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Industry News: AJDC Exhibit At Kent State; Does Higher Diamond Cost Shorten The Marriage; More October 08, 2014 (0 comments)
AJDC “Variations On A Theme” Exhibition Heads To Kent State University Museum s
New York, NY—After a seven-month run at the Forbes Galleries in New York City, the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC) exhibition, “Variations on a Theme,” travels to Kent State University Museum in Ohio, opening October 24, 2014 through May 3, 2015. It then moves on to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) gallery in summer 2015. Left: designer and AJDC member Mark Patterson designed this aquamarine, gold, and diamond ring for the organization's “Spiral” project in 2007.
Formed in 1988 by a group of American designers, The American Jewelry Design Council is a non-profit educational organization that was founded in 1988 by a group of American jewelry designers. It recognizes and promotes the appreciation of original jewelry design as art.
The exhibition features 40 examples of one-of-a-kind jewelry themes designed by AJDC artists. In 1996, the AJDC began an annual tradition of asking each of its artists to create a design based on a single concept or theme, such as a wave, a spiral, or a key. The culmination of these projects is a unique collection of jewelry pieces, and the “Variations on a Theme” exhibit is a sampling of those pieces culled from projects from 1996 to 2013.
“Part of the AJDC mission is to educate the public, which is what prompted us to find a wider audience for our yearly projects,” explained Barbara Heinrich, president of the AJDC and one of the contributing artists. “This is an exhibition of art for art’s sake, and it is a beautiful showcase of American jewelry design as art.”
Kent State Museum also houses one of the largest collections of contemporary and historic fashion in the United States, and the closely allied Fashion School at Kent State is ranked as one of the leading fashion design schools in the country.
AJDC also will be offering an educational session on jewelry design and fabrication for students at Kent State. To order the 82-page color catalog of the exhibition, please visit the AJDC website.
Study Claims Inverse Proportion Between Diamond Price And Marriage Duration
Atlanta, GA--Don't shoot the messenger.
A just-released study by Emory University claims that couples who spend more money on the engagement ring are more likely to divorce than those who spent less. Economics professors there surveyed 3,000 U.S. adults who had been married at some point in their lives and found that men who spent between $2,000 and $4,000 on the engagement ring were 1.3 times more likely to be divorced than those who spent between $500 and $2,000. (The average cost of an engagement ring in the United States was roughly $3,500 in 2012; figures from TheKnot.com and Brides magazine pegged the average significantly higher, at more than $5,000.)
Women who received the costlier rings also experienced higher rates of divorce. Likewise, couples who spent a lot of money on the wedding--upwards of $20,000--are also more likely to divorce. (The Knot.com lists the average cost of a wedding in the United States at $30,000.)
The study did not address couples in the luxury sphere, where the typical engagement ring spend begins around $7,000, or twice the national average, and often goes over $10,000. But the authors of the paper did hypothesize a chief reason for the higher divorce rate among couples who spent more, and it's no big surprise: a higher level of stress from spending beyond their means. The study also did acknowledge that couples with higher income levels are less likely to divorce.
Our take? Money is one of the top causes of strife in a marriage, and the key words are "beyond their means." While every jeweler wants to help a couple find the ring of their dreams--and lots of couples will try to bargain on price--be alert to body language and other signs they truly can't afford what you're showing. Lots of couples can afford luxury and there's no reason they shouldn't. But a couple that is clearly getting in over their heads need to see a less costly alternative.
Polished Diamond Prices Decline in September; Caraters Drop 4.7% in Q3
New York, NY—Polished diamond prices fell in September as manufacturers were placed under increased pressure by tight liquidity and large inventories. Although U.S. and Chinese diamond demand is steady, buyers are facing price-sensitive consumers and are pushing for higher discounts. Rapaport predicts a buyers’ market to prevail for the holiday shopping season as buyers sense suppliers are under pressure to improve cash flow, and are accordingly pushing for higher discounts.
The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) for one-carat laboratory-graded diamonds fell 1% during September. RAPI for 0.30-carat diamonds declined 1.5%, while RAPI for 0.50-carat diamonds dropped by 0.1%. RAPI for three-carat diamonds fell 0.7 percent during the month.
RAPI for all sizes fell during the third quarter, including 0.30-carat to 0.49-carat diamonds, which had been a strong item in the past two years. And prices for one-carat stones declined almost 5% in the period as buyers have shifted to lower-quality, larger pointer-size diamonds.
According to the Rapaport Monthly Report – October 2014 “Buyers' Market,” polished prices were influenced by both supply and demand factors. There was a notable increase of goods available in the market. RapNet (Rapaport’s diamond trading network) witnessed an 11% increase in the volume of diamonds listed on the trading platform during September.
The Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair last month had strong visitor traffic but buyers were looking for specific items to fill orders and avoided making large inventory purchases. Suppliers who lowered their prices sold well. The show signaled that there is good demand for 0.50-0.90 ct. GIA dossiers but profitability is low for these goods, while demand for 0.30-carat to 0.49-carat diamonds has softened. High-end large diamonds are weak and there has been a general shift away from D-F, IF-VVS diamonds toward lower colors and clarities in all sizes.
Rough trading slowed in September following aggressive rough buying in July and August. Manufacturers have ramped up their factory output in order to have their polished inventory ready before the Diwali break that begins October 23. Rough was trading at discounts to De Beers prices on the secondary market before the October sight going on this week. The October sight is expected to be relatively small with De Beers expected to maintain relatively stable prices until the end of the year as prices on the secondary market soften.
Separately, Rapaport announces its improved iPhone app will go live October 12. RapNet members will be able to search and track diamonds on their mobile phones as the app has undergone a complete redesign.
The app now includes advanced searches, saved searches and diamond tracking. Settings are synced between the app and the user’s desktop computer, allowing seamless transitions between mobile and the office.
Saville Stern, RapNet COO, said an Android version is being worked on and should be ready in the near future. The RapNet app is available in the Apple App Store starting October 12.
JA Promotes Careers In The Jewelry Industry
New York, NY – Jewelers of America (JA) has updated its “Careers in the Jewelry Industry” guide, a snapshot of 10 career options in the fine jewelry industry. The guide is another addition to JA’s resourceful online Career Center. The Career Center offers a directory of jewelry schools and training facilities in the United States as well as a "Jewelry Jobs Board" for jewelry companies and job seekers.
The “Careers in the Jewelry Industry” brochure is a comprehensive tool that includes information on retail jewelry sales, retail jewelry manufacturing, bench/manufacturing, jewelry appraiser, jewelry designer, jewelry manufacture, jewelry wholesaler/importer, lab grader/quality assurance technician, watchmaker and pawnbroker/estate jewelry dealer. It also includes information on professional certification from JA, career resources, job search and industry education and training. JA also distributed the brochure to schools with jewelry-focused programs. Updates to "Careers in the Jewelry Industry” were underwritten by GIA.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ Legend Terry Bradshaw To Speak At AGS Conclave
Las Vegas, NV—The American Gem Society announced today that Pittsburgh Steelers legendary quarterback and four-time Super Bowl champion, Terry Bradshaw, will be the opening keynote speaker for Conclave 2015 in New Orleans, LA. Bradshaw will be joined by a wide variety of renowned business leaders and innovators in this year’s lineup.
Before Big Ben: Terry Bradshaw was a legendary quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will headline the keynote presentations at AGS Conclave next spring.
Also slated to appear is Steven Dubner, author, journalist, radio and TV personality. He is the co-author of the international bestsellers Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, and his latest book, Think Like a Freak, is on the New York Times bestseller list.
Another well-known keynote is the inspirational Diana Nyad, the renowned swimmer who at age 64, successfully fulfilled her lifelong dream of completing the 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida. She has since become a prominent sports broadcaster, author and has earned the reputation of a uniquely passionate and entertaining public speaker. Comedienne and business motivational speaker Connie Podesta rounds out the lineup. Ms. Podesta is a whirlwind of energy and business success, and loves nothing more than to help her audience get the most out of life.
Other featured speakers include Joel Zeff, a national workplace expert, speaker, author and humorist. Joel will speak on “The Tao of Ta-Da” focusing on how to get the most out of your work and your life. Colleen Francis has studied the habits of the top 10% of sales performers from organizations of all sizes for over 20 years and condensed it down to a winning formula and internationally acclaimed sales training system. Ms. Francis will be sharing it all in “Nonstop Sales Boom: Powerful Strategies to Drive Consistent Growth Year After Year.” And Bryan Dodge is returning to Conclave 2015 with a workshop on building successful teams.
“We are very proud to say that we are building on the momentum of a terrific Conclave in 2014 and we have carried that motivation over to our featured speakers in 2015,” said John Carter, chair of the Society’s Conclave Committee. “We thought it was fitting that since New Orleans will be our host city that our lineup should be big, bold, and like Mardi Gras: impossible to forget.”
For more information on Conclave, call (866) 805-6500 or email ashah@ags.org.
UK And Ireland Jewelry Industry Unite Over Ethics
London, United Kingdom—Industry leaders from the major trade associations and buying groups in the United Kingdom and Ireland have come together to address issues of ethics and corporate social responsibility in the industry by backing the work of the Jewellery Ethics Committee UK (JEC-UK). The Jewellery Ethics Committee UK is a joint venture between the three major trade associations for the UK Jewellery Trade: the National Association of Goldsmiths (N.A.G.) the British Jewellers’ Association (BJA); and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).
The initiative, which began in 2009 under the stewardship of Michael Hoare, has been working towards researching jewelry supply chains around the UK market and providing recommendations for jewelers to make their businesses ethically and socially responsible.
The addition of the UK’s two largest buying groups and the largest jewelry trade association in Ireland to the committee gives further credence to its continued work to tackle the ethical challenges that face the global industry. The additional support of these organizations will hopefully urge the industry to re-examine its approach to sourcing, particularly from ethical suppliers and manufacturers, as well as how business impacts the wider community they trade in on a local, national, or international level.
Click here for more information.