Rapaport Magazine - October 2017

Vol. 40 No.10 October 2017

WHY DOES LAURENCE GRAFF KEEP BUYING ROCK-SOLID INVESTMENTS Are colored diamonds the new gold?

Opinion King of Bling

IgnoreMeet themcelebrity at your peril: Women aredesigner buying their jewelry Stephen Webster own jewelry

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News analysis Retail Reflections Auctions Trends Graff bought iconic Strong Genevathe sales 1,109-carat for Sotheby’sLesedi and La Christie’s Rona.

What’s next?

Celebrating Challengeshigh-jewelry and craftsmen’s creative opportunities of and customization technical skills

Retail Styleinsight TradeLegacy Report

Jewelry styles you Take a of peek Neil Animal jewelry is all The impact newinto mine Lane’s Kué fabulous should to make the the ragestock this season.

Gahcho on theestate Go wild in your store rough market jewelry collection season a success

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NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Women – a market to be reckoned with

IMAGE: Ben Kelmer

While our industry has been in a state of panic trying to understand and relate to millennials, a fundamental shift in marketplace purchasing dynamics has been taking place. Women are gradually replacing men as the main buyers of diamonds.

In 2016, one quarter of all sales in the US, China, India and Japan (the top four global markets) came from what DeBeers refers to as “self-purchasing women.” In the US alone, 31% of diamond jewelry was bought by women.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has already reached the tipping point, with women accounting for 55% of all diamond sales. Female purchasing power equated to a massive $18 billion worth of diamonds in the US, China, India and Japan last year.

Forevermark’s upcoming marketing campaign, which will specifically target women who buy jewelry for themselves, is an indication that some in the diamond trade have finally realized this shift in spending power.

While this is not the first time the female self-purchaser has forced a reaction from the industry (see “A Stone of Her Own” on Page 24), the underlying statistics driving this shift suggest it is unlikely to be just a transient trend.

In the US, 69% of millennial women aged 18 to 33 are in the labor force, compared with 78% of men in the same age group, according to the US Department of Labor. Furthermore, De Beers’ research indicates that 24% of women in the US earn more than their spouses.

It goes on to forecast that by 2025, more than half of all US households will have a woman as a major income provider.

So while marriage may come in and out of style, the increasing economic power of women is now a financial reality the industry needs to get used to and embrace.

For this to truly happen, the number of women in leadership roles within our industry needs to continue growing so we can move forward toward a more genderbalanced view of the marketplace’s needs. This may not be so easy for some in the insular, male-dominated diamond business, but as W. Edwards Deming once said, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

John Costello Publisher john.costello@diamonds.net

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CONTENTS

IN-DEPTH

RETAIL

MARKETS & PRICING

16 News

44 Retail profile

68 Trade report

Industry: Bringing diamond grading to retailers.

Retail: US up, China down in jewelry sales.

Movers & Shakers: A look at who’s coming, who’s going.

Mining: Petra under pressure after diamond seizure; Alrosa’s first-half results.

House of Kahn Estate Jewelers is a family business that’s been going strong for over half a century.

Hong Kong show sparks hope for the holidays.

46 Retail insight

72 US retail

The industry weighs in on the styles they predict will sell this holiday season.

75 Hong Kong

The female self-purchaser has long been an advertising afterthought, but the industry has a chance to change that.

51 RetailRap

76 Israel

26 News analysis: Lesedi La Rona finally sees the light

Diverse display cases and fun extras can help enhance the customer experience.

80 Russia

STYLE & DESIGN

84 Polished data

54 Interview

89 Price List

The president of L’Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels, discusses what the school has to offer.

101 RapNet Price Sheet

55 Jewelry Connoisseur

110 Calendar

Garden party jewels to lighten up the winter months.

112 The final cut

IMAGES: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby’s; Francois Jorez/Boucheron; Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie; Sotheby’s

24 Opinion: A stone of her own

As Graff splashes $53M on historic 1,109 ct. rough diamond, we take a look at how miners are investing in the big-stone diamond deposits.

COVER 34 Best on the block Colored gems and signed pieces dominate the auction circuit for 2017.

36 The color of your money Is it worth investing in colored diamonds? The answer seems to be yes.

Which estate jewelry is most popular?

52 Retail showcase

82 Antwerp

The choker is back.

58 Designer

E-commerce is opening up new horizons for the auction business.

Anna Hu unveiled her mesmerizing new high jewelry collection at the Biennale in Paris.

42 Reflections

60 Legacy

Attention to detail is the hallmark of the top jewelry houses, thanks to skilled craftsmen.

Designer Neil Lane recalls how he got into collecting fine period jewels.

62 Colored gemstone Tourmalines, sapphires and morganite are among the stars of the AGTA Spectrum Awards.

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79 India

56 Style

38 Going once, going digital

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71 US wholesale

ON THE COVER

We playfully used the CTF Pink Star to illustrate the fantastic popularity colored diamonds are experiencing. The 59.60-carat fancy vivid pink diamond, internally flawless sold for over $71M at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017.

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OPINION

A STONE OF HER OWN

The female self-purchaser has long been an advertising afterthought, but now the diamond industry has a chance to change that.

By Rachelle Bergstein The diamond industry was in a tough spot. The country had survived a brief recession, but the economy was slow to recover. The new generation was different: less traditional, more political, less interested in expensive material items. Women didn’t worry so much about getting engaged, and when they did get married, they wanted their jewels to be unique. “I don’t want a ring that looks like my mother’s, and I don’t want a ring that looks like my grandmother’s,” one bride-to-be told the Los Angeles Times for an article called “Wedding Jewelry: One-of-a-kind Look Is In.” Sound familiar? It was 1972, and the rise of antiestablishment hippies was scaring the crap out of diamond sellers. Then, De Beers launched a new advertising campaign, a spin on the classic “A Diamond Is Forever,” with an updated tagline: “A Diamond Is for Now.” These print ads explicitly targeted independent working women, speaking

to a female customer who might even (gasp!) use her own money to buy a diamond for herself. “You didn’t get where you are by following in somebody else’s footsteps,” one ad said, over an image of a woman with her feet kicked up on her desk, wearing a glittering ankle bracelet and silver strappy sandals.

This woman — the female self-purchaser — has been in the diamond industry’s sights ever since.

Forty-five years later, she’s still a critical target, as the latest Diamond Insight Report reveals. She’s so important because she helps sellers of diamonds make up for a major vulnerability: the stone’s historical, nearly inextricable ties to romance, love and marriage. When marriage and its associated rituals go out of style, as they occasionally do, the diamond risks losing its commercial appeal.

Her-storical precedent Unfortunately, the industry only seems to remember

De Beers’ “Right Hand Ring” campaign.

=

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IMAGES: De Beers; Carter Tippins

the female self-purchaser during cycles when diamond sales are already low. But wealthy women have been buying themselves diamonds since before the turn of the 20th century. Arabella Huntington — widow of railroad baron Collis Huntington — didn’t wait for a new husband to buy her jewels. She never remarried, but she regularly dropped tens of thousands of dollars at places like Tiffany & Co. and Cartier.

After “A Diamond Is for Now,” diamond sales recovered, and De Beers didn’t introduce another campaign for the female self-purchaser until 30 years later, in 2003, after the conflict-diamond crisis. It was marketing a new product called the Right Hand Ring, a diamond cocktail ring for strong, independent women.

When it didn’t catch on, the ads disappeared.

Today, however, the industry has a real opportunity to speak to the female consumer again — and this time, to keep the conversation going. Sales of nonbridal jewelry to women have grown by a third over the last 10 years, according to the Diamond Insight Report. Deborah Marquardt, chief marketing officer of the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), says her organization’s findings “align closely with De Beers… more women are purchasing jewelry for themselves due to a variety of reasons — higher income, increased purchase for non-traditional occasions, and the fact that couples are getting married a few years later than previous generations.”

What women want Retailers are seeing the same thing. Elizabeth Doyle, who owns the antique, vintage and estate jewelry store Doyle & Doyle in downtown Manhattan, confirms there’s been an uptick in women shopping for themselves. “We see women buying to fill out their collections or jewelry wardrobes,” she says. “The pieces they are shopping for are quite varied, but what they have in common is that they are pieces that fill a void.”

Ruta Fox, creator of the diamond and gold Ah Ring for single women (the “Ah” stands for “available and happy”), says that whether the intended buyer is male or female, the story the product tells is still crucial.

“The ring reverberated because it had an emotional component,” she says, looking back on its runaway success in 2001, when TV comedy Sex and the City was popular. “It made women feel good about being single.”

Female shoppers, it seems, are not so different from their male counterparts. They want jewels that speak to them, and they want to feel good about what they’re buying. ■

Rachelle Bergstein is the author of Brilliance and Fire: A Biography of Diamonds (HarperCollins, 2016). diamonds.net

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The Ah Ring from DivineDiamonds.com.

Self-purchases accounted for 33% of all non-bridal women’s diamond jewelry pieces sold in the US during 2015 35 33

30 27

25

24

23

2005

2011

2013

2015

Source: De Beers-commissioned diamond acquisition studies, 2005–2016.

Average price of self-purchases compared with overall average US

Average price of self-purchase ($)

Average price across total women’s market ($)

CHINA

JAPAN

1,300

950

1,400

vs

vs

vs

1,400 1,100

1,700

Source: De Beers-commissioned diamond acquisition studies, 2014–2016.

Want to react to this opinion piece? Feel free to share your thoughts with us at editor@diamonds.net

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NEWS ANALYSIS

LESEDI LA RONA FINALLY SEES THE LIGHT Graff splashes $53M on historic 1,109 ct. rough diamond.

By Avi Krawitz It’s been nearly two years since Tiroyaone Mathaba had his eureka moment. The then-27year-old was working as a trainee sorter at Lucara Diamond Corp.’s Karowe mine in Botswana, sifting through rock and sand when he realized the tennis-ball-sized stone in his hand was, in fact, a diamond.

“At first I wanted to scream,” he told news outlets at the time. “Then I said in a low, hoarse voice, ‘God, it’s a diamond! It’s a diamond, it’s a big diamond!’”

Lucara used more thought-out superlatives in the aftermath to describe the 1,109-carat discovery. Not since 1905, when the iconic Cullinan diamond was unearthed in South Africa, had the world seen a rough stone of such magnitude. As a rare type IIa rough stone, there was also a strong probability it would emerge as a high-clarity, D-color polished.

But the resulting polished was a long way off, and debate stirred about what to do with the rough, which was soon named Lesedi La 26

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Rona — meaning “Our Light” in the local Tswana language.

Failed bids Lucara took an unconventional approach for the sale of a large rough diamond, hiring Sotheby’s to auction it off. Lucara CEO William Lamb was also touting the idea that given the historic nature of the piece, it might stay in its rough form as a collector’s item.

Meanwhile, Lucara was working under the radar to sell two other exceptional rough diamonds recovered around the same time at Karowe, weighing in at 813 carats and 373.72 carats respectively. The latter was a shard that had broken away from Lesedi La Rona. While Sotheby’s embarked on a headline-grabbing roadshow for its auction, Lucara sold the 813-carat diamond for a record $63.1 million in May 2016. The buyers, a partnership between Dubai-based manufacturer Nemesis International and Swiss jeweler De Grisogono, named it The Constellation. diamonds.net

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IMAGES: Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

However, anticipation was building for the bigger prize; Lesedi La Rona was set to go under the hammer in London a month later. The auction house, more accustomed to selling highvalue diamond jewelry than rough, set a presale estimate of $70 million for the stone, with onlookers sensing it was being conservative given The Constellation’s price-tag.

But there was audible disappointment when bids ultimately fell below the stone’s reserve price.

One bid came in at $51 million, and when the auctioneer’s calls for other takers to go up to $61 million fell on deaf ears, Lesedi La Rona remained unsold and in Lucara’s possession.

Romancing the stone Facing a barrage of questions on when, how and to whom the stone would sell, Lucara subsequently appeared to tone down the hype surrounding the sale. Media reports suggested the company was looking for a partner to polish it and gain a royalty from its eventual purchase.

More than a year after the Sotheby’s auction, Lamb declined to comment on the delayed sale in an interview with Rapaport Magazine.

The company was looking for the right buyer, who would take the diamond through its next stage of evolution — so said Lamb a few days diamonds.net

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after the interview, when the stone’s sale was finally announced on September 25.

Lucara had sold Lesedi La Rona to Graff Diamonds for $53 million.

That’s significantly less than the value of The Constellation, which remains the most expensive rough diamond ever sold. But the sum shouldn’t be too surprising, as Lesedi La Rona’s average price of $47,777 per carat was in line with what Graff paid when it bought the 373.72-carat shard for $17.5 million in May. There’s a certain romance in reuniting the two diamonds.

Laurence Graff, the jeweler’s founder and chairman, called the Lesedi La Rona purchase a “momentous day” in his career. He also hinted at what might come next for this “incredible” diamond. “The stone will tell us its story,” he explained. “It will dictate how it wants to be cut, and we will take the utmost care to respect its exceptional properties.”

It’s a story that’s already had its share of drama in the two years since Mathaba proclaimed it “a big diamond.” And few will dispute the responsibility Graff has assumed for the next stage of its journey. One thing is for sure: Lesedi La Rona ranks among the most fascinating diamonds of our time. One expects the resulting polished to be as spectacular as the rough. ■ October 2017

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COVER/JEWELRY AS INVESTMENT

THE COLOR OF YOUR MONEY Is it worth investing in colored diamonds? With scarcity pushing up prices, the answer seems to be yes. By Rachael Taylor With a return that outstrips white diamonds, rare top-quality examples of colored diamonds are proving to be an attractive alternative investment for buyers with an eye on the future — and pockets deep enough to compete.

Research released last month by the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII) claims the price of colored diamonds has risen 89% in the past decade, while white-diamond appreciation over the same period has been slower at about 30%. The decade’s worth of data that Knight Frank has compiled shows that color matters when it comes to a return on investment. Between 2010 and 2015, pink diamonds delivered the highest growth at 189%, blue diamond prices rose 89%, and yellows were up 17%. Over the past year, however, blue diamonds have taken over as the stone to invest in, delivering a 5.5% increase; average prices of pink diamonds have actually dipped over the past 12 months.

At Scarselli Diamonds, at least, demand for fancy colors remains strong.

“We have kept and maintained our inventory of yellow diamonds, as well as invested in more popular sizes in pink and blue diamonds to balance market demands,” says Bruno Scarselli, a partner in the company. “We still maintain that there is exceptional value in the family of yellows, which we increasingly sell well over other colors due to their [comparative] affordability.”

Lab-grown trouble?

Another potential threat to prices of colored diamonds is the lab-grown diamond. While white lab-grown stones are increasing in popularity, the real potential many see in this area is for color, as the technology places pinks, blues and yellows within the financial grasp of the midmarket for the first time. As such, some traditional diamond dealers, including Bass Premier, have started selling synthetic colored diamonds alongside mined stones.

Gelb, however, remains unperturbed: “They have had no impact on the natural colored-diamond market. I see no reason for this to change. As with all other synthetic gemstones, they are a different product and generally have no effect on the market, as they are not real substitutes and have no intrinsic value. In some ways, they are similar to treated color diamonds; their value is the cost of their production. As these costs drop with economies of scale, the prices of synthetics will drop significantly.”

Though the escalation in prices of mined colored diamonds might have cooled for now, global demand for these rare gems remains robust, according to The Fancy Color Research Foundation, and sales continue to be made. From the look of it, consumers still trust in color. ■

Between 2010 and 2015, pink diamonds delivered the highest growth at 189%, blue diamond prices rose 89%, and yellows were up 17%.

In short supply Look a little more closely at the KFLII data and you can spot a slowing in the colored-diamond boom. Average prices of all colored diamonds increased just 15% in the past five years and were flat in the past 12 months. Thomas Gelb of the Natural Color Diamond Association isn’t worried, though.

“Natural color diamonds are in very limited supply, and this will only get worse, as many mines that produce fancy color diamonds will be closing,” he says. “Scarcity is a vital factor when thinking about natural color diamonds.”

Scarcity, of course, pushes up prices, and while that’s good news for those already invested in colored diamonds, could it be prohibitive to those looking to jump on this investment opportunity?

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VIVID BIDS

Pink and blue diamonds have achieved some of the highest prices on the auction circuit in recent years. Here are a few of the top sellers:

The CTF Pink

Sotheby’s described this oval-shaped, 59.60-carat, fancy vivid pink, internally flawless diamond as “a true masterpiece of nature” in the run-up to its sale. When it sold to Chinese jewelry chain Chow Tai Fook, the final hammer price certainly lived up to the hype, more than doubling the previous record price for a fancy vivid pink diamond.

Sold for $71.2 million (HKD 553 million) at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 4, 2017.

The Oppenheimer Blue

At 14.62 carats, this is the largest vivid blue diamond ever to come to auction, and its sale last year caused quite a stir. The emerald-cut stone takes its name from previous owner Sir Philip Oppenheimer of De Beers fame. Christie’s chairman François Curiel called it “the gem of gems.”

Sold for $57.5 million (CHF 56.8 million) at Christie’s Geneva on May 18, 2016.

Blue Moon of Josephine

Property tycoon Joseph Lau bought this as a gift for his seven-year-old daughter, though chances are, he has the cushion-shaped, 12.03-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond under lock and key until her years outstrip the stone’s carats. It will sit nicely next to her other blue diamond, the 7.03-carat Star of Josephine.

Sold for $48.4 million (CHF 48.6 million) at Sotheby’s Geneva on November 11, 2015.

The Princie Diamond

This is a stone of controversy. When the cushion-cut, 34.65-carat, fancy intense pink diamond surfaced and subsequently sold, Italian millionaire Amedeo Angiolillo was far from pleased. He claimed it was an Indian diamond that had passed through his family and mysteriously gone missing, and he sued the auction house over it.

Sold for $39.3 million at Christie’s New York on November 25, 2009.

IMAGES: Christie’s; Sotheby’s

The Zoe Diamond

When it sold, this pear-shaped, 9.75-carat, fancy vivid blue diamond broke not one, but two records. It set a new record price for the sale of a blue diamond (which has since been trumped), and it achieved the highest price per carat of any diamond in auction history.

Sold for $32.6 million at Christie’s New York on November 20, 2014. diamonds.net

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RETAIL INSIGHT

HAUTE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

What should you expect to sell this holiday season? The jewelry industry airs the styles it’s banking on for fourth-quarter success.

By Jennifer Heebner As the most-important selling season of the year approaches, many in jewelry are hoping they’ve stocked their cases wisely.

Diamond studs? Check. Diamond tennis bracelets? Absolutely!

These styles are fixtures in many stores, but those who pay attention to fashion and market trends suggest adding a few fresher, more inspiring options to merchandise arrays. Here’s a roundup of timely looks that forward-thinking jewelers and talented designers predict are worth stocking for the holidays.

Classy convertibles Styles that transform — say, from a bracelet to a choker, or from drop earrings to studs — offer a versatility that can help cement buying decisions among customers who know they’ll get multiple looks out of a single purchase. Convertibles speak to buyers in times of uncertainty, and were also the most frequently spied look at this year’s jewelry trade shows. Those with new interchangeable numbers include Roberto Coin, Hearts On Fire, and Tacori, as well as Tomasz Donocik, Buddha Mama and silver designer Belle Étoile.

While some admire the two (or more)-for-one jewelry concept for the value it offers, others appreciate the technical aspect.

Those who like electronic toys will likely find fascination with the ability to “put together, take apart, fiddle and tinker with convertible jewelry,” says Priyanka Murthy of 46

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Roberto Coin. Convertible choker. robertocoin.com Suzanne Kalan. Cascade Fireworks long chandelier earrings. suzannekalan.com

Arya Esha, who debuted earrings with jackets this year.

Rebecca Shukan, a private jeweler based in Pasadena, California, understands the value of these versatile looks firsthand.

A client who bought a pair of 0.50-carat diamond studs as a young accountant returned to her for an upgrade when she earned a promotion. The woman didn’t want to replace her studs, though — she wanted to enhance them.

Shukan sold her a halo jacket to create a bigger look.

“Earring jackets are a way to elevate a simple stud to a more relevant look for today’s trends while showing the evolution of a person’s taste and personality,” the jeweler explains.

Time for fancies Cluster varieties of fancy-shape diamonds like marquise, popular in the market for the past two years, remain en vogue. That’s because of the lower cost of small diamonds, which makes them affordable for designers to work with and for collectors to buy, and because combinations of them are downright darling.

That last is something consumers find comforting in tumultuous national times, according to Ellen Hertz of Max’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “If the world is not making customers feel good, they will surround themselves with pretty things,” she says.

At Lissa Jewelry in New York City, fancy-shape diamonds are diamonds.net

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part of owner Elissa Schneider’s daily sales diet. While Schneider says she sells “$3,000 to $15,000 pieces all day long” from brands like Garavelli and Dinh Van, one recent special order tops even those: a $42,000 kite- and pearshape band of colorless diamonds in 18-karat gold.

Suzanne Kalan of the eponymous design firm has arguably put baguette-cut diamonds on the map when it comes to non-classic and nonbridal jewelry. In her Fireworks collection, styles featuring matchstick-thin stones in her signature scattered settings encircle centers or stand alone in beautiful groups. The looks are so popular that copies are evident at nearly every turn and trade-fair table. Retailers in the know, like Hertz, stock up on Kalan’s original works, which are now available in evil-eye motifs and include new styles of chokers, stiletto-drop earrings, charms, hoops, stacks and one-of-a-kinds. In fact, these skinny stones were Hertz’s biggest Las Vegas jewelry show takeaway.

“Baguettes are big,” she says.

Go long The Victorian collars and cinched waists of fall fashion demand to be offset with dramatic drop earrings. Jewelry makers already had the looks top of mind when they presciently debuted long numbers at this year’s Las Vegas shows. Elisabetta Molina of Garavelli calls the long styles a “must-have” for the holidays, whether in her whimsical floral garland drops or more traditional looks. Diamondaccented styles are a constant among all her orders for fall 2017, especially at the $10,000-andunder price point.

Schneider has placed orders with Molina and others for diamonds.net

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Arya Esha. One-of-a-kind Autumn mismatched multi-gem earrings. aryaesha.com

Fern Freeman. Ball & Chain shoulder dusters. fernfreemanjewelry.com

Julie Lamb. Stackable rings. julielambny.com

dramatic stiletto-drop styles that extend from the lobe as far as 4.5 inches. Ditto for Lisa Vinicur, who, at press time, had just sold a newly acquired pair of 4.5-inchlong black rhodium-over-silver numbers with white freshwater pearls from Maria Luisa Jewels.

Vinicur, the co-owner of Diane Glynn Jewelry in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, ordered the $615 pair for the holidays, and they barely touched down in the display case before they were snapped up.

More stunners come from Fern Freeman, whose sexy yellow goldfringed earrings sweep gracefully to the shoulders like blond tresses. Freeman, who started making them when she realized they were trending on runways, personally loves the spectacular length and movement. She also knows they speak to lovers of the mix-and-match trend who wear a long earring on one lobe and a stud on the other. She struggles to keep long earrings in stock.

“I’ve sold dozens in the past six months,” she says.

Stack ’em up Another familiar style that’s sticking around is stacks.

Designers like Julie Lamb have many ways for consumers to layer up, including stackable Metropolis lariat necklaces (“They are casual but sexy,” she says) and her Mariel trio of rings, which she sells as one unit. “If you don’t have stack rings, this is a good starter set,” she explains. New individual pieces, including charm rings in 14- or 18-karat gold with single bezel-set baguettes, are also ideal to stack, and they mix well with her signature tiny lamb silhouettes — an homage to her name — which stand vertically on top of bands as playful elements. ▶ October 2017

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Stacked-bracelet standouts for fall include soft styles with bolotie closures instead of clasps to mix in with cuffs and bangles, and rose gold mixed with yellow.

Vinicur’s more conservative shoppers were initially hesitant, thinking the color combination was too trendy, but Cartier’s use of it in an iconic tri-color rolling ring convinced them otherwise.

“People say, ‘If Cartier can do it, why not me?’” observes Vinicur.

For holiday sales, Schneider is banking on diamond tennis bracelets to be a hit. Her favorite way to wear them is with sapphire, black diamond, and emerald iterations mixed in.

“Come fall, when you put on a chunky sweater, you will want a wrist full of bracelets,” she insists.

Kalan’s new colored-stone stacking pieces, with sapphires, emeralds and rubies, fill that fashion prescription. “I’ve been adding color to our Fireworks collection, and it’s a hit with retailers,” she says.

Rough stuff Rough-cut gems, including unfaceted crystals, slices and rose cuts, are another category to stock for the holidays.

That’s because consumers are increasingly seeking authenticity, which can include both knowing their stones’ sources, and buying gems that retain as natural a state as possible. Rustics are often more affordable than finely faceted friends, since they’re more included and require less finishing, but they’re also a draw for shoppers who love the unique.

“Organic and raw looks are trendy, especially with younger clientele,” observes Alexis Padis, director of operations and marketing at Padis Jewelry in San Francisco.

Designer Emanuela Duca’s rugged-looking aesthetic is a 48

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Emanuela Duca. Burst ring featuring cognac diamond. emanueladuca.com

natural fit for rough-cut gems, which she included in two recent collections. In Burst, a massive rough-cut, pale aquamarine sits on a strong but spindly gold cuff to capture the energy of the designer’s bold move out of New York City after 20 years.

In Hudson Valley — the name of the collection that followed, and of her new location in New York — shallower rose-cut stones reflect the area’s nature-rich surroundings. Wild animals and trees are her neighbors now, she says, noting that “within two days, I saw five black bears.”

For Malak Atut of Zaiken Jewelry, a demand for the different is what drives sales of her organic-looking colored-stone styles. Purchases of these are often about “a love of texture,” according to Hertz — a point with which Atut agrees. “Organics are more interesting to the eye,” says the Zaiken designer. c

Zaiken Jewelry. One-ofa-kind pink tourmaline and diamond earrings. zaikenjewelry.com

Emanuela Duca.

Hudson Valley cuff with aquamarine. emanueladuca.com

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JEWELRY CONNOISSEUR

Dior. This necklace from the Dior à Versailles côté Jardins collection is a heady mix of gemstones in a kaleidoscope of cuts and settings, with flashes of glossy enamel and a large pear-shaped diamond at its center. dior.com

Lydia Courteille.

Fruits of My Passion earrings with marquise-cut pink tourmalines, yellow sapphire-studded bananas, and brown diamond snakes. lydiacourteille.com

GARDEN PARTY

JEWELS

IMAGE: Shutterstock

Buddha Mama.

Emerald, diamond and pink sapphire blooms swarm a 20-carat tanzanite cabochon in this yellow gold Flower Cluster cocktail ring. buddhamama.com

As divisive politics and humanitarian crises trample global morale, luxury jewelry designers are escaping to the regenerative positivity of nature.

There has been a veritable bouquet of jubilant, colorful collections inspired by flora and fauna. A particular highlight is Dior’s verdant Dior à Versailles côté Jardins collection, laden with clusters of colored-gemstone flowers, which made its debut in Paris this summer.

Marquise- and pear-shaped gems lend themselves well to floral jewels, as they are perfect doppelgängers of the petals and leaves found in nature. Long and winding drops or chains suggest new growth, while metal settings should appear organic to capture the beauty of a garden in bloom.

By Rachael Taylor

Rina Limor Fine Jewelry.

Earrings with hand-carved tourmaline and peridot in floral shapes, anchored with a diamond bud. rinalimor.com

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Lauren K. Handmade 18-karat yellow gold Gemma flower ring featuring natural boulder opals, rose-cut tanzanites and diamond pavé. laurenk.com

“Jewelry Connoisseur” Registered, US Patent and Trademark Office

October 2017

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THE FINAL CUT

We asked four women in the industry: What piece of jewelry would you most like to own if money were no object?

Esther Fortunoff-Greene President and owner, Fortunoff Fine Jewelry The piece I would love to own is the Orchid brooch by Paula Crevoshay. This was part of an exhibition of Crevoshay’s work at the Carnegie Museum. I love flowers in jewelry, and I like brooches. This one is fantastic in the way the colors seem to move. It is evocative of the southwestern part of the US, and reminiscent of the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe. I love the energy of the orange-color gemstones. It would be great to own this brooch, which has amazing depth of color that makes it shine with the power of the sun’s heat.

Tiffany Stevens President and CEO, Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) The Elephant Diamond brooch is a gorgeous piece with diamonds and emeralds, auctioned at Christie’s in London in 2007. It was originally owned by Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, who used it as an adornment for his favorite elephant. I love this aspect, as elephants should be wearing jewelry, not being used to make it! I would be honored to wear something so beautiful, so connected with passion and originally designed for and worn by an elephant — hopefully, I could absorb some of the great creature’s wisdom.

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Reena Ahluwalia Jewelry designer and diamond painter I would choose the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, a 33.19-carat, type IIa diamond. “This remarkable stone is called the Krupp diamond because it had been owned by Vera Krupp, of the famous munitions family that helped knock off millions of Jews,” wrote Taylor. “When it came up for auction in the late 1960s, I thought how perfect it would be if a nice Jewish girl like me were to own it.

In truth, though, there’s nothing funny about the Krupp. When I look into it, the deep Asscher cuts — which are so complete and ravishing — are like steps that lead into eternity and beyond. With its sparks of red and white and blue and purple, and on and on, really, it sort of hums with its own beatific life.” I think this quote is one of the most eloquent jewelry quotes of all time. Elizabeth Taylor understood diamonds and jewelry, their storytelling capacity and what makes them deeply personal.

Elke Berr Gemologist and jewelry designer, Berr & Partners – Elke Berr Créations The wonderful cushion-shaped Burma sapphire weighing 118.88 carats, offered for sale at Christie’s in November 2015, was my coup de coeur of the Geneva auctions. The stone displays exceptional clarity and brilliance, combined with a homogeneous and richly saturated Royal Blue color.

It sold for $4.1 million, and the price per carat was reasonable ($35,057) for such depth of color and fine proportions, both rarely found in natural Burmese sapphires of this size. I was lucky enough to hold it in my hands and examine it from every angle, but I would have loved to own such a beautiful stone.

IMAGES: Crevoshay; Christie’s Images Limited 2017

A girl can dream

diamonds.net

9/28/2017 8:07:18 PM