Polished market stable as jewelers complete holiday orders. Outlook
optimistic for season, but stock-market volatility may impact luxury spending
after Dow slumps 3.7% during Thanksgiving week. Mall-based retailers
discounting to compete with online Black Friday deals. Prices of small polished
weak. Manufacturing margins tight, despite recent rough price cuts. De
Beers Nov. sight valued at $440M. Hong Kong jewelers concerned about trade war
and weak yuan currency. Sotheby’s Geneva garners $60M, with cushion, 21.19 ct.,
fancy-light-pink, VVS2 diamond selling for $7.4M ($347,601/ct.). The Rapaport Group wishes all our friends a happy
Thanksgiving and a successful holiday season.
Fancies: Fancy-shape market stable, driven by US and European demand for
fashion jewelry. Ovals and Cushions are best sellers, followed by Emeralds and
Pears. Supply shortage supporting prices for Pears. Radiants improving.
Marquises and Princesses weak. Oversizes selling well. Steady demand for
fine-quality 6 to 10 ct. Ovals, Pears and Emeralds, with prices firming for 3
to 5 ct. due to shortages. Chinese consumers seeking fancy shapes at better
prices. US supporting market for commercial-quality, medium-priced fancies
under 1 ct. Off-make, poorly cut fancies illiquid and hard to sell, even at
very deep discounts.
United States: Dealer market slows ahead of
Thanksgiving weekend. Jewelers more focused on sales than sourcing goods.
Strong emphasis on improving online platforms for holiday season. A lot of
diamonds out on memo, but not many retail sales of those goods yet. Steady
demand and firm prices for 1 to 3 ct., G-J, VS-SI, RapSpec A3+ diamonds.
Belgium: Polished trading relatively quiet,
with only marginal improvement since Diwali. Focus on filling US orders; fewer coming
from China and India. 0.50 to 0.70 ct., G-J, VS-SI selling well. GIA- and IGI-graded
stones doing better than HRD. Dealers hoping HRD/AWDC agreement to sell on Alibaba
will boost China exposure. Rough trading sluggish.
Israel: Steady activity, driven by US orders
and some Hong Kong dealer demand. 0.50 to 1 ct., G-J, VS-SI stable, with some
shortage in 0.80 to 0.99 ct. sizes. Diamonds above 2 ct. firm, with good demand
for I1s. Fancy shapes solid; fine-cut, pear-shape, 1.50 to 3.99 ct., D-H, SI1
stones selling at -28%/-32%.
India: Dealers cautious after Diwali break,
amid tight liquidity and fresh bankruptcy rumors. Fewer transactions than this
time last year. Manufacturers have enough inventory, and factories remain
closed. Good market for VVS ahead of upcoming wedding season. Steady gold sales
reported over Diwali.
Hong Kong: Business improving, with solid demand
for 1 ct., D-H, VS-SI (3X, none) diamonds. Dealers also looking at lower colors
(J-L). Trading slower than this time last year, but dealers expect pickup ahead
of Chinese New Year. Jewelers preparing for holidays are concerned about impact
of US-China trade war and weaker yuan (-6.5% since Jan. 1).
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