Although Antwerp is famous for its diamonds, it also has a
longtime jewelry tradition that’s becoming increasingly aware of its potential.
“There’s undoubtedly a market for quality jewelry made in
Belgium,” said Anton Schellekens, CEO of local jeweler Antonellis. “Ours is
expanding more and more across Europe and toward the Middle East, where when we
mention Antwerp, people are immediately more favorable to our products.”
What’s so special about Antwerp that it draws the interest
of potential buyers? Martine Hul, founder of the Hulchi Belluni jewelry brand,
cited two elements driving the growth of the high-end jewelry industry she
called “the Antwerp package.”
“First, it’s obvious that we benefit naturally from the
international and qualitative reputation of the Diamond Mile in terms of
diamonds,” said Hul, whose company is exclusively B2B. “To that, we must add
the centuries-old know-how in jewelry manufacturing crafts that we’re calling
upon to create the highest-quality products. [As is the case] in all high-end
businesses, top quality lies in the details and in the finish. It has a cost,
obviously, but people are ready to pay for it.”
Patrick de Landtsheer, head of leading jeweler Diamani,
agreed. “In Antwerp, more than anywhere in the world, we have the tools, the
critical mass, the raw material and the know-how to do everything in terms of
high-end jewelry. Even if manufacturing may cost 10% more, [the final product
is] infinitely superior [to that of] India, Thailand or China. For instance,
we’re not attempting to reduce the quantity of gold in our jewels, which always
comes at the expense of their strength. High-end means quality that lives
through time. This is why we can expect our clients to pay 25% more.”
However, the Antwerp jewelry trade has only recently started
leveraging its centuries of experience, de Landtsheer continued. “The major
difference between the Antwerp diamond and jewelry industries is that while
diamond has been capitalizing on its 500-year-long history, we, as jewelers,
have been sitting for too long on our half a millennium of the same heritage
without exploiting it accordingly. It’s changing now, as [evidenced by] the
creation of the ‘Antwerp’s Most Brilliant’ label in 2014 by the city [and] the
Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC)” — a label that promotes the city’s top
high-end jewelry makers.
But even within Antwerp, becoming a jewelry manufacturer is
easier said than done, according to Michael Bloch of jeweler CML. “There is
potential indeed; however, De Beers’ failed Supplier of Choice program was
undeniable proof that jewelry manufacturing is a very different business than
that of the diamantaire.”
Bloch was referring to De Beers’ decision at the turn of the
21st century to maximize its revenue per diamond by going downstream, with the
intent of controlling the whole pipeline from production to retail jewelry. The
company’s plan was to push its 200 or so existing sightholders to become
jewelers as well — or form strategic alliances with major jewelers or chains —
in order to grab market share. However, even with the vast sums of money the
sightholders invested in the project with the hope of pleasing De Beers and
retaining their client status, those big diamond companies could never have
become prosperous jewelers overnight. They lost their investments, and the
program was abandoned once it became clear that it was a failure. In its wake,
the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), De Beers’ rough-sales division, began
dropping the less profitable sightholders; more than 130 lost their status,
with many having no opportunity to recover from their jewelry-venture losses.
This drove home the point that while “there have always been
obvious interactions” between manufacturers and diamantaires, they operate on
different scales and with different business models, explained Bloch.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2017. To subscribe click here.