Rapaport Magazine - January 2021

VOL. 44 NO.1 JANUARY 2021

BA L A N C I N G AC T Diamond prices have been far from steady this past year, but supply and demand are starting to realign

R EP O RT

I N T E RV IE W

ST YLE

LEGACY

BIPOC JEWELERS CALLED FOR GREATER EQUALITY IN 2020. DID THE INDUSTRY LISTEN?

A LUXURY EXPERT FORECASTS WHAT THE NEXT DECADE HAS IN STORE FOR THE SECTOR

BOLD, COLORFUL DESIGNS ARE BRINGING SOME MUCH-NEEDED JOIE DE VIVRE TO 2021

ESTATE DEALERS REVEAL HOW THEY’VE KEPT BUSINESS FLOURISHING AMID COVID-19

CONTENTS VOL. 44 NO. 1 JANUARY 2021

IN-DEPTH

author Erwan Rambourg offers his forecast.

10 NEWS Rapaport Magazine’s “People of the Year,” and a recap of the Rapaport Diamond Podcast.

14 GEMS OF WISDOM Three industry insiders give their 2021 predictions for the diamond and jewelry trade.

22 AUCTION REPORT

42 JEWELRY CONNOISSEUR

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sales in Geneva, Hong Kong and New York: Analysis and results.

Weather-themed looks are a perfect expression of these tempestuous times and of our hopes for the future.

44 STYLE

RETAIL

38 RETAIL PROFILE

COVER

16 REPORT Six months ago, BIPOC jewelers put out a call for greater representation. How much has changed since then?

20 INTERVIEW What’s in store for the luxury sector over the next decade?

Analyst, marketer and

STYLE & DESIGN

Formerly hailing from the world of finance, Grace Lee brings her business sense and an eye for design to her boutique in Los Angeles, California.

40 RETAILRAP How Instagram’s storytelling and shopping features can help turn pictures of your products into profits.

Whimsical and colorful are the main flavors of the coming year’s fashion trends.

48 DESIGNER Katherine Jetter tapped into her Aussie roots to rekindle the world’s love for black opal; now exotic gems are her specialty.

50 LEGACY How did vintage dealers keep business going amid the setbacks of the pandemic?

Three of them share their experiences.

53 ESTATE JEWELS

54 PAGE

The Jewelers Circle helps vendors connect with buyers online. Managing director Marianne Fisher talks about the platform’s features.

54 COLORED GEMSTONE

The stars of AGTA’s 2020 Spectrum Awards.

44 PAGE

MARKETS & PRICING 58 DIAMOND PRICE STATISTICS ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Diamond prices volatile in year of crisis.

83 TRADE REPORT Industry still in flux.

84 USA 88 INDIA 89 ISRAEL 90 ANTWERP 91 HONG KONG 92 DIAMOND DATA 97 PRICE LIST 109 RAPNET PRICE LIST

118 DIRECTORY 122 CALENDAR 124 THE FINAL QUIZ

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N OTE FROM TH E P U B L I SHE R T R U S T V S . T R A N S PA R E N C Y

S John Costello PUBLISHER

IMAGE: BEN KELMER

J O H N .COST E L LO @ D IA M ON DS.NET

o, why should people trust you? This was the question viewers were most likely asking while watching the documentary series Streets of Dreams with Marcus Lemonis, which featured New York’s Diamond District in its premiere episode. This glitzy production, which aired December 29, 2020, on CNBC, perfectly captured the energy and vibrancy of the world-renowned 47th Street.

It is rare for consumers to get an insider glimpse of the diamond trade. But out of everything in this informative, engaging and revealing documentary, one thing would likely have struck them: The concept of trust is central to the way the diamond industry operates. And this trust is expected, whether you have been dealing with a business for 20 years or 20 seconds. To outsiders, this concept may appear baffling.

Indeed, even serial entrepreneur Lemonis, who owns his own retail chain, was left dumbfounded when confronted with this reality on 47th Street.

“How do I know I’m getting a good deal?” he asks disarmingly when discussing purchasing a piece of jewelry in the documentary.

“You are never going to know,” replies Fishel Beigel, a veteran 47th Street diamond dealer.

Lemonis looks perplexed.

Beigel continues: “There’s no such thing as knowing 100%.

You have to trust me. It’s built on trust. It’s built on who I am. It is built on my reputation. And my culture. You have to trust me.”

Lemonis immediately understands the issue with this: “So far on this block, ‘trust me’ is the only business advice I’ve been given. But to me, it’s just a nice way to hide a total lack of transparency.”

Lemonis is right. If we are to expect our customers to trust us, we must offer transparency in return. Our brand, our values, our business partners, our product sourcing — all must be crystal-clear to everyone who deals with us. Our customers demand it. So the question is: How transparent is your business?

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JANUARY 2021 7

REPORT

T H E S T RU G G L E F O R I N C LU S I O N Six months ago, BIPOC jewelry professionals put out a call for greater equality and diversity in the trade. How much has changed since then?

B Y L E A H M E I R OV I C H

T

he dearth of representation for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the jewelry trade became the focus of a new manifesto and open letter that burst onto the scene half a year ago, following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in May and the resulting Black Lives Matter movement.

The BIPOC community, which had primarily operated in the shadows of the trade, decided it was no longer prepared to stay quiet. This pivotal moment was the impetus to make BIPOC voices heard. They wanted equal representation in the community, from scholarships and grants, to mentorship, connections, support and grassroots educational efforts. They also wanted to stop being seen as “Black jewelers” or “jewelers of color,” and to be thought of simply as “jewelers.”

The response was overwhelming. Businesses throughout the US and all over the globe stood up and took notice. They pledged to support BIPOC efforts and to promote the inclusion of those members in all aspects of the jewelry industry. But six months on, has there been any change?

Empty promises Kassandra Lauren Gordon is a UK-based fine-jewelry designer who operates her own brand of collections and bespoke pieces.

In June, she wrote an open letter to the jewelry industry at large, detailing the challenges she and other Black jewelers faced on a regular basis, and asking for change.

However, what started out as hope and expectation on her part soon turned to disillusionment and disappointment.

“There was a heightened response around June, but after that, things tailed off,” she says. “People promised to donate, they promised to give supplies. They didn’t do that. A lot of organizations made empty promises and have taken a wait-andsee approach.”

Gordon notes that many businesses stepped up early on, including famous jewelry bloggers and influencers as well as suppliers. But as the initial momentum of Black Lives Matter abated, so did their eagerness to help. “[People] contacted me when the movement was created, and made promises,” she relates, “but when it died down, they all kind of moved away, they pretended like it never happened.”

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JULES KIM

hired Latina actress Ana de Armas as the star of its first celebrity campaign, and Black actress Zendaya became the face of fashion house Valentino.

Signet Jewelers — which owns the Jared, Kay, Zales and James Allen banners, among others — chose to take a public stand against racial discrimination.

“We’ve been actively showing our support for fighting hatred and racial injustice,” says Jared chief marketing officer Bill Brace.

One of the company’s brands put out charms this holiday season in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, underscoring Signet’s dedication to diversity and inclusion, he adds.

While most businesses ignored her, Gordon says, one that stood by its promise was The Goldsmiths’ Company, which signed on to act as an administrator of a hardship fund she started. Together, they created a survey of Black jewelers in the UK, in which 51% of the 94 respondents admitted to having experienced racism in their careers. Notably, three-quarters of those never reported it, worrying about the consequences they would face or whether they would even be believed, the survey found.

“I don’t think the industry cares, to be honest,” Gordon laments. “What’s the point of trying to be part of the industry when you get backlash and racism for wanting equality?”

Striking the match Those moves are just the first steps on a long road, according to Jules Kim. The creator of the Bijules jewelry collection, Kim also formed the Bijules incubator to provide mentorship and aid to emerging BIPOC jewelry designers.

“I think there is a lot of discomfort that needs to happen in order for the industry to acknowledge the need for a shift,” she comments. “And I know that there is a lot of acknowledgement going on right now, and it’s just the very beginning of how change can be implemented.”

Kim accepts that many people who stood up at the beginning of the movement have since sat down again, but what she doesn’t accept is failure. The only way to make change occur, she believes, is to keep pressing — and keep causing discomfort — until people have no choice but to respond.

“Instead of looking at this tendency to tokenize the moment, we need to look at it as the spark,” she insists. “We have to keep striking the match in order for the flame to actually be born.”

The complacency comes from a lack of accountability in the industry and throughout the world in general, asserts Kim. “There’s no system in place where we audit the responsibility of those who came to the forefront and volunteered themselves. There’s no way for us to hold them to their word or to really enforce their commitments.”

But that doesn’t mean rolling over and accepting defeat. “There is definitely a positive change coming,” declares Kim, “and we are not going to go away.”

Gaining attention in the US While progress toward diversity may have stalled in the UK jewelry industry, the wheels of change are still in motion on the other side of the pond.

A number of large US companies, including Macy’s and Rent the Runway, have made a pledge to commit 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands, and in October, the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion coalition was created to advance racial equality. Many businesses began featuring more Black models and actresses in campaigns. The Natural Diamond Council (NDC)

An outpouring of support Even while some in the industry have sparked and burned out, others are fanning the flames necessary to turn the jewelry industry into a melting pot.

“After the publishing of the [manifesto], there was a huge outpouring of people wanting to connect, and we ended up having to field a lot of the calls and cut a lot of them short because it seemed like there was a sense of urgency to showcase support,” says Michelle Orman, president of Last Word Communications, who has offered her PR services to the BIPOC community. “There

KASSANDRA LAUREN GORDON

IMAGE: EMMANUELLE TRICOIRE

“[People] contacted me when the movement was created, and made promises, but when it died down, they all kind of moved away, they pretended like it never happened”

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▶

JANUARY 2021 17

REPORT

TURNING POINTS:

A TIMELINE MAY 2020 • George Floyd, a Black man, is killed in police custody in Minnesota.

JULY 2020 • New York-based designer Angely Martinez announces plans to establish a trade body to help jewelers from the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities progress in the industry. The new group pens an open letter, signed by 27 designers, calling for measures to improve equality in the jewelry sector. These include offering paid apprenticeships, scholarships and grants, increasing retail shelf space for BIPOC-owned businesses, and hiring more BIPOC employees.

• Bijules owner Jules Kim — Martinez’s mentor and one of the letter’s signatories — offers help to emerging BIPOC designers via her Bijules Incubator program.

• Gordon establishes a hardship fund to help Black jewelers in the UK, collecting GBP 20,000 through a GoFundMe page. The Goldsmiths’ Company pledges GBP 6,000 to the Kassandra Lauren Gordon Fund.

JUNE 2020 • Groups begin protesting the death throughout the US, while looters use the diversion to rob jewelry stores across the country.

• Kassandra Lauren Gordon, a UK jewelry designer, pens an open letter to the trade highlighting the instances of racism she has encountered while working in the industry, as well as the lack of available opportunities for Black jewelers.

AUGUST 2020 • Gordon and The Goldsmiths’ Company launch a survey for Black jewelers in the UK, which finds that 51% of respondents have experienced racism in the jewelry industry.

NOVEMBER 2020 • A group of industry members form the Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) to help Black professionals gain access to the resources and opportunities they need to succeed in the trade.

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were some that just wanted to wave a flag and say, ‘Look what I did,’ but there were also many people who wanted to make a sincere effort to create foundational changes.”

Kim has also noticed changes in how the jewelry industry is responding not just to designers, but to BIPOC consumers as well, crafting more impactful campaigns and messaging. The move is highly important, she believes, given the buying power of the Black and Latino communities.

“That’s the first step,” she says. “It’s a tap on the shoulder to say, ‘Hey, we’re here.’ The next step is to fill the boardrooms, [and] hire Black creatives and BIPOC talent in decision-making roles.”

Fostering talent Of course, solving the problem is more complex than just offering support, or even interspersing national campaigns with Black models and hiring Black executives.

“It’s not necessarily that there’s a lack of incentive to support Black jewelers, it’s more that it’s hard to know about them,” says Valerie Madison, owner of Valerie Madison Fine Jewelry in Seattle, Washington. “And the reason it’s hard to know about them is because it’s not promoted, it’s not shared. It’s not an equal opportunity for Black jewelers and for their work to be shown on the same level as it is for other jewelers.”

Growing up in a Black family that was close to the poverty line, Madison had no notion that a jewelry career was even a possibility.

It was only her creative nature and love of crafts that led her to begin making beaded bracelets, researching jewelry techniques, and chasing the dream of becoming a jewelry designer.

That challenge is one many in the BIPOC community face, Madison asserts. Lack of awareness of the luxury world, along with the absence of grassroots efforts to educate youth and provide mentorship and scholarships, is a major barrier to entry, especially in a business built almost solely on connections.

What the numbers say Madison’s predicament, like that of many other BIPOC jewelers, is one backed up by data. While she’s largely self-taught when it comes to jewelry-making — as is Kim — she has taken a few classes at fine-arts centers in Seattle on metalworking and stone-setting.

Of the four courses she attended, she was one of only two Black people out of 80 or so participants.

“As soon as we enter a room, we know exactly how many other people like us are in that room,” she says. “It’s just instinct to kind of pick up on that because of how weighted on one side the room can feel.”

The class demographics for the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) gemologist courses tell a similar story. Last year, students who identified as white accounted for 51% of the on-campus class in Carlsbad, California, while Hispanic and Latino students made up 6%, and Black or African American students were a meager 1.2%. Asian students attended in higher numbers, but were still a minority at 23%. And while many believe these figures are indicative of the state’s demographics in general, the institute’s New York campus didn’t fare much better. Classes taking place from 2019 to 2020 were 30% white, 27% Asian, 8% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.4% Black or African American.

ADVANCING BLACK JEWELERS

ANNIE DORESCA, PRESIDENT Chief financial officer, Jewelers of America (JA)

The recently formed Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) aims to help Black jewelry professionals advance in the industry, making it the first international nonprofit membership organization to do so, according to its communications chair, Nellie Barnett. The group’s initiatives include creating a consumer-facing directory of Black-owned design companies, and helping designers access the funding and resources they need to develop relationships with distributors, manufacturers, miners, gem dealers and other trade members. The coalition also plans to offer scholarships and internships, and to develop programming that supports diversity in jewelry businesses’ hiring processes.

These are BIJC’s cofounders and board members.

VALERIE MADISON Admittedly, these numbers may not give the full picture. “It is a frustrating reality that we do not have more information about our graduates,” says Duncan Pay, the GIA’s senior vice president of education and its chief academic officer. “Given the relatively small sample size for the GIA’s on-campus students, the relatively large number of students from outside the US and the significant numbers who do not identify an ethnicity, the statistics — such as they are — are...not indicative of our overall student population, which includes thousands of distance learners.”

Nonetheless, he recognizes and supports the need for change.

“There is growing awareness of diversity and inclusion issues in the jewelry industry,” he says, and the GIA is “expanding how we recruit and interact with our students,” including looking outside the trade. “We are also moving toward a more targeted and intentional use of our scholarship funds, as both a recruitment tool and as a way to foster inclusion and diversity.”

Gradual progress Despite the setbacks, the stand-downs and the unkept promises, change has begun, if slowly.

“I believe that in general, the jewelry industry is at least in a state of acknowledgement, and those who have the power to do something will,” says Kim. “One theme that is always present, and I believe will always be present, is that it takes time for change.

This industry is a legacy industry, and it’s been this way for so long [that] in order for us to pivot, there is going to be a lot of work and a lot of time that passes before any real amount of change can be felt. And that’s okay. That’s one of the important elements of trying to precipitate a movement and not just focus on a moment. It may not happen now, but it will happen.” ◼

ELYSSA JENKINS, VICE PRESIDENT Director of membership and digital content, Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC)

MALYIA MCNAUGHTON, TREASURER Owner, Made by Malyia

LISA GARRIS, SECRETARY Human resources director, lab and research, North America, at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA)

NELLIE BARNETT, COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR Manager of media and public relations, GIA

ADRIANNE SANOGO, EDUCATION CHAIR Graduate gemologist

LISETTE SCOTT, EVENTS CHAIR Owner, Jam + Rico

MIYA OWENS, CORPORATE OUTREACH CHAIR Associate counsel and director of mediation, JVC

REGINALD JOHNSON, NOMINATIONS CHAIR Chief diversity officer and senior vice president for North America field human resources, Signet Jewelers

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JANUARY 2021 19

THE FINAL QUIZ

TRIALS AND TRIVIA With 2020 behind us, find out how well you know the year’s diamond news.

B Y J O S H UA F R E E D M A N 7. JU L Y 1. J A NUAR Y

3. MARCH

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) placed a billboard ad in Times Square promoting which of its products?

A. Diamond E-Report.

B. Diamond Focus Report.

C. Diamond Origin Report.

D. Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report.

On March 3, JCK Las Vegas organizers announced the 2020 show would go ahead as planned. How long did it take for them to reverse this decision?

A. Three days.

B. Five days.

C. One week.

D. Two weeks.

8. A U G U S T

This 13.15-carat alldiamond ring was the first of its type to reach the GIA for evaluation. What gave it its fancy-dark-grey color, according to lab researchers?

A. Hydrogen impurities.

B. Graphite needles trapped during its formation.

C. Someone painted it that color.

D. They don’t know.

5. M A Y

How is Swarovski’s new CEO, Robert Buchbauer, related to the crystal brand’s founder?

A. Grandson.

B. Great-grandson.

C. Great-great-grandson.

D. Great-nephew.

E. Son-in-law.

Trade organizations in which country called on members to pause rough-diamond imports for a month to prevent an oversupply?

A. Belgium.

B. China.

C. India.

D. US.

6. JUNE

The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicted sales growth for 2020, as long as the coronavirus didn’t become a global pandemic. Complete this February 26 quote by its CEO, Matthew Shay: “With gains in household income and wealth, lower interest rates and strong consumer confidence, we expect…

A. ...a great year for online retail.”

B. ...another healthy year ahead.”

C. ...an overall good year, despite certain causes for concern.”

D. ...the positives to outweigh the many negatives.”

Christie’s achieved the highest online-only auction price ever for a piece of jewelry when it sold this emerald-cut, 28.86-carat diamond ring. How much did it fetch?

A. $2.1 million.

B. $6.1 million.

C. $8.1 million.

D. $10.1 million.

10. OC TOBER 9. S E PT E M B E R

Which actress did the Natural Diamond Council choose as the new face of diamonds?

A. Ana de Armas.

B. Gal Gadot.

C. Lupita Nyong’o.

D. Zendaya.

How much did LVMH agree to pay per share for Tiffany & Co. after renegotiating the takeover price?

A. $130.50.

B. $131.50.

C. $132.50.

D. $133.50.

11. N O V E M B E R

Rio Tinto unearthed its final diamonds at Argyle on November 3. When did mining operations begin?

A. 1974.

B. 1977.

C. 1980.

D. 1983.

Which Signet Jewelers brand launched an online marketplace to showcase emerging designers?

A. James Allen.

B. Jared.

C. Kay Jewelers.

D. Zales.

Answers: 1.C; 2.B; 3.D; 4.C; 5.C; 6.A; 7.A; 8.B; 9.A; 10.B; 11.D; 12.D

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12 . DE CE M BER

IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK; CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD.; JIANXIN (JAE) LIAO/GIA

4. APRIL

2. F EB R UA R Y

124 JANUARY 2021

What was the name of the carbon-neutrality program to which nine sightholders signed up?

A. Sustainably Brilliant.

B. Ideal Credentials.

C. Neutral Ground.

D. Pure Clarity.