by a yellow-brown halo – a combination of mass, shape and colour that is unique today,” Alrosa said.
The company mined the largest gem-quality diamond in Russia in 2013, weighing 401 carats, Alrosa said.
The world’s largest gem-quality diamond ever mined – the 3,106-carat Cullinan stone – was recovered in South Africa in 1905.
Alrosa was last year placed under sanctions by the United States, which cut it off from its banking system and banned direct sales to the US market after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Last month the company reported a rise of 0.2% in revenue for the first half of the year but said net profit fell 35% year-on-year to 55.6 billion roubles.
A 7 year old girl on a birthday trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas found a big present a 2.95 carat diamond.
Arkansas State Parks said Aspen Brown of Paragould, Ark., was visiting the park with her family to celebrate her birthday when she spotted the diamond in the park’s north search area.
Officials said the 2.95 carat diamond is about the size of a green pea, with a golden-brown color.
The diamond is the second largest found by a park visitor this year, officials said. The largest was a 3.29 carat brown diamond found in March.
The Murfreesboro park was mined by commercial diamond hunters before becoming a state park in 1972.
Rolex’s pending acquisition of watch and jewelry retailer Bucherer could fundamentally change the luxury watch industry, according to industry observers.
There’s concern and speculation throughout the industry regarding how the purchase will alter Bucherer’s relationship with its competitors, how it will affect “grey market” watch sales, and how it will influence Rolex’s relationships with its retailer network in the US, UK, and Europe.
In fact, the impact on Watches of Switzerland (WOS), Bucherer’s biggest competitor, was immediate, with its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) plunging nearly 21% on the day after Rolex’s August 24 announcement.
WOS — which numbers more than 200 retail outlets, including 87 mono-brand boutiques — issued a statement on August 25 to reassure investors. Rolex will not have operational involvement in the Bucherer business, it will elect nonexecutive members to Bucherer’s board, and there will be no change to how Rolex allocates products, the retailer said.
Omega, Rolex’s closest competitor, issued a vaguely worded statement congratulating Rolex and Bucherer on the acquisition, pointing out that Omega generated nearly 40% of its sales from its own global network of stores.
“We do not have many points of sale within Bucherer’s stores, nor do we need many. There are also no current plans to increase that number,” the release read. “Naturally, we make regular adaptions and updates within our distribution network. However, our strategy is completely independent of other watch brands and is solely considered around Omega’s own planning.”
Bucherer operates more than 100 stores in Europe, the UK and the US. A total of 53 Bucherer stores distribute Rolex products and 48 offer the Tudor brand, Rolex’s sister company.
Rolex, in its brief statement about the acquisition, tried to assure the industry there would be no dramatic moves.
“Bucherer will keep its name and continue to independently run its business,” Rolex said. “The group’s management team will remain unchanged. The fruitful collaboration between Rolex and the other official retailers in its sales network will remain unchanged.”
Whether Rolex will manage to limit its influence is questionable, particularly in the long term, according to industry observers.
“Some people have faith the company can put up a firewall,” said Brendan Cunningham, professor of economics at Eastern Connecticut State University and founder of horolonomics.com, a website that specializes in the economics of the watch industry. “I don’t know how they are going to work that out. Over time there will be a temptation to do more through that relationship and leverage it a little more.”
“There is no reason Rolex will not push its watches into all 100 [Bucherer] stores,” added Alexander Linz of WatchAdvisor, a YouTube program about watches and the industry. “It won’t be tomorrow, but it will happen.”
In addition, this acquisition will likely allow Rolex to sell its most sought-after watches exclusively through Bucherer stores, Linz continued.
There’s also a belief that the move will affect online retailers of “grey market” watches — authentic goods that are sold through unauthorized sources — with Rolex having more control over its own distribution. Some authorized Rolex retailers give the most coveted Rolex timepieces to grey-market sellers, where they could get much more than the authorized price. Rolex wants to stop this practice.
“If the distribution process is in-house, they will have more tools to determine where their watches are going and to mete out consequences if people are doing what they are not supposed to be doing,” Cunningham observed. “It’s kind of a tough situation for Rolex because it can either cancel the distribution agreement or deal with the reputational impact when it happens. If something like that happens at Bucherer, you can do your own investigation and get rid of people responsible.”
Another area where the Rolex-Bucherer arrangement could provide leverage over other retailers is through used-watch sales. Bucherer was the first retailer to be approved for the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) watch program, in which Rolex provides a certificate of authenticity, a two-year warranty and a wax seal tag for an approved pre-owned Rolex.
“The way it used to work is that Bucherer would send pre-owned watches for a once-over and service,” Cunningham explained. “They would charge Bucherer, and Bucherer would add it to the price. These transaction costs don’t have to happen anymore. That could make the Rolex CPO program at Bucherer a stronger competitor for the secondary market.”
One of the main unanswered questions is how this acquisition will affect the long-term relationships with its authorized dealer network. Rolex retailers include large luxury watch chains like WOS, German-based watch and jewelry retailer Wempe, and US luxury jewelry retailer Ben Bridge. However, the majority of its retail partners are independent retailers, many of whom depend on Rolex for a significant portion of their sales and as a way to attract people into their stores.
“I’m sure the authorized retailers are wondering, ‘What does this mean for us?’ I’m assuming those conversations, if they haven’t started already, are going to start soon,” Cunningham pointed out. “At a minimum, it puts folks on notice to have a ready alternative for distribution and maybe it will get some dealers to tighten up their businesses a little bit. Rolex is important to any retailer that has that dealer agreement. I’m sure having Rolex increases foot traffic.”
Hong Kong retail sales continued to gain speed in July as tourists flocked back to the municipality and the job market improved.
Hong Kong retail sales from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts climbed 20% year on year to HKD 4.95 billion ($632.9 million) for the month, according to data the government’s Census and Statistics Department released last week. Retail sales across all product categories rose 17% to HKD 33 billion ($4.22 billion).
The growth also reflected a favorable comparison with the same period a year ago, when Hong Kong was experiencing tight Covid-19 restrictions. Tourism to the municipality was exceptionally low at the time. Much of Hong Kong’s luxury revenue is derived from visitors — primarily from China — who travel there to purchase goods. Hong Kong’s border with the mainland reopened at the start of the year.
For the first seven months, proceeds from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts surged 64% to HKD 35.36 billion ($4.52 billion). Total retail sales for the period jumped 20% to HKD 238.05 billion ($30.43 billion).
In July, 3.6 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong, compared to 48,048 during the same month last year. Of those who traveled to the municipality in June, 3 million were from the mainland, versus 40,083 in 2022.
“The value of total retail sales continued to increase visibly in July over a year earlier alongside the increase in visitor arrivals and positive consumption sentiment,” a government spokesperson said. “The revival in inbound tourism should continue to benefit the retail sector in the coming months. Improved labor-market conditions and the government’s various measures to support consumption should also help.”
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has cut some 20% of the workforce at its Carlsbad, California, headquarters amid a prolonged slowdown in the industry.
In late July, the lab let 151 employees go, primarily in its laboratory, as well as some in corporate positions, Stephen Morisseau, the GIA’s director of communications, told Rapaport News Sunday. The lab made the layoffs as a result of a drop in the number of diamonds submitted for grading.
“Many organizations in the global gem and jewelry sector are experiencing a downturn due to economic conditions affecting the global gem trade,” Morisseau explained. “Due to those economic conditions, there has been a decline in demand for GIA’s gem identification and grading services, which led to the difficult decision to reduce staffing.”
The layoffs will bring the GIA’s total workforce in Carlsbad to 600, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, which was the first to report the story. Globally, the lab has approximately 3,500 employees.
“The reductions will not affect our ability to advance our important consumer-protection mission, nor to meet the needs of our clients,” Morisseau added.
