Bonhams London Jewelry Sale Garners $6M

Bonhams London realized $6.4 million from a sale of fine jewelry yesterday with 82 percent sold by lot and 90 percent sold by value. The top lot (pictured) was a stunning 9.22-carat, D, IF, marquise-cut diamond ring, which sold within estimate for $974,000 or $108,000 per carat. A 9.06-carat, cut-cornered step-cut diamond ring sold for $707,000 and the largest diamond in the sale, a 24.47-carat, brilliant-cut diamond ring fetched $395,000. Additionally, a rare, un-mounted, 3.64-carat, cushion-shaped diamond of fancy intense bluish-green sold for $395,000.

Jean Ghika, the director of Bonhams' jewelry department, said, ''We are delighted with such a fantastic result, ending an exceptional year of fine jewelry sales at Bonhams. With sale totals up 70 percent on 2010 and the most expensive lot sold in the U.K. this year --a diamond and blue diamond crossover ring by Bulgari that realized $2.9 million-- Bonhams has re-affirmed its position as U.K. market leader in jewelry.''

Ghika observed that they have experienced an increasing interest in tangible assets such as diamonds. ''We are aware that our clients are very discerning, selective and considered, and want to be sure of the quality of the pieces they are buying. As a result, clients are prepared to pay high prices for pieces that are the very best of their type, whether 19th century antique jewelry, art deco pieces or GIA certified diamonds.

''There was strong interest in pearls and antique jewelry at the London sale with a pair of rare natural pearl and diamond pendent earrings garnering well-above estimate at $302,000 and a 19th century emerald and diamond girandole brooch selling for twice its estimate at $54,400.

A copper and gold “Shakudo” necklace and earring suite, circa 1860, depicting various scenes of birds, sold for $99,400 and a rare 19th century pink topaz and diamond brooch sold for $50,700.

-Rapaport

Sotheby’s NY Auction Surprising

With Christmas just around the corner, it seems like the ideal time to hold an auction, but this year’s December Magnificent Jewels sale at Sotheby’s hit some road bumps. The sale garnered $30,404,818 against a presale estimate of $50 million and was sold 66.5 percent by lot and 45.5 percent by value. However, that is not as discouraging as it appears.

Two of the lots in the sale accounted for $20 million of the presale total and both of those lots — the Light of Golconda and the 22.17-carat intense pink diamond —failed to find buyers. With that in mind the total is lower than what Sotheby’s would like to see and certainly not near recent highs that have been achieved at auction, but not as dismal as a first glance.

The top lot of the day was a 23.62-carat, GVS1 oval shaped diamond ring, which sold to an Asian private collector for $1,874,500. It was followed by the storied 1924 Cartier diamond sautoir (pictured) that was the property of a prominent American family active in publishing and politics. The piece also sold to an Asian private collector for $1,650,500.

Diamond sales were erratic, but the prices were solid for the stones that did sell. The bright spot of the day was the Elegant John Traina single owner sale. A prominent San Francisco businessman, who was once married to author Danielle Steel, Traina was known for his sense of style and refined taste. The 92-lot collection was 100 percent sold and accounted for $1,921,755 of the sale total. It was one of the most extensive collections of men’s jewelry to come to auction and it was filled with well-designed pieces with fine quality gems. Bidding was very competitive and pushed prices up.

The sale was not a typical one, with a large number of passes and unexpected items selling strongly. It does appear that the market remains strong, but highly selective.

For full coverage of the Sotheby’s New York auction, see the upcoming January 2012 issue.

-Rapaport

Reuters says many holiday shoppers are done

More than a third of United States consumers are already done with most of their holiday shopping, a Reuters survey found, signaling that retailers need to offer big incentives to win sales in the last weeks before Christmas.

Findings of the Reuters report “underscore the fragility of the U.S. recovery, since consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s economy,” the news service says.

Approximately 32 percent of people surveyed said they finished a majority of their Christmas shopping in November, the month that includes Black Friday. More than 6 percent completed most of their holiday shopping the first weekend in December.

Around 28 percent of those surveyed said they plan to take a break from shopping, now that Black Friday weekend is behind them.

“Many, many consumers, when they got those early bird specials on Black Friday, decided that that was going to be the big purchase for their family,” Britt Beemer, president of America’s Research Group, the company who conducted the Reuters survey, said. She added that many shoppers spent more than they had planned on Black Friday.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that sales over the Black Friday weekend soared to $52.4 billion, a 2.8 percent increased from 2010.

Businesses, however, may not see the same feverish spending occurring in the next few weeks.

“There is very little retailers can do unless they really have some incredible sales that force that consumer to reconsider if they want … to make an extra purchase now,” Beemer said.

Reuters’ survey also highlighted grievances of the post-recession U.S. consumer. More than 43 percent of those surveyed said they expect the debt crisis in Europe to hurt the U.S., while 36 percent said political gridlock in Washington was the biggest problem facing the economy.

Approximately 27 percent of those surveyed worry about the rising cost of living, while a quarter see unemployment as the key issue faced by the U.S. economy.

Many shoppers said discount chains would be their destination of choice to finish their holiday shopping, with nearly 38 percent of holiday shoppers planning to visit one, showing that consumers remain highly price-sensitive.

“You have got to give them a deal that is incredible,” Beemer said, suggesting retailers slash prices and offer deep discounts of 50 and 60 percent off to lure in shoppers.

Department stores offering unique merchandise will also continue to see shoppers, as 30 percent plan to visit one during the rest of the season.

Reuters’ survey of 1,000 people was conducted Dec. 3-4 via telephone as part of a larger survey by America’s Research Group.

-National Jeweler

Diamond demand to grow 7%, supply 3%

The rising consumer demand for diamonds in India and China coupled with a recovery in developed countries will result in demand outstripping supply within the next decade, a new report from consulting firm Bain & Co. shows.

Bain & Company released the report, titled “The Global Diamond Industry, Lifting the Veil of Mystery,” on Dec. 2. It was commissioned by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the organization that supports the industry in the diamond-trading hub of Antwerp.

In the report, Bain & Company outlines three scenarios for diamond supply-demand between now and 2020.

In the “base” scenario, demand is projected to grow at 7 percent during that time period, while supply increases only 3 percent.

The “higher” scenario pushes those figures to 11 percent and 4 percent, respectively, while in the “lower” scenario, demand is forecasted to grow 5 percent, while supply is flat.

The report lists five possibly disruptive factors that could impact the supply-demand balance over the next decade.

The first is the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, which could place downward pressure on demand. “A severe double-dip recession...could potentially cause a significant slowdown of demand growth for diamonds beyond what is projected in the lower-demand scenario,” the report states. “Particularly troubling and difficult to predict is the potential fallout from the European debt crisis and the continued unclear economic outlook in the United States at the time of the writing of this report.”

Conversely, the development of a significant investment market for diamonds could cause a surge in demand. This is particularly feasible in markets where consumers are concerned with the inflation of local currency and lack of access to financial instruments that act as a hedge against inflation, such as China.

Also potentially impacting the supply-demand balance are growing consumer acceptance of lab-grown diamonds, the discovery and rapid development of a new source of diamonds as well as political instability, the lack of generic marketing and protectionist policies in diamond-producing countries. The report notes that the risk of these developments, however, remains low.

Overall, the report concludes that the outlook for the diamond industry is overwhelmingly positive.

“In the next decade, demand for rough diamonds is set to outpace supply under all considered scenarios, indicating a strong positive outlook for the industry. Several disruptive factors could negatively impact the diamond supply-demand balance, but all of these factors are unlikely to manifest,” it states.

-National Jeweler

New service for shipping to GIA lab

G4S International Logistics, the freight-forwarding division of secure solutions provider G4S, is now offering a special round-trip shipping service in conjunction with the Gemological Institute of America.

Created specifically for the GIA lab in Carlsbad, Calif., the new service, dubbed the “Loop,” allows jewelers to select their choice of carrier, insurance coverage and identify their return address when shipping gemstones and jewelry to the GIA lab. Then, they print out their outbound label and include the return shipping barcode with their gemstones or jewelry.

When the GIA is finished grading the gemstones, it scans the barcode to print out a return label. Insurance levels can be adjusted as needed.

The Loop is also available for one-way shipments. For more on the service, visit GIALoopUSA.com.

-National Jeweler

Tiffany & Co Seeks to Establish Rough Diamond Marketing Subsidiary

Tiffany & Co. said last week it is planning to establish a fully owned Antwerp-based subsidiary to provide rough diamond marketing services to rough producers. Basically, Tiffany wants to conduct auctions.

The yet-to-be-established subsidiary has entered into an agreement with a Washington, D.C.-based company called Power Auctions, a leading provider of auction design and implementation services, to jointly create and implement market solutions for rough diamond producers, Tiffany said in a statement.

“Power Auctions' software has been used to run the majority of high-stakes clock auctions held worldwide to date. Its proprietary Intra-Round Bidding technology allows for a significant reduction in the number of rounds in an auction while improving efficiency and revenues,” it said.

Services to be offered by Tiffany's will include rough sorting, sourcing and qualification of buyers, presentation of goods, design and administration of auctions, collection of payment from buyers and delivery of goods to successful buyers.

The new subsidiary will operate on an agency basis acting on behalf of its principal clients, the rough producers.

The Tiffany rough business will be headquartered in Antwerp, but it plans to open branches in other diamond trading centers across the globe as required, Tiffany said.

-PolishedPrices

China to Release 13 of 22 Jailed Diamond Traders

A Chinese court has ordered the release of 13 of the 22 jailed Indian diamond merchants, but sentenced the remaining to serve prison terms of between three to six years for smuggling diamonds into China.

According to the judgment that was passed today, 11 persons have been found innocent and will be deported within 15 days from China. Out of the remaining 11 persons, one person has been given one year and 11 month sentence and another person two years in prison, which means they will also be freed soon as they have already spent about two years in prison.

Six persons have been given prison sentences of three years, two have been awarded five years and one has been given six years in prison, a government of Gujarat release said.

After being informed of the latest development in the matter, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said "During my visit to China in November, I took up the case of 22 Indian youth, who are lodged in Chinese jail, before the Chinese leadership purely on humanitarian ground. I emphasized that Indian nationals languishing in Chinese jail since last two years should be given speedy trial and they should get justice. I am thankful to the Chinese government for expediting the trial and ensuring that judgment is delivered today."

The 22 Indian diamond traders, mostly from Surat and Mumbai, have been in a Chinese jail since January 2010 on the alleged charge of smuggling diamonds into China. Chinese authorities assured Modi that the judgment would be delivered without further delay.

Following Modi"s visit, the Chinese leadership allowed Indian envoy Dr. S. Jaishankar and India"s Counsel General in Guangzhou Indramani Pandey to meet the 22 detainees. Earlier, some relatives of detainees had urged Modi to take up this issue with Chinese government. They had also requested the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court to give a fair, lenient and sympathetic judgment.

The diamond traders, mostly Gujaratis, were arrested by Shenzhen customs officials for allegedly smuggling diamonds from Hong Kong to China on January 8, 2010. Shenzhen is a major city in China"s Guangdong province close to Hong Kong.

-ANI