This week: Amazon may surpass Walmart in sales for first time ever. Did the men who robbed Joe Burrow’s house pose with his jewelry? And a cruise passenger says she was sold an undisclosed lab-grown. All below.
U.S. watch and jewelry sales rose in December
– Edahn Golan on diamond jewelry’s “great start to the year”
– Consumer confidence fell in January
Bank of America notes signs of luxury uptick
– Swiss watch exports slumped in December
– Why China’s luxury boom went bust (video)
– LVMH, Kering shut stores in streamlining
What retailers should expect in 2025
– 15,000 stores expected to close this year
Gold price crosses $2,800, thanks to tariff tsuris
– Hits new high of $2,882
– Citibank thinks $3,000 is coming soon
– UBS agrees
– World Gold Council reviews 2024
Diamond jewelry importers must specify “country of mining” starting in April
De Beers confirms it has reached agreement with Botswana
– New deal will tout country’s diamonds
– Botswana opposition raises questions about pact
– Lucara exec claims Botswana cutting is unsustainable
Anglo American expects to write down De Beers, again
– Bloomberg and The Economist on De Beers and the market’s travails (both subscription)
The lab-grown/Blue Nile conversation, continues
– Michael Schechter points out how they’re different
– Martin Rapaport on the “bifurcating” market (video)
– Prakash Lakhi on lab-grown and Moore’s Law
– Nikhil Jogia: Diamonds stuck in a “doom loop”
– De Beers, African countries try to fight back against lab-grown (panel video)
Pandora posts strong results, slows lab-grown rollout
– Charm maker forecasts lower growth
– Hopes to keep “pedal to the medal”
– Sees limited tariff impact
– Earnings call highlights
– Pandora Australia general manager resigns
Renaissance Global buys 39% stake in Jean Dousset
Lab-grown line Limelight secures $11 million in funding
– New Indian lab-grown brand attracts angel investment
Diamond Nexus “on the verge of insolvency,” attorney says
Jefferies downgrades Brilliant Earth
Intergem 2025 will not take place
Chanel cuts 70 U.S. jobs
Forever 21 considers bankruptcy filing
Austrian jeweler Goldwelt files for bankruptcy, closes most stores
Walmart cuts corporate jobs, shuts North Carolina headquarters
– Buys Pittsburgh-area mall
Amazon set to pass Walmart in revenue for first time
47th Street shop owners charged with fencing goods from South American gangs
– The two men plead not guilty
– One of them linked to robbery of NFL quarterback Joe Burrow’s house
– Report: Thieves posed in Burrow’s jewelry
Fossil appoints two consumer industry veterans
Timex, Aston Martin forge luxury watch and jewelry partnership
Why jewelers stay on social media (even when they hate it)
106-year-old Indianapolis jewelry store saved by new owners
Madison Avenue becomes “it” jewelry destination
Israeli team attends diamond conference in Qatar
NASA shows sludge spilled from South African diamond mine
Customs seizes $27.5 million in counterfeit jewelry in Kentucky
Cruise passenger claims she was “scammed” by lab-grown purchase
Dear Abby asked if mother-in-law’s diamond is a curse
Elizabeth Taylor’s bracelet, gifted by Michael Jackson, surpasses auction estimate
Travis Kelce sidesteps diamond shopping question (video)
Venus Williams’ diamond ring has fans talking
Sabrina Carpenter dazzles in diamonds at the Grammy Awards
The Atlantic: “The rise of the selfish plutocrats”
India, Netherlands to collaborate on diamond semiconductors
Media Watch
Vogue writer “sort of” regrets not buying lab-grown
From the Blog
Lab-Grown Diamonds and Blue Nile: The Conversation Continues
From the Podcast
The Jewelry District, Episode 139: Guests Richard and Billie Hughes
Email: rbates –at – jckonline.com
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(Photo: Getty Images)
