Hello and welcome to this week’s fantastic issue of Thank theGembank.com it’s Friday newsletter. From here on in all shopping days are pointing towards the biggest selling time of the year, last year there was a predicted sales rise by 4% which was more than exceeded, especially in the luxury goods sector, and this year predicted sales are to rise once again. So take five minutes to relax, see it as the spooky calm before the crazy shopping storm and let us regale you with the choicest picks of this week’s industry news and happenings.
Enjoy!
What Caught My Eye
I love this holiday, and year on year it gets bigger and bigger, more frivolous and silly than the last. No longer is this holiday just for the kids. Now, no matter your age or gender, indulging in this spook-tacular day in some manner is almost a given. Never before have creepy crawlies and long legged thingies been so stylish and on trend. And with everybody getting in on the action, it is little wonder that the designers and creators of fine jewellery have let their imaginations run wild and produced amazing and frightfully spine chilling pieces? The colours used in these spooky pieces are amazing, from rubies and emeralds to chocolate and black diamonds.
Top Trend – Skulls
Skulls are gaining in popularity once more, especially with the huge surge in popularity in the western hemisphere of ‘Day of the Dead’ style jewellery and costumes. This is a different holiday than Halloween, but it happens to be celebrated on 1 and 2 November, but because of its ties with honouring the deceased it has been seized upon in western popular culture.
Just in case this trend has yet to catch your attention, here is a little bit of background. Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and acknowledged around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. For those in the industry this trend is bound to capture the imagination as its use of colours and flamboyant style has endless possibilities for design.
Pamela Froman – Pamela actually created this in her last year of study a few years ago. This piece is truly exquisite and exciting
Fiona Kruger – Day of the Dead watch
Goldex Fine Jewellery – Day of the Dead full skeleton
Dior Skull pendant
Of course it’s not just skulls; skeletons, spiders and pumpkins will always be favourites this holiday – think gothic and go bold!
My favourites are;
Michelle Ong – stunning pumpkin
Zanetti snake Pendant
1890’s Spider Brooch
What Else caught my eye!
Gasp with delight at these most stunning of watches, created by the master horologer Jacob & Co
The Jacob & Co. Brilliant Skeleton Baguette
These amazingly colourful watches are available in a limited edition of 101 individually numbered watches. There are 269 show stopping baguette gemstones adorning the case of every watch, crown and buckle. The movement is an open-work skeleton which is as captivating as it is brilliant, showing the meticulous skill of the maker. Each one is made with a precious gemstone and has an alligator leather strap. The options are; white diamonds with black strap, rubies with green strap, orange sapphires with brown strap, blue sapphires with white strap, pinks sapphires with green strap, tsavorites with brown strap. www.jacobandco.com/timepieces/brilliant-skeleton-baguette
What Caught My Eye
Hatton Garden jewellery raid: Property ‘recovered’ in cemetery search
In another extra ordinary twist to the Hatton Garden burglary story, some of the stolen goods have already been previously recovered but police seemed to have hit a stumbling block. That was until last week, when Danny Jones, the youngest of the thieves who has pleaded guilty in the Hatton Garden heist, contacted the police. Danny, probably in a bid to curry favour before his trial for the heist this November, told the police that he was willing to show them the location of some of the stolen goods, which were buried at a north London cemetery. Which after a quick search, they uncovered a proportion of the goods stolen.
Jewellery, cash and other items valued at up to £20m were taken in the burglary over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with many millions worth of goods stolen still missing.
Petra in talks with the banks
Petra Diamonds has lost its sparkle after the company reported falling prices and said it was in talks with its bankers about debt covenants.
Following the news, its shares have fallen 6.65p or more than 8% to 73.8p.
“Thanks to mining, me and my family have a good home and food on the table every day”, says Alexander Nina, President of the Cooperative “15 de Agosto” in the Irupana Municipality of La Paz, Bolivia. “My expectations with certification are to improve our mining activities and the place we live. We now have more possibilities to support the community and open a health center.” 15 de Agosto is currently the only Fairmined certified organization in Bolivia.
It reported no revenues in the first quarter, with its first diamond sale of the financial year not until October. The sale yielded $68.9m but amid oversupply of polished stones and a slowdown in Chinese demand, Petra said diamond prices were down 8.8% in dollar terms compared to the previous quarter. The weakening of the rand helped mitigate the effect of lower dollar prices.
Production during the quarter rose 1% to a record 842.796 carats, and the company said it was on track to meet its full year targets.
The company has $306m of debt, up from $171m in June and it said, “Petra has initiated discussions with its bankers to ensure than its senior lender covenants are appropriate for the business and will update shareholders in that regard in the near future.”
Shocking Reports of low grade diamonds altered
Hundreds of diamond consumers in India and have been fleeced by a few diamantaires altering the gemological reports of low grade diamonds, in order to increase their profits.
The world’s reputed Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has invalidated grading reports for 1,042 diamonds submitted in India after an outside party gained unauthorized remote access to its grading information database. Gemological laboratories issue certifications with details of the size, colour, grade, cut and size of diamonds. American Gem Society (AGS) says the highest possible grade is zero and that 10 is the lowest for a diamond. So, a diamond with a colour grade of 3 has less colour than a diamond with a colour grade of 5.
Would such an alteration make a difference? Yes. Imagine a colour grade of 5 diamond costs $3,000 per carat, upgrading the colour grade at 3 increases its value by more than $5,000, thus giving a $2k clear profit. GIA has publicised a list of invalidated diamond reports and requested their owners to return the diamonds for re-examination.
GIA in a release stated that an investigation in conjunction with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) contractor that supports GIA database-unearthed the discrepancies. The investigation revealed that an outside party had altered the grading information for 1,042 diamonds examined by GIA. The individuals, acting at the behest of other parties unrelated to GIA or TCS, gained unauthorised remote access to alter grades before reports were printed and sent to clients, stated GIA.
GIA and TCS have made the results of their investigation known to law enforcement agencies in India that are now investigating the matter. GJEPC regional chairman Dinesh Navadiya said, “They have cheated diamond consumers in India and abroad by altering the diamond grades in the reports. We demand strict action against those involved in the scam.”
High tech Pearls
Seems that everything can be high tech these days – even the pearl has now had the gizmo treatment. Pearls have been the mainstay for fashionistas for a while, and Galatea Jewellery has just taken the humble pearl, and placed it firmly into the “smart world.”
Chi Huynh, in his latest invention in conjunction with Galatea Jewellery – patent pending – is called the Momento Pearl. So where does the “tech” come in? Huynh has inserted a tiny chip within a cultured pearl. When you use it in combination with the Galatea Jewellery App, you can upload voice and text messages, images and web links. Simply tap the pearl against an Android phone to hear the voice message and see what you’ve uploaded.
But Huynh didn’t stop there, he has also patented a cultured pearl with a coloured stone bead inside. The coloured bead is revealed when the pearl’s exterior is carved. Hand-carving pearls have always been a hallmark of Huynh’s Galatea jewellery designs. More than 75 percent of the company’s jewellery use carved pearls rather than the more traditional smooth-surfaced pearls. Normally, pearls are valued for their colour, lustre (the “shine” on its exterior), uniform and blemish-free surface. Huynh revolutionized traditional beliefs about cultured pearls, calling his carved pearls, “Pearls without Boundaries.”
Mustang explores rubies in Mozambique
Australian mining company Mustang Resources is planning to purchase an 80% stake in Montepuez Australian Minerals. With this purchase Mustang Resources now controls 64%, 56% and 56% in three licenses to mine rubies, which together account for 15,800 hectares in the Montepuez region of Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique.
Under the contract, Mustang Resources has committed to make an initial payment of US$1.5 million, with US$150,000 in cash and the remainder in the company’s own shares. The contract involves an additional payment of US$2 million once 500 carats of rubies have been extracted and another US$2.5 million, of which US$750,000 will be in cash, after 10,000 carats are extracted. The extraction of 50,000 carats of rubies will require the company to make a payment of another US$3 million, of which US$2 million will be in cash.
This transaction depends on a number of conditions, including the completion of an evaluation study and an independent report, shareholder approval and obtaining the necessary capital.
In a statement issued in Perth this week, Mustang Resources, a company listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange, said the three exploration licenses are located in the same region where British company Gemfields explores one of the most important ruby deposits in the world.
November Birthstone
Birthstone jewellery is the perfect way to celebrate your birth and the birth of your loved ones, especially your children, November’s birthstones are beautiful Topaz and stunning Citrine, both stones perfectly reflecting the colouring of the autumn season.
Birthstone jewellery has really taken off in the past few years, and the trend only seems to be growing, as more customers are asking to have coloured stones within their jewellery.
Company News
I hope you are enjoying our weekly updates. We are continually adding new stock to our website, in particular have you seen our new range of matched gemstone pairs? There is a retail price if you have not registered, but registered companies will get a discounted trade price. Go to www.thegembank.com to see what we’ve done.
I hope you are enjoying our newsletter. If you have anything that you would like us to cover, or a person of interest to the industry that we could interview, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
By working together our industry will get stronger.
Have a great weekend!