The R&M “Lettre”

The GIA said it recently received more stones with counterfeit GIA report number inscriptions on their girdles.

Consumer spending on diamonds exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter of 2020 and has continued through early 2021, according to a top industry expert.

Increased synthetic-diamond production led to a price drop last year, giving lab-grown a greater share of the fashion-jewelry market, according to Bain & Company. Production of lab-grown diamonds has seen double-digit growth over the past two years, reaching 6 million to 7 million carats in 2020, Bain said Monday [February 8] in its annual report on […]

The diamond supply chain will return to pre-pandemic levels between 2022 and 2024, led by economic recoveries in China and the US, according to Bain & Company.

The saying is what goes up, must come down. However, in the diamond jewelry industry, the opposite is equally true: what goes down, must come up. A dive and a bounce back. So while 2020 was a challenging year, it recovered quickly, and all came together in the fourth quarter.

2020 was a rollercoaster year. A year in which all our certainties were shaken up. Yet, we do all we can to base our professional (and often personal) decisions on certainties, in our quest to always make the “best” decisions.

While the pandemic brought about an unprecedented shock to the whole diamond value chain in 2020, in a way it may also have acted as a catharsis of sorts for an industry that has been struggling to regain footing in recent years, in part due to a misalignment of supply and demand.

The luxury goods market in mainland China saw a significant boost in consumer spending in 2020, due to a reduction in international travel creating an exponential boost in domestic spending, according to a research report from Bain & Company.

The Rapaport News team looks back at a tumultuous year in our final podcast of 2020, highlighting the most significant stories and trends that shaped our industry.

New York City’s Diamond District was once again in the spotlight.

After such an unusual year, the last thing we need is another 2020 wrap-up or a 2021 prediction. Instead, I will share what I see happening right now in the most significant place for the diamond industry: US retail sales.

 Unfortunately, many businesses did not survive this challenging year. There are a lot of lessons here for everyone in the diamond pipeline and the jewelry industry – lessons that hold true for most businesses no matter what they are.