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2025 Retail Sales to Grow More Slowly Amid ‘Uncertainty,’ Says NRFThe National Retail Federation expects retail sales growth to return to pre-pandemic levels as consumers continue to face inflation.
There were a lot of developments this year when it comes to leadership changes in major industry players and organizations as well as continuing changes in the retail environment.
Some online-only retailers began to put more focus on offering a physical experience while many of the major brick-and-mortar retailers continued to pare down their store numbers.
There also was a lot of news surrounding lab-grown diamonds, with some of the industry’s biggest suppliers adding them to their offerings and some very notable large synthetics hitting the market.
Meanwhile, blue and pink diamonds as well as exceptional colored gemstones hit the auction block and set records, and more and more museums around the country opted to display some of the world’s most fantastic gemstones to the public.
Relive the year as it was, in photos.
Rob Bates, Temple St. Clair and Cartier took home the awards for media, jewelry design and watch design at Jewelers of America’s 14th annual Gem Awards, while WatchTime’s Joe Thompson (pictured) was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In early February, the American Gem Society and AGS Laboratories announced that CEO Ruth Batson plans to retire in June 2017. She started working at AGS in 1993 as controller, moving up to CFO in 1998 and finally CEO just four years later.
Diamond-laden necklaces and the dress necklines that framed them were the show-stealing looks donned by many celebrities at the 2016 Academy Awards and after-parties in March. Seen here is Cate Blanchett, who was up for her role in Carol, dressed in Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Early in the year, jewelry manufacturer and supplier Stuller announced that it had added lab-grown diamonds to its product mix to give jewelers more choices, a sign that the man-made stones were becoming more mainstream.
The first Jewelry Industry Summit took place March 11 to 13 in New York City, where attendees discussed what’s already being done by companies to address responsible sourcing and sustainability and where more opportunities remain. The second one has been scheduled to coincide with the Tucson gem shows early next year.
The Responsible Jewellery Council announced in late March that it would review its certification scope to include colored gemstones after years of discussion and collaboration with members and the industry.
Cecilia Gardner announced in April that she will step down as president and CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee next year, but plans to stay on board as general counsel and will continue to practice law.
Sotheby’s Hong Kong sold the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, one of the dozen rare diamonds De Beers assembled to mark the year 2000, for $31.8 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in early April. The 10.10-carat oval-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond went to an anonymous buyer.
The Jewelers Board of Trade appointed financial executive Anthony Capuano as its new president in April, taking over for Dione Kenyon. Capuano joined the organization with more than 35 years of experience in credit and lending, a large part of which was dedicated to the diamond, jewelry and precious metals industries.
The oval-shaped 15.99-carat “Jubilee Ruby” sold for $14.2 million at Christie’s in April, making it the most expensive colored gemstone ever sold at auction in the United States.
Richline Group made a number of acquisitions in 2016, starting with online custom jewelry retailer Gemvara in April, followed by manufacturer and supplier John C. Nordt Inc. in May, wearable technology company Viawear a month later, and then home sales jewelry company Silpada in October.
In May, Lucara sold the sixth-largest gem-quality diamond ever unearthed--a 812.77-carat, Type IIa stone discovered at the Karowe mine in Botswana--for $63.1 million, or $77,649 per carat, setting a new world record for a rough diamond.
The rectangular-cut, 14.62-carat “Oppenheimer Blue” sold for $57.5 million at Christie’s Geneva May 18 to a private buyer, surpassing the 12.03-carat Blue Moon to set a new world record price for any jewel sold at auction.
De Beers appointed Bruce Cleaver, group director of strategy and business development for Anglo American, as CEO in May following Philippe Mellier’s resignation. The shuffle came on the heels of a tough year for the diamond company, with revenue plummeting on decreased demand.
In early June, just as the industry was descending on Las Vegas for market week, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America jointly announced they were adding spinel as a birthstone for August, joining peridot.
Motor City-based watch brand Shinola named former Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand as its CEO in late June, succeeding Steve Bock after he transitioned into the role of CEO of Filson, an apparel and accessories brand owned by Shinola parent company Bedrock.
In June, Lucara attempted to sell the 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona rough diamond at auction but the stone failed to meet its reserve price at Sotheby’s London. Now, Lucara has said it likely will try to sell the diamond again in 2017 after “undergoing detailed analysis to better understand the polished outcome,” CEO William Lamb said.
Gemfields unveiled its “Ruby Inspired Stories” marketing campaign in June, designed to drive demand for the rubies it mines in Mozambique.
Abigail Kemp, who was accused of robbing a string of jewelry stores in the Southeast, pleaded guilty to four charges in a Florida federal court in July, while her accomplices also were found guilty of charges in the case. They all are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13.
When an unnamed storm dumped a few feet of water on Louisiana in a short period of time the resulting, widespread flooding claimed lives and destroyed thousands of businesses. The state’s jewelers association created a fund for donations to help take care of those in the industry who were affected.
As the retail environment remains challenging, Macy’s continues to change its physical footprint, closing stores and expanding its off-price division. Over the past six years, Macy’s has opened 19 stores and closed 90. In August, it also announced that it would close another 100 of its 728 locations, likely in early 2017.
Online jeweler Blue Nile put a lot of focus on its “webrooms” this year, opening up a number of new locations, including Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, to have at least five by year’s end. In November, the company also announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity and Bow Street LLC for $500 million.
De Beers officially opened its new Canadian mine, Gahcho Kué, in September. The site is expected to produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds over its 13-year lifetime.
The Tiffany-Costco lawsuit came to an end in October, when a New York federal jury handed down a two-part verdict in which Tiffany was awarded nearly $14 million in damages.
Kim Kardashian West was the victim of a jewelry robbery in early October at a hotel in Paris. Five men allegedly threatened the hotel concierge to gain access to her room and then stole millions in jewelry from the reality star.
The Diamond Producers Association unveiled the first two commercials for “Real is Rare,” the campaign designed to fuel millennial interest in diamonds in the wake of falling sales.
In news that was celebrated by many in the industry, the White House officially lifted the sanctions against Myanmar (formerly Burma) that blocked rubies and jade from being imported to the United States for nearly a decade. The trade now will continue to work with the country to set up best practices for its gemstone sector.
In October, the Gemological Institute of America graded what it said were the two largest lab-grown diamonds ever submitted to the lab, a 5.19-carat diamond with J-equivalent color and VS2-equivalent clarity and a 10.08-carat blue diamond.
National Jeweler brought back The State of the Majors this fall, its report giving a broad overview of the performance of the country’s largest jewelers and the state of jewelry retailing today, as well as in-depth looks at the diamond, design and colored stone markets.
L.J. West Diamonds Inc. placed the winning bid on the 2.83-carat “Argyle Violet,” the centerpiece of this year’s Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender from Rio Tinto and the largest violet diamond found at the mine. The stone also is part of a brilliant display of natural colored diamonds going on now at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.
The 187.7-carat Foxfire diamond, mined in Canada, will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History through Feb. 16, giving visitors a chance to see a big diamond in its rough state.
It’s the continuation of a trend seen all year. In November, the Jewelers Board of Trade released its third quarter statistics, reporting that a total of 400 U.S. and Canadian jewelry businesses called it quits in the third quarter, a 42 percent increase compared with 2015. This means that year-to-date, a total of 1,177 jewelry business owners ceased operations: 895 retail jewelers/repairers, 178 wholesalers and 104 manufacturers.
Coinciding with the opening of its new U.S. flagship store in New York, the John Hardy brand launched its Artisan in Residence program, which allowed visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the brand and try their hand at chain weaving as well as watching the artisans demonstrate sketching and wax carving.
Partnership Africa Canada came out with a new report this month that called attention to the trade in conflict diamonds between the Central African Republic and the neighboring nation of Cameroon.
After a months-long search for Ruth Batson’s successor, the AGS named Katherine Bodoh, currently its deputy executive director, as its new CEO.
Pantone has dubbed Greenery the color of the year for 2017, a shade with warm undertones, reminiscent of lush, spring foliage.
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