Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This week’s top stories highlight a resilient natural diamond market, with strong U.S. jewelry sales and a positive June for natural diamond jewelry. De Beers’ steep price cuts have drawn mixed reactions, while the Natural Diamond Council advances branding efforts and legal actions. Tariff exemptions also offer a favorable outlook for the sector.
Top News
- Natural diamond jewelry had a pretty good June (The Jewelry Wire)
- U.S. jewelry biz had a strong first half, Tenoris says (TJW)
- De Beers makes steep price cuts at sight, report says (TJW)
- Sightholders generally pleased (TJW)
- Natural Diamond Council prepping “hallmark” (Financial Times)
- NDC gets ads taken down in India (TJW)
- Natural diamonds likely to be exempt from most future tariffs (TJW)
Gold & Precious Metals
- Central banks still betting on gold (Kitco)
- China’s biggest ETF is a gold fund (Bloomberg)
- China’s gold reserves increase the most since 2023 (Reuters)
- Rosland Capital, which hawked precious metals on TV, is liquidating (TJW)
- Investors flee gold ETFs (Kitco)
- India’s silver import curb is creating shortages (Reuters)
Diamond & Jewelry Industry
- India’s diamond exports are down, but at home, they remain popular (Economic Times)
- British police are investigating Vashi Dominguez, famed jeweler whose company collapsed: report (TJW)
- Vietnam police charge PNJ lab head removed GIA inscriptions (TJW)
- Company says smuggled diamonds never entered its retail network (Tuoi Tre news)
- Timex purchases 100% of Daniel Wellington (TJW)
Commentary
- Lab-grown diamond wholesale price list shows complex market (Edahn Golan)
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“There’s never been a better time to create a diamond brand than now” — Peter Smith (National Jeweler)
- Tom Moses has a few regrets (TJW)
- Avi Krawitz: the “problem with perfect” diamonds (GJEPC)
- Leading diamond-producing countries and their prospects (Rough-Polished)
- High jewelry outperforming the rest of luxury market (Financial Times)
- David Sherwood of Daniel’s Jewelers is puzzled by a customer complaint (LinkedIn)
- Gemstone color descriptions are becoming “increasingly subjective” (Financial Times)
- It’s time for a second quartz revolution (WatchPro)
- Richemont’s sale of Baume & Mercier shows manufacturers “ignoring mid-range market” (Bilanz; translation)
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Wearing a fake watch is “unnerving” (ABlogtoWatch)
- The “divorce ring” becomes a trend (BBC)
- How much gold is really in a luxury solid gold watch? (Forbes)
Audio/Video
- Jewelry ad of the week: APM Monaco (TJW)
- The Diamond Dudes, episode four: De Beers’ price cuts, diamond production, issues with lab-grown, and Taylor Swift. (YouTube) (Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon)
- Why lab-grown and natural can never “play nice” (Paul Zimnisky podcast)
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Jennifer Fisher calls a $20 jar of salt her “secret customer acquisition weapon” (The Foundr Podcast)