VOL. 44 NO.4 APRIL 2021
Lab-created diamonds are putting down roots in consumer circles. How are retailers responding to the shift?
INT E RV I E W
RE TA IL
TR EN DS
G EM STO NE
A LOOK AT SUSTAINABILITY GOALS WITH THE RESPONSIBLE JEWELLERY COUNCIL’S DIRECTOR
MEET THE FOUNDER OF THE CLEAR CUT, AN ONLINE-ONLY ENGAGEMENT RING COMPANY
SALT-AND-PEPPER DIAMONDS OFFER AN UNCONVENTIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO CLASSIC WHITES
WITH THEIR CHARM AND VINTAGE FEEL, ROSE CUTS ARE BACK ON THE DESIGN SCENE
CONTENTS VOL. 44 NO. 4 APRIL 2021
STYLE & DESIGN
8 NEWS What is a diamond?; GIA discloses lab-grown treatments; Alrosa lifts prices; Signet turns a profit.
12 INTERVIEW Iris Van der Veken, executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, talks about how businesses can do better on human rights, environmental practices, transparency and women’s empowerment.
COVER
14 GROWING PAINS The ever-increasing presence of lab-created diamonds means more retailers are learning to have complicated conversations.
26 JEWELRY CONNOISSEUR Grey diamonds fit right in with Pantone’s 2021 colors while offering an unconventional alternative to classic white.
28 STYLE From hearts and half-moons to kites and shields, unusual diamond shapes are shaking things up.
31 BOOK REVIEW Cipullo: Making Jewelry Modern explores the life of the man who created some of the 20th century’s most iconic designs, while [Sur]Naturel looks at Cartier’s natureinspired collection of the same name.
20 PAGE
36 LEGACY A new book reveals the stories behind some of the fabulous gems at the Smithsonian Institution.
39 ESTATE JEWELS New York-based dealer Carrie Imberman discusses sourcing, stocking and selling gemstone jewelry.
40 COLORED GEMSTONE
The 500-year-old rose cut continues to charm modern audiences with its organic feel and its historical connections.
MARKETS & PRICING
RETAIL
43 TRADE REPORT
18 RETAIL PROFILE
Rough prices rise.
Former photographer Belle Brooke Barer showcases artisanal fine jewelry and art at Rock + Feather in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
44 USA 48 INDIA 49 ISRAEL 50 ANTWERP
20 RETAILRAP
51 HONG KONG
Olivia Landau, founder and CEO of The Clear Cut, shares how her custom engagement-ring company has prospered as an onlineonly proposal.
22 RETAIL INSIGHT After the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020 stymied wedding plans, will nuptials see a revival this year? 2 APRIL 2021
34 DESIGNER Nonagenarian artist Mimi Lipton has turned uncut stones and collected objects from her travels into one-of-akind pieces.
DIAMONDS.NET
52 DIAMOND DATA 57 PRICE LIST 69 RAPNET PRICE LIST
34 PAGE
78 DIRECTORY 82 CALENDAR 84 THE FINAL CUT
IMAGES: ATELIER STURGESS; THE CLEAR CUT. ON THE COVER: CGI ILLUSTRATION BY PETER CROWTHER C/O DEBUTART
IN-DEPTH
N OTE FROM TH E P U B L I SHE R A S PA R K L I N G L E G A C Y
John Costello PUBLISHER
IMAGE: BEN KELMER
J O H N .COST E L LO @ D IA M ON DS.NET
T
hey say a week is a long time in politics. In the diamond and jewelry business, it is not even the blink of an eye. After working in this trade for five years, I feel I have barely scratched the surface. One thing I have learned, however, is that this business is powered by the passion of the people who work in it. Traveling from Tel Aviv to New York, Hong Kong, Belgium and beyond, I was lucky to meet many of the wonderful personalities who make this trade unique. Now, as the sector reimagines itself in the aftermath of the pandemic, it is time for me to face a new challenge. I will be leaving Rapaport to work with a hi-tech consultancy firm, but I will keep with me the values I have learned over the last several years. Even though my time in this trade has been brief by the standards of those whose families have spent lifetimes working with gems and jewelry, I leave you with something special and noteworthy. The Rapaport editorial team is second to none in our sector. I have built and nurtured this team to act as a mirror to the industry, to work to the highest standards, and above all, to value the truth. Sonia Esther Soltani, Avi Krawitz, Joshua Freedman and Leah Meirovich (along with the guiding eye of copy editor Rachel Beitsch-Feldman and the design flair of David Polak) are a treasure this industry should cherish. Their passion, hard work and dedication are remarkable. That said, they stand on the shoulders of giants; they could not function without the support of the operations team: Bradley Rubin, David Ehrlich and Zoia Kolton. As the saying goes, the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. We are lucky that there are enough good souls in our trade to fight the good fight. I have met with many of them over the years, and the memories of our conversations will keep my heart warm for years to come. Keep safe and well, and I hope our paths will cross again someday.
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INTERVIEW
SUSTAINABLE CHANGE Iris Van der Veken, executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, talks about how businesses can do better on human rights, environmental practices, transparency and women’s empowerment. B Y S O N I A E S T H E R S O L TA N I
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ver the last 15 years, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has been setting the tone for ethical business practices. It has grown from its original 14 members to 1,300, 60% of which are small enterprises. Spanning over 70 countries, it has established a global community of leaders in the responsible-business field, and in December 2020, it announced that it was working on a 10-year plan — the “Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond” — to achieve the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). “Consumers are seeking brands...that go beyond simply meeting legislative requirements and ensure they bring their products to the market in a responsible way — and also generate a long-term positive impact as they do that,” says RJC executive director Iris Van der Veken. “Consumers appreciate the brands that take care of their supply chain, their employees, the environment, and also the communities around them.” Here, she outlines ways that companies committed to sustainability can improve their policies.
How can smaller-scale members implement key SDGs in their everyday practices? The RJC can support this process. We frequently host webinars and training sessions for members, to educate and guide them on their journey of integrating responsible business practices and the SDGs right at the 12 APRIL 2021
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core of their business strategy, no matter their size. Our 2030 roadmap provides sustainable and responsible pathways for our members to contribute to long-term impacts and the SDGs. Ultimately, the SDGs are a framework, a guidance. Each company needs to see the SDGs through the lens of its own business and decide which SDGs are most relevant to them. For example, there are actions available to all companies around gender empowerment — SDG number five. Likewise, looking after your employees relates to SDG number eight — sustainable work. SDG 12 is about responsible consumption relating to supply chains, how materials are sourced and produced. Again, smaller companies can have an impact on their suppliers. These are all practical initiatives available to any organization, and if we all take that approach, that is how the 2030 agenda will be won. Sustainability begins with decent practices in your own operations — looking at labor practices, product integrity and accurate disclosure. The more a business understands its supply chain, the more it can ensure that its products are produced responsibly and in a way that respects the rights of workers, communities and the environment. It is all about your company having a positive impact on the livelihoods of people and communities.
milestone to achieving all SDGs; it is considered a multiplier. We should not forget in our industry that women drive 90% of jewelry demand globally. The reality is that we are not doing enough. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report, it will take 257 years to close the economic gender gap. Historically, women are especially vulnerable during crises, and Covid-19 is no different. Already, domestic violence and child marriage are on the rise. With schools and childcare services closed, women and girls are taking on most household and caregiving responsibilities.
For a small to mid-size company, how can a sustainable overhaul improve business? Simply by looking seriously at your supply chain, at how you understand it and how you can impact it. Also by understanding the immediate impacts of your own business — and where you take actions like reducing energy use, [using] recycled packaging and the like. There are different responsibilities that must be demanded, governed, and complied with by traders, suppliers, designers, manufacturers, logistics providers, buyers, retailers, investors, employees, and ultimately the consumer, who [chooses] from which company to buy. In order for a business to be truly sustainable, there are some values that
are, or should be, entirely non-negotiable. These include a commitment to human rights, fair and environmentally friendly sourcing practices, transparency across the various components, and a set of strong leadership business values. The need for factoring in the true cost of doing business is now paramount; in other words, we can no longer ignore the cost to the planet. Research shows that companies that integrate environmental, social and corporate governance into their business practices become more resilient.
What do you see as the biggest challenge to improving the supply chain as a whole? From our industry’s perspective, ASM needs our urgent attention. The ASM sector can have many positive impacts: rural employment opportunities, income for women who work as miners or in the surrounding mining communities, as well as mining being an economic activity that supports millions of families. Indeed, approximately 85% of colored gemstones come from ASM, which has a complex, fragmented supply chain. It is very encouraging to see that a growing number of players are adopting and promoting responsible practices. We should keep in mind that this is a stepby-step approach based on continuous improvement, and we are confident that positive changes are on the way. ◼
One of the key campaigns, Generation Equality, is dedicated to women in the industry. How does it fit into the overall sustainability agenda? The empowerment of women is at the very heart of the whole sustainability agenda. It is abhorrent that women are still marginalized and oppressed in so many countries and regions. There are literally millions of women in the jewelry industry, in all sectors — mining, cutting and polishing, manufacturing and retail. So our industry has a particular responsibility to take real action to uplift those women where it can. The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector is especially relevant here. Proper, meaningful due diligence is the best tool to reveal the issues. In 2020, the RJC advanced its agenda on SDG five and gender equality, a topic which is very close to my heart. Gender equality is presented as a necessary DIAMONDS.NET
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g n i r e h t a We kdown c o l wed ns ancellatio c d n a s t men ostpone revival in 2021? p t n e v e see a ave of After a w 20, will nuptials ICH in 20 E I R OV H BY LEA
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ast year turned everything on its head, and the wedding market was no exception. The changes that took place were both abrupt and uncertain enough to give most in the industry whiplash. Those outside the trade suffered as well, with nearly half of couples who had planned to marry last year deferring their celebrations, according to a survey by wedding-resource website The Knot. The resulting chaos has left many unanswered questions: Will weddings, postponed or otherwise, take place in 2021? Will the wave of engagements that resulted from the pandemic continue this 22 APRIL 2021
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year? And most importantly, what does all of this mean for the diamond and jewelry industry? Boom or bust? Whether 2021 is the Year of the Wedding has yet to be determined, according to experts. While all believe the torrent is inevitable, there are mixed opinions on when that deluge will come. Among those who postponed, just over half plan to hold their nuptials before June, while 43% are aiming for the second half of the year, The Knot found. On the whole, 2021 is expected to be one of the busiest years for weddings in decades, says Shelley Brown, the site’s fashion and beauty editor. “I think the market will surge. I do know that obviously so many
weddings have been postponed, and I think this year will be a boom year for weddings. People are even planning to have their weddings on weekdays because venues are so booked.” Echoing that sentiment is Sophia Kravchenko, senior manager at consultancy firm Bain & Company, who believes there will be a “revival” in marriage ceremonies this year. “Based on what we’ve heard from the weddingplanning companies we’ve spoken to, we are seeing a huge spike in terms of weddings, starting from the second to third quarters of 2021.” However, for that to happen, she adds, the vaccine rollout needs to be complete and the epidemiological situation has to stabilize. California-based wedding planner Jillian Bobinski also expects weddings to go ahead this year. “People want to
move forward. They want to get married, have children, buy a house, move on with their life,” says the owner of Jillian Nicole Events. “They don’t want to keep putting their life on hold just because they’re waiting to get married. When California lifted their restrictions, my inbox blew up.” While Bobinski has weddings on her books beginning in June, she says many clients will likely make them smaller to avoid losing money in case of cancellation. “I feel like [recently] I have been as much a therapist as a planner,” she comments. “Clients were worried about the possibility of another strain [of the virus] or a further lockdown. While I highly doubt that will happen, when people are putting money out, it’s very different. I
than the average, as Covid-19 is still going to have an impact this year,” she says. “The boom is going to be next year.” The Wedding Report has revised its stance on the big revival as well. In December, the site predicted that 2021 would see some 2.8 million weddings, compared to an average of about 2.1 million in 2019 and 2018. Approximately 1.2 million to 1.4 million weddings took place in 2020. “As for 2021, we thought there would be a surge, but it’s clear now that this will not happen until 2022 or 2023,” says site founder Shane McMurray. “Most of 2021 will be down until we can get widespread distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine or we get the virus under control. [This year]
IMAGES: STOCKSY; MARCELA PLOSKER PHOTOGRAPHY/THE KNOT
“People want to move forward. They want to get married, have children, buy a house, move on with their life”
will look remarkably similar to 2020. We believe that the number of weddings will come in between 1.3 million and 1.5 million for 2021.” Facing the future together The shock of the pandemic and the tenuous health situation led to a huge rash of proposals in 2020 as more people sought commitment. Many of those who viewed marriage as merely a distant possibility changed their tune following long periods of lockdown together with their significant others and a feeling that the future was uncertain. But was the spike a one-hit wonder or an ongoing trend? “Everything will have ebbs and flows, but will 2021 have as huge a growth [in engagements] as 2020? Probably not, because it’s an initial reaction,” says jewelry consultant Jackie LeBental-Jones, owner of Barri Luxury Consulting. “But ▶
had a lot of couples [last year] that didn’t get their money back. If they had to move their date, they had to pay for that, too.” For that reason, Bobinski feels that couples getting engaged this year will wait until next year to get married, as they believe the situation will be clearer then. The uncertainty has led some others in the bridal industry to change their views on when the marriage boom will happen. “We got to the end of 2020 thinking, ‘2021 is going to be the year we can bring the wedding back,’ but that’s not proven to necessarily be the case,” says wedding planner Shelby Tuck-Horton, director of education for the Association of Bridal Consultants. While some of her clients are keen to tie the knot soon even if they have to downsize their events, she doesn’t expect a return to normal weddings until at least the third quarter of this year. “Maybe in the fall, we’ll get a taste of what’s going to happen, but I think more traditional weddings will be more likely in 2022,” she predicts. Severine Ferrari, founder and editor in chief of wedding site Engagement 101, also sees 2022 as the target year, especially since spring and summer — the most popular times for weddings — are fast approaching, and the vaccination effort is unlikely to be done by then. “All of us in the bridal industry are expecting the number of weddings in 2021 to be lower DIAMONDS.NET
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will it hold steady, perhaps, at that level? I think it could.” Ferrari disagrees. She believes the repercussions of the crisis will keep couples popping the question. “I think the strong engagement trend is going to continue because of all the things couples can’t do due to Covid-19. Proposals will be even more important now, because that’s the only kind of commitment they can make.” The Knot’s Brown also thinks the trend will continue, but for different reasons. She reports that 63% of people who wanted to propose in 2020 had to change their timing. Of those, 61% pushed off their proposals until later, with only 27% doing them sooner. “I do think that in 2021, we’ll still be seeing the effects of that, just because the overwhelming majority of the affected proposals were postponed, versus happening earlier,” she says.
63 %
of people who planned to propose in 2020 had to change their timing, according to The Knot
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Ringing in the new year The ring is an important part of a proposal, and store lockdowns stymied attempts to secure that pivotal piece of jewelry even as the unexpected surge of engagements sparked demand. There were also many couples who were already engaged but were grounded before they could pick out their diamond. “The bridal segment is around 37% of the diamond-jewelry market, and this is the segment that was hit the hardest in 2020, compared to non-bridal jewelry,” says Bain’s Kravchenko. “We actually think the revival of the bridal market will stimulate the recovery of the total diamondjewelry market in 2021.” In fact, she believes growth will range from 6% to 10%, compared to approximately 2% to 3% growth in previous years. “You may assume everybody who wanted to buy [engagement rings] in 2020 had a chance to do so and could have bought online, but a lot of people prefer to go into stores to see, touch and feel the jewelry, according to those we surveyed,” she explains. “So we do assume there was a huge postponement of purchases in 2020 that will actually happen in 2021.”
IMAGES: CUSTOM BY NICOLE/THE KNOT; BNM EVENTS/THE KNOT; SHUTTERSTOCK; JILLIAN NICOLE EVENTS
“The strong engagement trend is going to continue because of all the things couples can’t do due to Covid-19. Proposals will be even more important now, because that’s the only kind of commitment they can make” That holds true for those The Knot surveyed as well. A study of more than 5,000 individuals who got engaged between April and November 2020 found that the pandemic had significantly impacted ring shopping and purchasing. “I think that we’ll see a ripple effect from people not being able to get their wedding rings, not being able to engage in the ring-shopping process,” says Brown. “I think there is still a lot of security around the idea of going into a brick-andmortar location, and that was so limited last year. I think there will be an uptick in engagement-ring spending this year.” Part of that spike, Brown posits, is due to the lower budget needs of a pared-down wedding. “I think it’s a logical leap that if people are downsizing their weddings, and are also not spending much on travel and entertainment, their disposable income is higher, and it’s fair to say they would have more resources to put toward a more expensive engagement ring.” It’s also a matter of having more planning time with the world on hold. Couples have upped their spending on both engagement rings and wedding bands “because more money is available,” Ferrari says, but also because “they have more time to pick them.” That trend could end up sustaining the jewelry sector moving forward, she believes. “The [jewelry industry] will keep on growing, because once people are in the habit of spending money on jewelry, it’s unlikely they will turn around and decide they don’t want to spend money on jewelry anymore. The pandemic has refocused people on owning things that have value, and I think it may change the perspective of younger generations like millennials and Gen Z-ers, who were previously spending their money on trips and experiences.” Tuck-Horton agrees, suggesting that the pandemic has changed things not just for a time, but for a lifetime. “[Things are] not going to go back,” she declares. “And people are going to adapt to the changes, until they won’t be changes anymore. They’ll be reality.” ◼ DIAMONDS.NET
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THE FINAL CUT
Their own devices
Rapaport Magazine asks three industry insiders: What is the one piece of technology you absolutely could not live without? B Y L E A H M E I R OV I C H
Rapaport R A MI BA R ON FOUNDER OF THE YOUNG DIAMANTAIRES AND PRESIDENT OF THE DIAMOND DEALERS CLUB OF AUSTRALIA
I mean, seriously, I can’t live without my mobile phone. I can see physical changes on my hands: There are tiny fibers, hard to see, connecting my mobile to my hands. The mobile phone is the first phase of cyborg “omplantation” — yep, I invented a new word. Observe people who leave the table without their phone. See how they suddenly convulse, go white, look pale, whip their bodies around, displaying the instincts of fight or flight as they search furiously for their phone. I have seen this human adaption occurring in children as young as two. Sad but true.
LORRAINE WEST FOUNDER OF LORRAINE WEST JEWELRY
The one piece of technology I couldn’t live without is my MacBook Pro and access to my emails. Both serve as a portal for daily communication between LWJ team members, collaborators, existing and prospective clients, editors and stylists. It’s been vital to separate the business email addresses from the personal ones to keep the two sides of my brain and life in order. Having access to communicating via email has proven to be the greatest source of building business relationships and driving sales for the LWJ brand.
DON ELLIOT T The technology I can’t live without is my SimpliSafe alarm system. My role within claims for Jewelers Mutual Group has taught me the importance of “hardening the target” to minimize risk and exposure to burglary or robbery. Motion sensors, cameras and central station alarm monitoring are part of any jewelry store’s solution for physical protection. I can share countless claim stories where a jeweler’s inventory was spared due to a response to an alarm notification that scared away a potential burglar, or where the store’s video surveillance captured the image of the perpetrator, resulting in [their] apprehension and even the recovery of stolen jewelry. I live on several acres in a remote area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The protection afforded by my alarm system provides peace of mind, especially since we don’t have neighbors nearby to keep watch. I try to keep the uninvited guests to deer, turkey and moose.
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
DIRECTOR OF CLAIMS AT JEWELERS MUTUAL GROUP