The National Association of Jewellers
The National Association of Jewellers
12/03/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/03/2023 07:28
Industry Outlook with David Brough: November
Industry Outlook with David Brough: November
03 Dec 2023
Geneva's GemGenève trade show and high-value auctions highlight strength of the upper tier of jewellery market
GENEVA - Geneva's GemGenève trade event (November 2-5), followed by a series of high-value jewellery auctions, underscored the strength of the top end of the jewellery market, against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty.
European luxury retail buyers visited GemGenève, staged at Palexpo, near Geneva airport, which offered high-end goods from around the world, ranging from loose coloured gemstones and diamonds to both contemporary and period cutting-edge jewellery.
Exhibitors spoke of steady enquiries, but expressed concerns over the impact of the Israel-Hamas war, which had contributed to a few last-minute cancellations.
Visitors to this edition included buyers from Bond Street jewellery retail brands Boodles and David Morris, and Fellows Auctioneers.
Exhibitor Michael Hakimian, CEO of cultured pearl jeweller Yoko London, said business was less buoyant than he had expected.
London-based gem and jewellery dealer and valuer Myint Myint Thein said,
"I had the opportunity to admire a stunning array of high-end gemstones, including a magnificent Kashmir sapphire, a variety of Colombian emeralds, and Burmese (Myanmar) rubies. I'm currently making offers to my private clients who are interested in 'investment jewellery.'"
She added,
"One of the standout attractions at the show is the remarkable collection of antique and vintage jewellery, some signed by renowned designers."
Indian diamond manufacturers exhibiting at the show said that loose polished natural diamond business was moderate due to limited demand by European luxury retailers.
Bright spots at the event included exceptional signed antique high jewellery pieces which can potentially benefit from "safe haven" demand during times of geopolitical turmoil, and cultured pearls which have seen sharp increases in prices this year driven by tight supplies and resilient demand.
Prices of rare natural pearls, which account for a small fraction of the total global output of pearls, have also been rising.
GemGenève presented an exhibition called "The Pearl Odyssey", telling the story of natural pearl production and featuring some exquisite examples of natural pearl jewellery.
Extraordinary non-treated coloured gemstones, particularly those with exquisite colours that are responsibly sourced, saw buoyant enquiries, making sourcing of goods at higher prices a challenge for the trade.
London-based Jewellery Outlook Editor David Brough moderated a panel about the future of social media marketing of jewellery, joined by four Instagram digital creators with a combined following of more than 1.5 million people. They spoke of the increasing importance of reels and storytelling to communicate brand messages.
The Instagram influencers on the panel were Mumbai-based Renu Chowdhary of @thediamondtalk, Paris-based Katerina Perez of Katerina_Perez, Australia-based Bebe Bakhshi of @champagnegem, and Milan-based Laura Inghirami of @donna.talk.
GemGenève took place in the run-up to the Magnificent Jewels auctions, which featured an inaugural Phillips sale in Geneva, followed by the regular Christie's and Sotheby's sales later in the week.
Auctions
Phillips held its inaugural jewellery sale in Geneva on November 6, joining - and heightening competition with - Christie's and Sotheby's at the top end of the market.
Christie's had the highest-value lot in the Swiss city's seasonal sales and, for that matter, in the entire 2023 auction cycle: the pear-shaped, 17.61-carat Bleu Royal diamond, which went for $44 million, comfortably within estimates.
It was the largest fancy-vivid-blue, internally flawless diamond ever to appear at auction.
The Phillips sale - which took place in a white marquee facing the elegant La Réserve Genève Hotel - got off to a cracking start when a gold Bulgari Monete demi-parure fetched more than double its upper price tag after a bidding frenzy.
Brisk competition ensued for many lots, leading Benoit Repellin, Phillips's global head of jewellery, to quip that "we could be here all night."
Repellin had curated the sale, titled Geneva Jewels Auction: ONE.
The leading lot was a ring featuring a 20.19-carat, fancy-intense-pink diamond. After much attention at the viewing in the city's Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, the piece garnered CHF 11.9 million ($13.2 million), solidly within its CHF 10 million to CHF 15 million ($11.1 million to $16.7 million) estimate.
The gem was the fourth-largest fancy-intense-pink diamond ever to appear at auction, Phillips said.
Many exceptional diamonds and estate jewellery pieces outperformed estimates at the event, mirroring trends that appeared later in the week at Christie's and Sotheby's.
The successes underlined the health of the market's top end, even against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty that has intensified with the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Rare jewellery, diamonds and gemstones can be seen as safe havens, portable stores of value during times of war and high inflation.
The overall mood in the Phillips sales area was upbeat, and the bidding momentum was energetic from the start.