You know how much we at Rubel & Ménasché like to make you happy! As we did last year, we have decided to bring your favorite articles from our website in 2016 back into the limelight.
This also gives us a chance to check up on what interests you and fine tune our editorial policy. Forecasting articles, detailed analyses, the luxury industry and, above all, synthetic diamonds stood out from the crowd in 2016.
I take this opportunity to remind you of our guiding principle, without any pretense: providing useful high quality information, finding the best analyses, and offering different points of view, with the aim of trying to give the most accurate picture of the position of the diamond industry as objectively as possible.
Without further ado, here are the winners from 2016:
1. The diamond industry: what should we expect from 2016?
Marianne Riou, Rubel & Ménasché
A forecasting article listing the major subjects and fights that were expected in the diamond industry for 2016. The volatility of rough and cut diamond prices, financial viability, the place and strategies for generic and brand advertising, the need for transparency and CSR issues have indeed been at the heart of the debate and saw a decisive shift in 2016.
2. Gold, platinum and silver price predictions for ‘16
Michelle Graff, National Jeweler
To better prepare the year 2016, this article considered the outlook for prices for precious metals after Thomson Reuters GFMS. Gold, platinum and silver were not set to have a good year…
3. Organized synthetics – Insights
Avi Kravitz, Rapaport
Synthetic diamonds are one of your—and our—favorite topics. Avi Krawitz reported on the creation of the International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA), which brings together professionals from the synthetic diamonds industry. What hope can this creation offer to the natural diamond industry, is a dialog possible, how can we live together?… An article that is ultimately still relevant.
4. CVD lab-grown diamonds available for sale with GIA natural diamond certificates
David Brummer, Idexonline
A briefing about a natural diamonds fraud: a seller was offering CVD diamonds on the Alibaba website, with a report from the GIA associating them with natural diamonds, for $100 per carat and more… How was this fraud possible? How can we cover ourselves in the future? An article that caused a stir.
5. Stars come out to shine at Golden Globe Awards
David Brummer, Idexonline
We also allowed ourselves a “celebrity” article through Idexonline, and you appreciated this recreation. After all, it is not unpleasant to see the indirect result of your work and the sublime diamond creations worn by beautiful stars! For your viewing pleasure.
6. Pippa Middleton ring spurs Asscher cut craze
Rapaport
Continuing with the celebrity theme: Pippa Middleton and her engagement ring relaunched the Asscher cut last summer. This pretty cut and the Art Deco style in general rose in popularity thanks to Pippa and following the film The Great Gatsby, which was released in 2013.
7. The company behind those freakishly large lab-grown diamonds
Rob Bates, JCK Online
An article by Rob Bates that introduced the Russian company NDT, a manufacturer of synthetic diamonds with astonishing weights, from 5 to 10 carats and more. The company produced “300 cts. of diamonds a month, mostly in the colorless (D-E-F) range, of VVS1–VS1 clarity, about 1–3 cts” according to the article, which is already unexpected given their quality (HPHT technology, IGI certified). Although they may be cheaper to produce than natural diamonds, larger synthetic diamonds are still expensive to produce…
8. The lab-grown consumer numbers you need to know
Edahn Golan
Yet more synthetic diamonds! This time, Edahn Golan offered us an analysis with figures that tries to define their actual position on the American market (the article dates from the end of April 2016, the figures used from Diamond Tracker were sourced between January 2015 and January 2016.) How many synthetic diamonds were really sold, what were the preferred cuts and sizes, what commercial trends are synthetic diamonds following and what is their position in terms of market share? These are the questions that this analysis tried to answer.
9. How the 21st-Century consumer defines luxury
JCK Online
What is different about luxury today? How can we define this ever-changing concept? It is a subject we ourselves addressed—it seems essential to us!—in our Special Edition Number 1 entitled Le luxe est-il affaire d’expérience? Une nouvelle façon de « vivre » le luxe (Is luxury a matter of experience? A new way of experiencing luxury). “Universal and singular” experiences, time for yourself, the “intrinsic value” of an object, transparency and CSR, privileged customer relations, and “inconspicuous” consumption are part of the answer…
10. Rio Tinto: outstanding pink diamonds… and what else? – Producers from the DPA, part 3
Marianne Riou, Rubel & Ménasché
Lastly, to round off our rundown of the “hit articles” on Rubel & Ménasché, we take a look at the 3rd opus of our series on Gem producers from the DPA: Rio Tinto and its exceptional pink diamonds. An opportunity to find out a bit more about the third biggest diamond producer (history, strategy, strengths), but also about its competitors and partners.
Finally, to conclude, we would like to once again thank our colleagues and partners.
A big thank you therefore to:
– Rob Bates and JCK Online
– The Centurion
– Michelle Graff and National Jeweler
– Edahn Golan and his eponym site edahngolan.com
– Avi Krawitz et Diamonds.net
– Ehud Arye Laniado and his eponym site ehudlaniado.com
– Vladimir Malakhov, Yelena Levina, Matthew Nyaungwa, Matteo Butera, Alex Shishlo, Aruna Gaitonde and all the analysts of Rough&Polished
– Danielle Max, Albert Robinson, David Brummer and Idexonline
– Charles Wyndham and Polished Prices
And all the other less frequent contributors!
We wish you a happy new year on the Rubel & Ménasché website and hope that it will offer you the best information published about the diamond industry!
