Young consumers continue to drive jewelry trends. Applying old marketing models to new consumers will miss the mark. Responsible sourcing continues to impact supply and demand. As large companies mine aggressively, some areas get exhausted rapidly. Sapphire remains king and expected to remain into this decade.
Colored Stone MarketI spoke with a number of colleagues and young designers that were featuring fair mined gems, gold and native jewelry of Africa and South America’s Amazon.
Featured ArticlesTurquoise is found in many locations in the world not only in Iran, but also Tibet, China and the US. It may vary in color as well as purity. The purest sky blue material is named as robin’s egg and considered to be the finest quality when it is really compact.
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)There are two suggestions for where the name topaz originated from; one is “topazios” in Greek referring to the island, also known as Zabargad, and the other is “tapaz” in Sanskrit translates as fire. Although Zabargad Island in today’s Egypt is the source
*Gem Focus & Market Pulse (Free Subscriber)Laboratory-grown diamonds are seemingly a part of every conversation these days in our industry. Production is currently growing at a rate that would seem to exceed the industry’s capacity to consume. This year, the JCK Las Vegas Show featured a pavilion dedicated to laboratory-grown diamonds.
Featured ArticlesThe market was set for a disappointing year but some sales are holding up and prices are steady after many months of decline. Rough continues to struggle. De Beers is allowing sightholders to defer some boxes, an unusual practice. Responsible sourcing and origin identification is clearly adding value to diamonds.
Diamond MarketSapphirine is a mineral species, magnesium aluminum silicate. Sapphirine. Gemworld's Gem Note
Gem NotesGEM•ology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses, Gemworld Book Review. nning! That was my reaction as I turned the pages of the latest collaboration from the Lotus GEM•ology team. Inside Out: Gemology Through Lotus-Colored Glasses is an important story told via the micro and macro photography of three of gemology’s greatest experts—if you’ll accept the premise that at the heart of gemology is something far more important than learning the physical properties of stones.
Book ReviewThe unusual combination of pink and orange in one variety resembling an exotic sunset or a lotus flower puts padparadscha in the rare sapphires, arguably the rarest, category.
Market TrendsThe outlook for the holiday season is cautious. Colored stone price levels held firm during an otherwise lackluster Hong Kong show. Color outperforming other areas of the jewelry trade. Price points continue to shift in response tighter spending by millennials.
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