Rough diamond crystal. Transmitted and reflected light. Image by Gary Roskin. Diamond provided by AMGAD. |
|
Issue 33, September 29, 2023
|
|
And we are back from a few weeks of travel ...
Previous Top Three Newsletter Features:
|
1.) Harry Winston
The Royal Adornments Collection
“Mr. Winston would have been happy to have simply glued the gems to the client.” - Maurice Galli, jewelry designer
|
|
2.) Better Technology Yields a 692 Carat Diamond at the Karowe Mine in Botswana
|
|
3.) Van Cleef & Arpels Takes High Jewelry on Le Grand Tour
VC&A's tour of jewels includes a cultured pearl necklace with clasp featuring invisible set emeralds!
Yes, invisible set emeralds! (read on...)
Rubellite tourmalines and diamond .... seen here. Fantastic!
|
|
A Special Thanks to our Sponsors!
FLAWLESS: Blue White & D Flawless
FACETS Sri Lanka
The Canadian Gemmological Association
GEMWORLD International
Bear Essentials
|
|
The Corporate Lab Business |
|
Curious Details of GIA's Layoffs |
|
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
In late July, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), one of the world’s leading authority in gemology, cut approximately 150 staff members, primarily at its Carlsbad, California corporate headquarters.
Speaking to Stephen Morisseau, GIA's director of communications, these layoffs were mainly for the reduction of diamond grading staff at its Carlsbad gem lab.
Is it simply because of the industry slowdown, or is the rumor about AI true?
- We asked, and here is GIA's response.
And why were there no layoffs in the India labs?
- We did get a corporate statement, but unfortunately not a specific answer to the question. And while we understand the statement, careful reading between the lines, and noting other relevant news reports here in the Roskin Report, we do see bad optics. Read here to find out why.
|
|
Christie’s Cancels Final Heidi Horten Auction |
|
In their style section from September 5, CNN reports that Christie’s has cancelled the Heidi Horten jewelry auction because of its link to Nazi-era fortune. As reported by Christy Choi, amid ongoing criticism from Jewish advocacy groups and human rights organizations over the source of the Austrian billionaire’s wealth, Christie’s auction house announced Thursday that it has canceled the final part of the controversial sale.
|
|
Bad Optics: Panelist at Harvard's Industry Responsibility Summit |
|
Ukraine’s National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has put SRK, an Indian diamond manufacturing company, on its list of “international sponsors of war.”
NAPC alleges that SRK may be importing some of the rough diamonds from the Russian company Alrosa.
Almost 90 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished in India. SRK is one of the biggest diamond processing firms globally.
SRK has strongly refuted the allegation.
-
You may recall that the Roskin Gem News reported on Shreyans Dholakia, SRK Brand Custodian and one of the guest panelists at the Harvard State of the Art Jewelry Industry Summit this past June. At that conference, Dholakia moved away from the topic of a single supply chain, and listed numerous supply chains, ignoring the details of their diamond rough supply chain. We reported that, according to an SRK representative at the Harvard Summit, SRK does cut Russian diamonds. When asked how they were then distributed, we were told that if the client would be located in a country with sanctions, they would not sell them the Russian cut goods. - gr
This makes their issued statement - seen here - in conflict with their Harvard comments.
|
|
Idar-Oberstein: Intergem - the Gem Show |
|
INTERGEM 2023 – OPEN FOR BUSINESS! |
|
The doors of Idar-Oberstein’s Trade Fair Centre are open! The 39th INTERGEM is now open for business!
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
Trade Fair for High-Quality Gemstones, Jewellery and Design
I often tell people when they speak about Intergem, Idar-Oberstein's premier trade show, that on my first visit I was totally unprepared for what I about to experience. I had been to my fair share of trade shows, including more than two decades of having attended the Tucson Gem and Mineral shows. I thought I was ready for Idar. And when I arrived at Intergem and saw "only" 80 or so exhibitors, I wondered what I was going to do with the four days I had scheduled since, by all expectations, I would be finished with this show by noon.
Oh how wrong I was.
By noon I had only visited three exhibitors. They kept pulling out more and more incredibly finished gems, making it impossible to leave their stand. And so by noon, I was now asking myself, how will I ever finish this show? - gr
85 Exhibitors from 11 Countries
With 85 exhibitors from 11 countries it is internationally oriented and visitors who already have purchased tickets often travelling long distances. They are coming from e.g. the USA, Australia or even from Greenland. Not only the top-class exhibitors are worth visiting also the outstanding supporting programme offers additional benefits.
|
|
DeBeers! What took them so long? |
|
"A Diamond is Forever" is BACK! |
|
"A Diamond is Forever" is Back!
13 Sep 2023
In a De Beers Group press release from September 13, De Beers is bringing back the iconic advertising slogan, A Diamond is Forever!
They are also spending an additional $20 million in ‘Seize the Day’ advertising "reimagined for the 2023 holiday season," in the US and China, which will include the Diamond is Forever tagline.
|
|
all images by Gary Roskin
|
|
25 carat, 14mm x 24mm Peridot courtesy of master gem cutter Stephen Avery, Stephen M. Avery.
|
|
|
Burmese gray cushion: 2.92 cts.,
Vietnamese pink trilliant: 1.77 cts.,
Sri Lankan pink-purple emerald cut: 6.67 cts.,
and Sri Lankan purple trilliant: 2.00 cts.
|
|
More next week... stay tuned. |
|
45+% open rate every week!
Over 4,000 views every week!
Includes packages for the Newsletter and online Magazine!
Promote yourself or your association!
(Tucson is fast approaching! 😮 Time to advertise is NOW!)
|
|
The Jewelers Circle Launches B2C
Direct-to-Consumer Vintage and Rare Jewelry Online Platform
|
|
The platform provides an opportunity for leading vintage dealers from around the world to share their rare treasures with a global audience.
The Jewelers Circle announces the launch of its new direct-to-consumer platform, offering a wide selection of vintage and rare jewelry. As the first international e-retail portal dedicated to this unique niche, The Jewelers Circle is powered by a growing global network of passionate experts, ensuring an unparalleled source of heritage and rare jewelry.
|
|
Vicenzaoro: The Trend Show! |
|
September Vicenzaoro: The Trend Show! |
|
The largest Show in Europe for gold and jewellery industry, is an authentic Business Hub for the industry, able to bring together the most authoritative players in the gold and jewellery world.
Constant growth for Italian Exhibition Group’s Vicenzaoro September, which closed its 2023 edition with a +6% increase in total visitors and an international component at 50%.
Increased arrivals from Switzerland (+46%) Belgium (+25%), UAE (23%) and Turkey (+6%). This edition sees numerous new entries among the nationalities that visited the Vicenza Expo Centre halls.
Recognised as the trend show, at Vicenzaoro September companies presented their new collections and the path that designers and the consumer market will take over the next 18 months was outlined, thanks to the launch of the Trendbook, edition 2025+, edited by Trendvision Jewellery + Forecasting, IEG's independent
Observatory directed by Paola De Luca.
|
|
Gem & Mineral Museum Events
If you would like your museum event posted here,
simply text us at: +1 (610) 269-0121
|
|
Just completing a third group of women in the "Master Training Programme" at the Jewellery Training Centre in Abuja, the minister of Solid Minerals Development along with other officials congratulated the latest graduates.
The Nigerian MinDiver Project (World Bank-assisted Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project) is working to secure jobs and value added wealth to the local communities.
|
|
Here's a fun little pictorial from BuzzFeed and found on Yahoo Entertainment. While it doesn't specifically call out AI, we believe that all of these rings were created using AI.
And we would like to note here straight away that there are several rings that we would not consider to be "engagement ring" worthy, but they are quite entertaining.
|
|
Thailand and Tanzania mean business |
|
Bangkok Jewelry Fair
Huge Potential for Tanzania Mining Sector
|
|
DailyNews.co.tz
The Tanzanian government, through the Ministry of Minerals, plans to reintroduce mineral auctions and the annual International Gems and Jewelry Fair in Arusha, aligned with the international calendar of gem and jewelry exhibitions.
Furthermore, mineral sellers, miners, and value addition practitioners in the mineral sector will be urged to leverage the long-standing positive relationship between Tanzania and Thailand.
|
|
Diamond Industry - The Business Times report |
|
Global Diamond Prices Tumble
[so do created diamond prices!]
as Cheaper Lab-grown Gems Soar
[in sales]
|
|
As the world watches natural diamond prices falling / demand slowing, business magazines are reporting that the created diamond market is one major reason for the tank.
Note that while prices of 1-carat created diamond prices in this feature quote retail for August, prices continue to fall. And no one yet knows when the prices for created diamond will stop falling. Prices for smalls may not get any lower, as we see 1 millimeter (and smaller) diamonds priced at less than $1/stone.
Does anyone remember reading about the colored gemstone market in the early 1900s when synthetic ruby was coming onto the market. The moral of the story: Be Patient. It too will find its place.
|
|
The auction house's Vice Chairman of Jewelry and brooch advocate Frank Everett is spearheading a selling exhibition that will include brands like Cartier, David Yurman, Shaun Leane, and more.
SEP 14, 2023
A selling exhibition dedicated to men's jewelry at Sotheby's is coming at the end of the month, Town & Country can exclusively reveal. It is the first of its nature for the auction house, but, according to Frank Everett, Sotheby's Vice Chairman of Jewelry and brooch advocate, it's been a long time coming.
And it is very cool!
|
|
Jaeger-Lecoultre
3 New High Jewellery Timepieces
|
|
It's not often that we feature watches here in the Roskin Report. But this feature has a few outstanding ladies' watches that deserve some note.
Jaeger-LeCoultre presents three magnificent new High Jewellery watches that unite exceptional gem-setting with the signature Calibre 101
Each of them an exuberant and distinctive expression of femininity, the new timepieces reaffirm the boundless creative scope offered by the alliance between this unique watch mechanism and high jewellery.
An entirely new design, the 101 Secrets is set with almost 27 carats of diamonds.
27 carats!! In a ladies watch!
|
|
Who Wore What at the MTV MVAs
|
|
Outstanding report once again, Lauralee covers the Music Television Music Videos Awards - Who Wore What, with even a shot of Taylor Swift after she broke 😮 an $12,000 VC&A ring!
(Details to follow - click thru to find out the 4-1-1)
|
|
Parisian Jewels at the Grand Palais Éphémère, Paris |
|
ArtVendôme is the first international fair to present under one roof a panorama of high jewellery and jewellery design and creativity at their best. This significant cultural event, open to the public, is poised to redefine the perception and the experience of jewellery, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in a world where emotion, innovation and heritage converge.
By bringing together international high jewellery and jewellery designers, heritage maisons, boutique brands, contemporary jewellery artists and vintage dealers, the fair will unite collectors and new generations, all invited to collectively envision the future of jewellery.
Over four days of inspirational experiences, the fair will embrace innovation, while also delving into jewellery’s captivating historical, social and cultural significance. Best-selling author and broadcaster Carol Woolton will curate a cultural programme, including talks and conversations offering attendees the chance to gain a deeper understanding of the world of jewellery. The fair's dedication to history and culture will also be highlighted through an exhibition imagined by curator and editor Fabrice Bousteau, exploring the history of jewellery across ages and cultures.
|
|
Senior Contributor
Forbes.com
Jewels from French jewelry house Chaumet were among several signed pieces being offered at Bonhams’ London jewelry auction last week on September 21 at its New Bond Street headquarters.
DeMarco writes about two important Chaumet pieces, as well as a diamond necklace by British jewelers, Asprey & Garrard, that sold for £89,300, a 6.98-carat brilliant-cut D color, internally flawless diamond, that did not make the reserve, an Art Deco sapphire and diamond platinum ring, circa 1920, centered with a 7.12-carat fancy-cut sugarloaf cabochon Kashmir, that sold for £248,050, a Cartier Art Deco diamond brooch, circa 1925, which sold for £40,960, a Jean Schlumberger Tiffany & Co. gem-set seahorse brooch, circa 1960, that sold for £28,160, a Bulgari colored diamond and diamond “Trombino” ring featuring a 4.80-carat step-cut natural fancy yellow diamond, that did make the reserve, and a Cartier opal, ruby and diamond “Love Bird” brooch, circa 1948, which too did not make the reserve.
There were several other important pieces that did sell very well.
|
|
Chinese Educational Videos |
|
Watch: From Mine to Mall
in Sri Lanka, the ‘Land of Gemstones’
|
|
Chinese media covers the gem industry quite often. Here is just one of the many informational gem-related videos created for the Chinese consumer market.
Reporting from Sri Lanka, CGTN correspondent Hou Jing interviews Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association Lapidary Segment Vice Chairman, Pinsiri Wijepala (Wijaya Gems PVT Ltd).
"Sri Lanka is one of the most important gemstone-producing areas in the world today. Rubies, moonstones and garnets produced here are also highly sought-after, along with the extraction and refining of dazzling sapphires. These colorful gems will have their sparkle restored after careful processing by skilled lapidarists. Join us in exploring the process of gem extraction and refinement in a factory near Colombo! #TheNewSilkRoad"
|
|
Christie’s: Magnificent Jewels
Including the Bleu Royal
|
|
GENEVA
7 NOV 3PM CET | LIVE AUCTION
Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva features a curated selection of historic and modern Jewellery from all periods as well as the most famous Jewellery houses such as Harry Winston, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and many more.
This upcoming sale’s highlights include a wide selection of important diamonds and coloured stones, featuring ‘The Bleu Royal,’ an exceptional fancy vivid blue diamond of 17.61 carats, the largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to be offered at auction (seen here).
|
|
G7 Plans Russian Diamond Crackdown, Industry Says ‘Not so Fast’ |
|
September 21, 2023
You’d think diamonds could take a little pressure.
The Financial Times reports that a G7 plan to crack down on sanctioned Russian diamonds, which is due to come into force next year, has run into resistance from big industry players. Well, they can be an extremely hard bunch.
In The Rough (and the Red)
The problem with banning diamonds from one particular country is that when raw diamonds are mined, they’re usually shipped to another country to be cut and polished. There, they’re mixed in with gems from all over the world and their provenance becomes nigh impossible to ascertain.
Belgium, home of Antwerp where 84% of the world’s rough diamonds pass through, was the country holding off on Russia sanctions but has now relented, and is key to drawing up the new plans for tracking down diamonds’ origins. The Belgian government is close to announcing a traceability system, but 16 major diamond manufacturers and traders have written a feisty letter accusing the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) of lacking “transparency, accountability and inclusivity” in its plans.
Cutting.
|
|
World Jewellery Confederation CIBJO
Congress 2023
Jaipur, India
October 3rd - 5th
Registration for CIBJO Congress 2023 now open
|
|
CGA 65th Annual Gem Conference
Vancouver, BC, Canada
October 20th-22nd, 2023
|
|
37th International Gemmological Conference
IGC 2023 Japan
October 23rd - 27th
|
|
Gem-A Conference
November 5th, 2023
|
|
Gary Roskin
Speaking Engagements
CGA - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Observations in Diamond Grading
October 21-22, 2023
We hope to see you in Vancouver, or next year in Tucson!
|
|
Istanbul, Turkey
- October 5-8, 2023
Miami Beach, Florida, USA
- October 13-16, 2023
Colombo, Sri Lanka
- January 6-8, 2024
|
|
Greetings from the news desk!
This should be a newsletter that keeps you reading for the next few days at least! And we have a lot more to report! So much news!
Please tell your vendors we would like them to
support the report and advertise!😊
As always, stay informed and keep in touch. I'd like to know where you've been and what gems you've seen.
We will continue to post features on the website, so feel free to log on to the Roskin Gem News Magazine any time at www.RoskinGemNewsReport.com
|
|
Want to contribute?
If you would like to contribute, or you have read something somewhere that you feel would be perfect to share with the community, then please feel free to contact me directly at Gary@RoskinGemNews.com
I will see you again SOON!
Stay safe and stay healthy!
Gary Roskin
|
|
The Roskin Gem News Report, Newsletter and online Magazine, is your one-stop destination for all current global gem news.
You are receiving this newsletter because you were most likely already on our subscribers list or we picked up your business card somewhere along the way. We would love for you to remain a subscriber. To do so, please tap the subscribe button and complete the form.
If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please tap the unsubscribe line below and complete the form.
If you feel your membership association, club, or school would find value in this free report, please let us know. Contact information is provided below.
|
|
Roskin Gem News
www.RoskinGemNewsReport.com
+1(610) 269-0121 text/call/WhatsApp
|
The creation of this newsletter is the work of Gary A. Roskin Ltd, dba Roskin Gemological Services. If you should have any comments or suggestions regarding the contents of this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us at Gary@RoskinGemNews.com |
|
Hardcopy mail correspondence:
Roskin Gem News
256 Eagleview Blvd., suite 357
Exton, PA 19341 USA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
