Rapaport Magazine - March 2018

Vol. 41 No.3 March 2018

LUXURY IN STRIDE The well-heeled market is stepping up its game

Showofreports King Bling Hottest trends from Meet celebrity VicenzaOro in Italy to jewelry designer Stephen Webster Centurion in Arizona

RetailRap Auctions

How do you use social Strong Geneva sales to promote formedia Sotheby’s and Christie’s your store?

RetailStyle Trends

No longer second-best: Challenges and black, brown and opportunities of grey customization diamonds

Designer Style

founder AnimalBavna jewelry is all bold and theSunny rage Jain this on season.

Go adventurous wild in your store women

TradeLegacy Report

Estateofjewels are in The impact new mine topKué formonatthe the Gahcho rough market Miami Antique Show

EDITOR’S LETTER

IMAGES: Ben Kelmer; Lauren Adriana, photographed by Richard Valencia

Marvels of craftsmanship

Editor’s Pick “For millennia, emeralds have been celebrated by cultures as disparate as ancient Egypt and Napoleonic France for their luster, scarcity, and association with the divine,” writes Aja Raden in her brilliantly researched and narrated book Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World. As someone who is smitten with these green gems, I enjoyed learning more about the earth-shattering circumstances of their creation, and their role as the Roman Empire’s currency.

That’s why this wonderful Tube ring with emeralds and diamonds by designer Lauren Adriana shoots right to the top of the lust list. Adriana’s creations will be on display this month at Phillips in New York and London.

There were two TV programs my mother and I never failed to watch when I was growing up: the weekly rabbinical discussion, and the twice-yearly haute couture shows. We followed both with religious assiduity (one quite literally). I remember setting up the VHS recorder to make sure we wouldn’t miss a second of what Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld and Dior’s Gianfranco Ferré unveiled for their respective fashion houses.

It wasn’t simply a love of all things beautiful and colorful that drew me to the shows. It was the accompanying documentaries about the ateliers, the workshops where the “petites mains” worked their skilled magic on precious fabrics, delicate feathers and vibrant gemstones. From that early age, I associated luxury with craftsmanship.

In an increasingly homogenous global world, this is the distinct artistry that consumers are craving and on which they are spending their cash. Luxury is fashionable again, from the more casual styles that Jennifer Heebner analyzes (Page 30) to the opulence of the bespoke watches Joyce Kauf explores (Page 32). When Joyce came back from her interview with retailer Mahnaz Ispahani (Page 38), she told me about the emotion of holding spectacular jewels.

I can imagine that the women wearing Sunny Jain’s Bavna creations (Page 46) feel the same.

There is a lot of talk in the industry that trade shows are dead, a waste of money and time for exhibitors. However, the solid numbers at events like Arizona’s Centurion fair (Page 22) and the Tucson gem shows (Page 52), as well as Italy’s VicenzaOro (Page 24) and the Original Miami Beach Antique Show (Page 49), seem to tell another story. These gatherings are a chance to discover exceptional stones and jewelry, which explains their appeal for dealers seeking novelty and exclusivity.

With a shortened edition of Baselworld coming up later this month, and two other shows — Carat+ in Antwerp, and Gem Genève in the eponymous Swiss city — offering a more intimate luxury experience in May, there will be ample opportunity to appreciate the wonders that the high-end market has to offer.

Sonia Esther Soltani Editor in Chief sonia.soltani@diamonds.net 10

March 2018

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CONTENTS

IN-DEPTH

RETAIL

14 News

38 Retail profile

57 Trade report

Industry: India’s $1.8B jewelry fraud case.

Retail: The Year of the Dog, Titan, Pandora.

Movers & Shakers: Who’s coming, who’s going.

Mining: De Beers braces for 2018 growth.

Trained in geopolitics, Mahnaz Ispahani applies her well-honed research skills to curating her upscale collection of original and artist-made jewelry.

Optimism high, but fear lurks.

22 Show report: Centurion

41 RetailRap

A glance at the top three trends from the exclusive Arizona show.

Does social media help promote your store?

63 Hong Kong

STYLE & DESIGN

64 Israel

Up-and-coming fashions at the gold-jewelry fair in Vicenza, Italy, range from unisex to ‘retro-futurist.’

43 Jewelry Connoisseur

67 India

Canine-themed accessories in honor of the Year of the Dog.

68 Russia

COVER

44 Style

70 Antwerp

Black, brown and grey diamonds once lay on the margins, but are now in vogue among consumers and connoisseurs.

72 Diamond data

24 Show report: VicenzaOro

27 High end rising The tides are turning in the retail sector, and the luxury jewelry and watch market is positioned to ride the wave.

30 Casual effects Retailers can make money even when the trend is slim and stackable. Expert sellers weigh in on how to profit from these slender styles.

32 Face value In the rarefied world of bespoke timepieces, the design isn’t just custom – it’s personal.

34 Her own brand of expertise Successful branding is as much about the label’s story as it is about the design, says Valery Demure, founder of personal shopping experience Objet d’Emotion.

46 Designer

MARKETS & PRICING

59 US wholesale 60 US retail

77 Price List

Sunny Jain, founder of the Bavna jewelry brand, talks about his love of color, nature and Oprah.

89 RapNet Price List

49 Legacy

98 Calendar

The annual Original Miami Beach Antique Show offers a positive outlook for the estate-jewelry market in the coming year.

100 The final cut

52 Colored gemstone Tucson fairs turn out to be fertile ground for sales of lesser-known gems.

36 Reflections From heated rubies to oiled emeralds, how do labs detect enhancements in colored gems?

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March 2018

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COVER/LUXURY

CASUAL EFFECTS Retailers can make money even when the jewelry trend is slim and stackable. Merchants weigh in on how to profit from these slender styles. By Jennifer Heebner Four years ago, Dana Friedman gave her former jewelry store employer a shock with the method she used to sell a pricey diamond rivière necklace: She adorned it with small diamond-studded silver and gold enhancers to show a casual, edgy effect. “‘How can you do that!?’” she exclaims in recollection, mimicking her old boss. Today, the owner of Petite G., a purveyor of fashion-forward fine jewels in Indianapolis, Indiana, responds: “Because you can, and you should; nobody wants to wear formal pieces anymore.”

The athleisure revolution The rise in casual styles like delicate pendant necklaces and multiples of mix-and-match studs is partly attributable to the popularity of athleisure clothing, a blend of athletic wear and casual attire.

Recent reports in Forbes, Business Insider and other publications reinforce the power of this sartorial movement: Athleisure has moved from a trend category to a niche one.

Naturally — and much to the chagrin of fine jewelers who love big, bold jewels — lighter-weight, more diminutive pieces best complement yoga pants and t-shirts. And though many high-end retailers bristle at the thought of a lower-ticket sale,

the fact is that merchants do profit from sales of daintier, daily-wear treasures.

More bang for their buck Expert purveyors of casual inventory say the slimmer styles already have better margins (especially in contrast to engagement rings) and are an easier sell, particularly to female self-purchasers.

This group prefers items that are versatile, can be worn daily, and don’t need to be saved for a special occasion; these shoppers don’t want their dollars to collect dust.

“Women today want to know they can wear something a lot in different situations,” notes Melissa Quick of Steve Quick Jewelers in Chicago.

“As soon as you have bigger diamonds involved, it’s easier to commoditize or price shop.”

There’s also a mind-set to promote: You are helping customers build collections, not just buy single pieces. Plus, casual jewels are affordable enough to give as gifts.

“The client who spends a couple of thousand dollars on one item will still spend the same [on smaller, stackable pieces], but they’ll get more than one piece,” observes Elizabeth Elliott of Moyer Fine Jewelers in Carmel, Indiana. c

Phillips House. Mini wire Love Always bracelet and wire Affair strap bracelet in 18-karat gold with diamonds; they can be used as stacking bangles. phillipshouse.com

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March 2018

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FIVE TIPS FOR SELLING DAILY-WEAR PIECES To better sell casual jewels, here’s some advice from professionals who make a living from dealing lean looks: Penny Preville.

Necklace in 18-karat gold with diamonds. pennypreville.com

1. Name drop. For Lisa Vinicur of Diane Glynn Jewelry in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, fashion and style icons play a big role in facilitating sales. “I’ll ask, ‘Did you see so-and-so at the awards show?’” she says. She employed this tried-and-true tactic right after this year’s Golden Globes, when actress Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a dramatic pair of stiletto-drop earrings with pearls. Vinicur had a similar look that retailed for under $500, and included them in a blog post and newsletter a day after the award show.

A client on Vinicur’s mailing list ended up buying them.

2. Show a higher price point alongside casual pieces. Vinicur, Dana Friedman of Petite G., and Melissa Quick of Steve Quick Jewelers rely on this strategy to educate, possibly upsell, and teach shoppers to wear high-low combinations together.

“Putting an $8,000 to $10,000 piece next to a $1,500 item can sometimes transition to a bigger sale,” says Quick.

Shoppers may spring for the bigger item once they’ve learned more ways to accessorize with casual pieces. “I show people how to wear metals that they never would have thought to wear with dressier items,” says Friedman.

3. Wear casual jewels. Nearly all experts recommend this step for themselves and staffers. “I sell more pieces socially by going out to dinner than any other way,” says Quick.

The same goes for Vinicur: “I’ll say, ‘See, you don’t have to just wear pieces to black-tie events.’”

A similar scenario happened recently when Susan Fotos of Higashi Pearls in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, sold a long rose-gold necklace to a shopper by showing her how she would wear it.

“She told me, ‘I never would have thought to wear this necklace wrapped around multiple times,’” recalls Fotos.

4. Layer styles. Channel your inner stylist to speak confidently about layering, since slimmer pieces inherently lend themselves to the practice. Wear multiples and have your staff do so as well.

While at a charity event in September 2017, Elliott met a couple who’d been loyal to a brand with chunky silver and 18-karat-goldkissed styles for so long, the wife found herself looking to a line with lots of layerables in 18-karat gold and diamonds as a change of pace. Her husband noticed, and with some styling assistance from Elliott, he chose five complementary pieces as a gift.

Todd Reed. Stacking bridal rings in 18-karat gold with rustic diamonds. toddreed.com

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5. Put jewelry on customers. This is Ken Gould’s best piece of advice. “‘Why don’t you try that on?’ is almost 100% our go-to line,” says the manager of The Jewelry Bar in Palm Desert, California. Once that happens, he explains, the client is engaged in a whole new way and is “taking a huge step toward a purchase.”

March 2018

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COVER/LUXURY

FACE VALUE

In the rarefied world of bespoke timepieces, the design isn’t just custom – it’s personal. By Joyce Kauf “The genius of the highest level of bespoke is that it totally reflects your personality. It is the ultimate in luxury,” says Thierry Chaunu, president and managing partner at boutique marketing agency BeauGeste.

Chaunu, whose New York-based company works with luxury brands in North America, is referring specifically to bespoke watchmaking; one of his clients is Swiss watch company Kerbedanz, where, he says, “we design for MIPs — most important personalities — rather than VIPs — very important people.”

Stressing the distinction between custom design and bespoke, Chaunu explains that the former will incorporate a person’s tastes and passions, but with a tweak in the design, a watch customized for one person becomes that of another.

“Not only are bespoke watches exceptionally designed, you are the only person to understand it,” he says. “Another person can wear the watch, but the meaning is lost. Bespoke is a state of mind.”

Who’s ordering?

One criterion in particular sets this market apart: affluence. The customer profile is the same in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

“People who order bespoke watches already have everything — they own watches from the big houses which have been made by skilled artisans, but the craftsmanship, while still high, is semi-industrial,” points out Chaunu, whose career has spanned executive positions at prestige watch companies.

Another characteristic of the bespoke watch market is that it’s predominantly male.

“Most of the executives in Switzerland are men who think that these watches are only for men, because they love mechanical precision instruments or collect antique cars. Then they offhandedly design something for women,” says Chaunu, who finds these preconceived ideas condescending.

“When it comes to the bespoke market, the watch becomes a bracelet that tells time,” he continues.

He recognizes that women want the style and the jewels, and that often the movement comes second.

However, it may depend on how one asks the question.

“In my experience, when you start having the conversation, you find out that women are extremely 32

March 2018

interested in the mechanical precision,” he says. The women’s market represents an untapped opportunity for manufacturers, according to Chaunu. Still, he acknowledges that tourbillons, because of their size, make it more complicated to design a watch for women with a sophisticated movement, especially for Asian women, who tend to have smaller wrists.

An essential component of bespoke watches, the tourbillon — which watchmaker AbrahamLouis Brequet designed and patented around the turn of the 19th century — rotates the balance wheel to counter the effect of gravity. Kerbedanz has introduced the Maximus, the largest known tourbillon for a wristwatch.

Finding the right match Sales of bespoke watches are mostly by word of mouth. However, Chaunu occasionally presents at trunk shows that prestige jewelers arrange for their top clients.

“It is an opportunity to identify the right candidate for bespoke,” he says, recalling that one attendee shared that he had images of owls displayed on his yacht and on the gates flanking his mansion. Chaunu contacted a designer, and after some rough drafts, the client joined the rarefied ranks of bespoke watch owners with his owl-themed timepiece.

While bespoke watchmakers focus almost entirely on producing unique pieces, economic imperatives often necessitate the creation of limitededition collections. Adhering to the same high manufacturing standards, these less personalized watches retail for six figures and attract a wider, though still select, audience.

‘True luxury, not mass luxury’ In a world dominated by computers, Chaunu remains optimistic that the bespoke watch market will continue to grow. He compares it to the market for fine art, which extols originality. And he feels the luxury market has come full circle.

“Now we are back at the beginning, when the thensmall shops like Louis Vuitton and Hermès would make one bag for one customer, just as with bespoke watches,” he says. “People still appreciate true luxury instead of mass luxury.” ▪ diamonds.net

WATCH AND LEARN: KERBEDANZ

1. Esperanza (Hope) 14-karat yellow gold, 41-millimeter case with diamonds and emeralds.

Automatic mechanical KRB-03 caliber. Strap is made of 18-karat gold and Alligator mississippiensis.

2. Tree of Life 18-karat yellow gold, 41-millimeter case decorated with emeralds.

Dial is decorated with diamonds.

Automatic mechanical KRB-03 caliber. Strap is 18-karat gold and Alligator mississippiensis.

3. & 4. 3 Horses 18-karat white/rose gold, 46-millimeter case. Mechanical tourbillon, KRB-02 caliber. Strap is 18-karat gold and Alligator mississippiensis.

5. Phoenix Yellow gold, 45-millimeter case with dial in yellow gold and blue rhodium. Manual-winding tourbillon and brown, genuine alligator strap.

diamonds.net

Kerbedanz — meaning leader and precursor in old Armeno-Celtic — was established in 2011 with the goal of taking luxury to a new level in bespoke watches. In an atelier in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, artisanal watchmakers, designers and a symbolist craft timepieces that exquisitely reflect the company’s motto, “Giving sense to beauty.”

The highly personal process begins with a conversation. The client meets with the designer and the symbolist, and the latter asks the date, time and place of the client’s birth. With that information, the symbolist identifies images and icons relating to that date across Greek and Roman mythology, as well as Chinese and Aztec astrology. Using these symbols, as well as specific client preferences, the watchmaker creates a one-ofa-kind timepiece, using carving and sculptural techniques such as low and high relief or three-dimensional ronde bosse enameling.

The names of the pieces tell a distinctive story — from Horses to Royal Lion, and from Saint Petersburg Palace Square to Teotihuacan City of Gods. The client also receives a “Book of Birth,” which details the story behind the watch, along with illustrations of each legend and symbol the design incorporates.

Always in hand-engraved 18-karat gold, the tourbillon watch is often set with diamonds and gemstones from Swiss wholesalers who can provide the exact calibrations; there is no tolerance for error. The watches, which take approximately 12 weeks to produce, sell for $135,000 to $480,000, with the average price point falling between $175,000 and $195,000.

Kerbedanz also produces some extremely limited-edition runs that clients can customize.

Among its women’s collections, The Tree of Life features 540 emeralds, with the option of substituting diamonds and other gemstones.

Kerbedanz recently launched the Tribute collection of 50 watches in honor of the 50 US states, with prices starting at $35,000.

Regardless of the design, each timepiece includes the signature Kerbedanz symbol — a crown set on the right side, approximately at the two o’clock hour mark, symbolizing the point of sunrise during the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere. kerbedanz.com March 2018

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THE FINAL CUT

High standards

Rapaport Magazine asks members of the industry: What’s your definition of luxury?

Hoda Esphahani Principal, Objet Éternel One can say luxury is the state of extreme comfort, wealth, a prestigious lifestyle, acquisition of the most expensive things in the world — having private jets, boats, houses, and the most costly artwork and jewelry.

This was the definition of luxury in the past.

However, the world has changed, and the internet and communications today make all that opulence and way of life accessible to all our eyes. I cannot deny that having wealth does free you from worries, and that is a form of luxury. But the majority of us don’t have that affluence in life. We have to make our lives luxurious. It is a state of mind.

Luxury is being knowledgeable, having great worldly experiences, enlightenment, elegance and style. It is having an abundance of wisdom and an appreciation of life and time, which are the most precious things we have, and it’s up to us to make it luxurious.

Eddie LeVian CEO, Le Vian Luxury is all about the experience that you have when the luxury providers believe you are special and put in the quality, the service, the exclusivity and the rarity to make sure the consumers of luxury feel special.

It’s that simple.

Providers of luxury have to think out of the box in terms of how they deliver luxury, because traditionally, luxury has meant limiting access to it, providing exclusivity in an artificial way, to make sure not everyone can get it. My perception of luxury is that it can be democratized and available to a larger audience. People deserve to be able to enjoy luxury, so it’s less about limiting access than delivering a special experience. To accomplish this, we strive to build the world’s most beautiful and desirable jewelry, using gems and diamonds we believe will one day become extinct, such as the Chocolate Diamonds from the Argyle mine, and making our designs available and affordable to all Americans.

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March 2018

Barry Lustig Vice president, The Gordon Company Luxury cannot be defined by price alone. Luxury is what you gain by using the finestquality materials, premium craftsmanship and extraordinary attention to detail. When you have those characteristics, consumers will recognize the difference. Higher-end products are not exclusive. Instead, they are about showing value. Luxury items are ways to enhance our everyday lives. All watches will keep the time, and any car will get you from place to place.

But when you strive to want more than just functionality — and want to step it up to the highest level — you begin to enter a world of luxury.

Everyone has their own personal definition of what luxury means to them. Today, with more choices at your fingertips, you want to put your trust and dollars with products and even service companies that adhere to those same goals.

Jean Ghika Global director of jewelry, Bonhams The definition of luxury is a bit of an enigma. It can be defined in so many ways, depending on your age, income bracket, gender, and also your outlook on life. One person’s luxury may be an experience, another’s may be a sentiment.

Today, luxury is no longer just about scale and opulence; the story associated with an item or experience matters, too. For example, a number of Bonhams’ clients equate luxury to the very finest craftsmanship, something totally unique and extremely precious.

These trends are clear to see in the jewelry market at auction — whether in the worldrecord price achieved recently at Bonhams for The Hope Spinel, part of the esteemed collection of gemstones belonging to Henry Phillip Hope, or in the gold Schlumberger bracelets belonging to Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall. Both were exceptional quality and had an alluring story, which in turn made them unique. Surely the height of luxury? diamonds.net