Diamond Gems Weekly - December 16
Avi’s back, back again… In case you didn’t notice my inconspicuous absence last week, DGW didn’t go out as I was at crunch time with multiple projects, and simply couldn’t stretch my capacity to meet this self-imposed deadline. I guess being busy can be a blessing and a curse.
Anyway, it served as further proof that I can’t do it all, despite my best intentions. While on this freelance journey, one must really prioritize, multi-task one thing at a time, and sometimes just recognize one’s own limitations. That said, my commitment is to maintain consistency in my content, so missing last week does leave me with a somewhat uneasy feeling.
Besides, I did in fact sit down (late) to write last week’s issue. My thoughts immediately went to the big news story of the week: Signet Jewelers’ third quarter earnings. I figured that would be my BOPO – ‘Big Old Pithy Opener’ – before transitioning to the other telling news stories that had transpired. But after jotting a few words, I just kept on writing until the intended opener was no longer so pithy and the topic gained a life of its own… the birth of a blog post!
I ended with a full analysis about Signet and its expected post-Covid recovery in engagements that simply hasn’t transpired – that’s people getting engaged, not social media engagement for all you GenZers out there.
I’ve called out Signet before about projecting a strong uptick in the bridal sector, which it now acknowledged was happening at a slower pace than expected. There are other factors at play which the company hadn’t accounted for. As I stressed in my blog, it’s time for Signet to Stop Waiting for Engagements.
>>> It wasn’t all gloom in Signet’s earnings, even as its ‘SIG’ share price tanked following the report. The company noted a strong start to the holiday season, delivering “high single-digit same-store sales over the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period.” Management expressed confidence the company will deliver positive comps for the fourth quarter. Let’s just leave it at that before I go on another Signet rant.
So, how about them holiday sales elsewhere?
>>> Well, we’re seeing positive signs, or data, about the holiday season, particularly for ecommerce. Spending online during Cyber Week, the five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, rose 8.2% year on year to $41.1 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.
Jewelry ranked among the top performers, with online jewelry sales up 478% (no, that’s not a typo – its four hundred and seventy eight percent) on Cyber Monday alone. With no further commentary given, my assumption is that the bulk of those sales came from lower value jewelry. Adobe did give some interesting insights in the report about spending and marketing trends it observed during Cyber Week.
>>> So far so good. But we haven’t yet had official or reliable feedback about instore holiday sales. That is, apart from what we’ve already reported about November, a positive month for independents, according to retail data providers The Edge Retail Academy and Tenoris respectively.
>>> There was (another) somewhat telling discussion on the Jewelers Helping Jewelers (JHJ) Facebook group. It’s hardly an official source, but JHJ is a good place to catch the pulse of the US jewelry retail market, even if it’s an informal forum. The question asked, Are you selling more naturals or labs this season? brought some surprising comments, with two or three respondents noting that “naturals are making a comeback.” Of course, it greatly depends on the business model of the member.
>>> With the season in full swing, and almost in its final stages, we are getting our fair dose of holiday advertising. While the industry’s focus has been on raising its category marketing capabilities (see Just Give Me My Money), several jewelers have enlisted celebrities to elevate their brand and messaging.
>>> National Jeweler gave a nice roundup of the ads by Swarovski, Tiffany & Co., Macy’s, and Zales in Ariana Grande, Anya Taylor-Joy Star in Holiday Jewelry Campaigns, and also of the respective campaigns by Ritani and David Yurman.
>>> At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, which I may well be when it comes to Cartier’s marketing, I did enjoy the luxury brand’s latest holiday-ish Magical Night clip.
Okay, enough holiday cheer. What else is going on?
The New York Magnificent Jewels auctions demonstrated a healthy appetite for high-end fine jewelry:
>>> Sotheby’s garnered $30 million at its sale, with 92% of lots sold, the auction house reported. A rare 10.33-carat Burmese ruby and diamond ring sold for $5.5 million, more than double its high estimate.
>>> Christie’s announced it sold $49.2 million worth at its auction, with 97% of lots bought. The top seller was a 5.72-carat, fancy-intense-blue, VVS1-clarity diamond ring (see image), which fetched $8.8 million, exceeding its pre-sale estimate.
image: Cushion brilliant-cut, 5.72-carat, fancy-intense-blue, VVS1 diamond ring sold for $8.8 million, or $1.54 million per carat at Christie’s New York. (Credit: Christie’s).
>>> There was some emphasis on the rough market last week, with the final sales of the year taking place. De Beers sightholders felt compelled to buy rough to secure future supply, while some have seemingly already lost Supply as De Beers has reduced its allocations for next year, as reported by Rapaport News.
>>> Grab your popcorn because De Beers is rejigging a few of its relationships, including with sightholders, the Government of Botswana, and 85% owner Anglo American, among others. So, 2025 may prove to be a monumental year for the company.
Meanwhile, demand at rough tenders has softened as more goods entered the market after De Beers resumed sales albeit at lingering low levels.
Here’s my latest video on De Beers and the rough market: De Beers Slashes Rough Prices… Why?
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