US gem trade is carrying some interesting trends from 2017 into 2018. At the forefront of these is the evolving structure of how and where consumers, mainly millennials, buy their jewelry. While traditional retail jewelers’ sales are…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)The 2017 holiday shopping season exceeded expectations in dollars spent thus signaling consumer confidence in the current direction of the economy. MasterCard reports that retail sales grew 4.9% this holiday season. Of particular interest is…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)The National Retail Federation reports strong business during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The NRF estimates that 174 million consumers shopped during this traditional start of the holiday shopping season. According to the report, which…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)BIG AND ‘BLUFFY’ IS OUT WITH STYLE CONSCIOUS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Featured Stone: Unusual Black Gem Materials Currently, the market is experiencing decent demand across a range of colored stones. However, dealers do note that overall buyers remain cautious…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Many dealers are looking toward the September Hong Kong Show Featured Stone: Feldspar Group Gems The cautious optimism expressed by some dealers after the June Hong Kong show has eroded to an inexplicable sense of malaise about…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Typical summertime business in the gem market Featured Gem: Irradiated Diamond Dealers are cautiously optimistic about coming holiday season while experiencing the typical summertime business after better than expected Hong Kong Show in June. East Africa…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Production of Colored Gems High, while Demand is Steady FEATURED GEM: GRAY SPINEL The big news that hit the press just recently was the upcoming buyout of Gemfields by majority shareholder Pallinghurst. This was a wild story…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)MIXED EXPECTATIONS FOR THE JCK LAS VEGAS SHOW FEATURED GEM: FANCY ZOISITE In the US, the current economic outlook highlights the complexity of the retail market. The strong surge in consumer confidence observed after last November’s election…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Political influence forecast on the gem market, ruby supplies reaching record levels, origin calls harder today. Featured gem is Paraiba tourmaline. We wait and watch as international politics are changing the world and we wonder how…
*Gem Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)While the Pink Star sets a new record of $71.2M at jewelry sales, an independent retail forecast predicts a 6.8% fall in profits for the first quarter… Feature: Alternative Metal Jewelry Titanium rings by Edward…
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