Rapaport TradeWire March 21, 2024

March 21, 2024

Rapaport Market Comment - March 21, 2024 Market slow but stable. Polished production rising, with India Feb. rough imports at 11-month high of $1.6B (-6% YOY), polished exports $1.7B (-28% YOY). Rapaport sends letter to OFAC requesting exemptions for polished diamonds in the US and all polished diamonds in existence before March 1, 2024. There should not be sanctions for polished diamonds that do not result in additional funding to Russia. Botswana warns that G7 sanctions might harm its diamond industry. US Federal Reserve holds interest rates at 5.25% to 5.5% after 3.2% inflation in Feb. Signet shares -12% in one day amid soft 1Q guidance; fiscal 4Q sales $2.5B (-6% YOY), profit $626M (+126%). Brilliant Earth 4Q sales $124M (+4% YOY). Watch Video

RAPNET DIAMOND INDEX (RAPI™)   Weekly Monthly Y2Y 0.30 ct -0.11% -0.73% -12.46% 0.50 ct 0.23% 0.85% -22.62% 1.00 ct 0.15% -0.48% -18.83% 3.00 ct -0.54% -1.86% -11.73%

Market Reports   United States: Jewelers cautious about buying for inventory…   Belgium: Concerns remain about impact of G7 sanctions on supply chain…   Israel: Sentiment weak amid sluggish demand from US and China…   India: Small diamonds cooling as Indian wedding season ends…   Hong Kong: Chinese shoppers moving away from diamonds toward lower-cost materials…

View Full Report

Synthetic Diamonds in the Spotlight By Avi Krawitz The synthetic-diamond segment is entering a new phase of development in the jewelry industry, focusing on fashion and branding. Read More

How Flawed Diamonds Got Their Mojo Back By Joshua Freedman Round SIs were among the biggest victims of last year's crash. Here are four reasons the trend is reversing. Read More

Podcast: Can Celebrities Sell Diamond Jewelry? Journalist and author Rachael Taylor discusses how red-carpet events and well-chosen brand ambassadors can impact revenues. Listen Here

G7 Sanctions Will Harm Botswana's Diamond Development, Officials Say Fresh off the success of its deal with De Beers, the government is concerned the new measures will be a step back for its diamond industry. See More Signet Revenue Slides Amid Lower-Value Sales Jeweler expects number of US engagements to be down by low to mid-single digits in first quarter. See More NRF Predicts Slowdown in US Retail Sales in 2024 Spending will reach between $5.23 trillion and $5.28 trillion, federation forecasts. See More Brilliant Earth Reports Record Revenue for 2023 17% increase in number of orders drove sales. See More Hong Kong Jeweler TSL Warns of Major Loss for Full Year Deficit driven by lack of demand for diamond jewelry in mainland China. See More Signet Says Shoppers Getting Wiser on Falling Lab-Grown Prices Last year saw highly promotional environment in natural and synthetics, according to CEO Gina Drosos. See More De Beers Mulls Job Cuts, and This Week's Other News Members of the editorial team pick their favorite pieces from the internet. See More US Retail Sales Show Slight Improvement in February Gain is due to higher spending on services, while outlay on goods has softened, NRF says. See More Sotheby's to Offer over 250 Jewels from Iconic Designers Group includes the largest collection of René Boivin pieces ever to come to auction. See More Lulo Mine's Rough-Diamond Resources Surge New material is equal to eight years of production, according to Lucapa. See More

CONTACT US

© Copyright 2024 by Rapaport USA Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rapaport®, TradeWire®, RapNet®, Index® and JNS® Jewelry News Service are registered trademarks.

Rapaport USA 133 East Warm Springs Road Suite 100 Las Vegas Nevada 89119 USA You received this email because you are subscribed to Rapaport TradeWire® from Rapaport USA. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails