GN Diamond: Where great prices lead to true partnerships. The diamond source that thousands of jewelers trust.
Note to readers about next week
Tonight, I will be leaving for Singapore, where I will moderate this year’s World Diamond Congress. I hope to see some of you there.
Given the time difference, long time on airplanes and at airports, and a filled-up schedule, it’s possible—perhaps even likely—that posting may be more sporadic for most of next week.
Thanks for reading and supporting, as always. Next time you hear from me, I may be extremely jet-lagged.
Natural diamonds likely to be exempt from most future tariffs
The United States will likely not place tariffs on loose natural diamonds imported from India and the European Union, though that depends on the approval of previously announced trade deals, sources tell The Jewelry Wire.
India and the United States negotiated a trade agreement earlier this year, when India was subject to duties enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The IEEPA tariffs were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, raising questions about the agreement’s future.
That ruling also rendered Annex III obsolete, which stipulated that cut-but-not-set natural diamonds, colored stones, and natural pearls wouldn’t be tariffed, provided the producing country had a trade deal with the United States.
Under the new Section 301 tariffs, which will likely kick in when the current 10% global tariff runs out on July 24, exclusions will have to be negotiated on a country-by-country basis.
If India and the United States do reach a new trade deal, most believe that natural diamonds will not be tariffed, given the industry’s importance to India, and the fact that diamonds are not found in any meaningful numbers in United States. However, that hinges on the deal being finalized, and some in the Indian media have begun wondering what’s holding that up. If a deal isn’t finalized, the Trump administration has proposed placing a 12.5% tariff on all Indian imports, starting July 25.
The European Union struck a deal with the U.S. last year, which meant that, for a few months, Antwerp could import loose natural stones to America duty-free. That exclusion also disappeared with the Supreme Court ruling, though it could come back if the EU and U.S. revive their old agreement. (Of course, the volume of diamonds cut and polished in Antwerp is small compared to the amount manufactured in India.)
Botswana and Namibia are not currently subject to 301 investigations, which means any rough or polished diamonds imported from those countries will likely not incur a tariff after July 24.
However, other diamond centers and producers—including Angola, Israel, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand—are currently subject to 301 investigations, and it’s not clear whether natural diamonds will be excluded from any new tariffs.
-
Remember: Under current trade law, a diamond’s origin is determined either by where it’s mined (if it’s rough), or where it’s cut (if it’s polished). If you bought a stone from Antwerp but it was mined in Botswana and cut in India, its country of origin is listed as India.
-
Also: These possible exclusions will likely only apply to loose diamonds, not diamond jewelry. Any tariffs will probably still apply to diamond jewelry—a lot of which is produced in India. However, as a piece’s origin is determined by where it’s cast, since the tariffs began, there’s been a huge increase in pieces imported from Mexico—as that’s governed by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Jewelry trade had a strong first half, Tenoris says
In a report issued yesterday, Tenoris found that the industry had a solid first half of the year, with revenue rising 8.6%, driven by an incredible 19% jump in average purchase price.
“Consumer demand continues to shift dramatically toward higher-priced jewelry,” the industry data provider said. “At the same time, demand for lower-priced items continues to weaken.”
It also found:
-
Bracelets—and in particular, tennis bracelets—generated the highest revenue among jewelry categories during the year’s first half, with sales increasing 14% year-over-year.
-
Natural diamond jewelry posted a single-digit increase in revenue, with average price rising and unit sales falling.
-
Lab-grown diamond jewelry enjoyed double-digit revenue growth.
-
Pearl jewelry “delivered a surprisingly strong first half.”
Read its full report here.
Jewelers Mutual acquires leading Canadian jewelry insurer
Jewelers Mutual has acquired CJB Insurance Services, which it describes as “Canada’s leading specialty jewelers block brokerage.” Financial terms were not disclosed.
This is at least the fourth acquisition the Neenah, Wis.-based insurer has made in the last 18 months.
Subscribe
Quote of the day
“‘Luxury’ is not a word I am fond of particularly. It’s often associated somewhat pejoratively with aspects that have nothing to do with our business. Frivolity, superficiality, uselessness, all that flashy bling.”
–Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, which is generally considered the world’s largest luxury company, in a recent podcast interview, according to WWD. He prefers the term “high-quality products.”
Wild weekend watch
I didn’t know that “realistic jewelry tattoos” were a thing, but I’m impressed by the one below, and others in this article.
Subscribe
Today’s jewelry links feature Rolex, Kering, Hermes, De Beers, Mouawad, Joopiter, Renna, Aukera, Jennifer Fisher, Nate Borgelt, Rolan Sokolovski, Nirav Modi, Sean Dunn, The Jewelry Symposium, The Watch and Jewelry Initiative, Contemporary Jewellery Biennial, and Madonna.
