I sit here cool, calm and collected through this thunderstorm…
As the world enters financial apocalypse, gold prices have doubled in a blink of an eye, and diamond prices have skyrocketed 30% in the last 3 months. Jewelers across the globe are growing grey hairs by the minute worrying what customer is going to pay these exorbitant prices. The jewelry industry as a whole is entering a state of mass frenzy. Peek through the windows of your neighborhood jeweler and you’ll find customers picking themselves off of the marble showroom floor with bloody gashes after fainting from sticker shock.
What is happening?
When will it end?
And why do I have a smile on my face?
Consider all of this a much needed face-lift of the luxury sector. Generations ago, a typical family saved for diamond purchases to celebrate a momentous occasion. Over the years, as diamond jewelry became more affordable and quality workmanship became virtually nonexistent, it became commonplace for a 19 year old to walk into a neighborhood mall with $400 in hand and walk out boasting with an 10 karat gold ring with some arrangement of "diamonds" which would be easily mistaken for frozen spit! We are now approaching a new era in fine diamond jewelry. We are beginning to dust off the cobwebs and re-establish the glory days of diamond jewelry as an aspirational luxury item.
As prices of raw materials go up so will the discerning tastes of clients. Customers will be quick to inspect a rings workmanship after spending an entire year saving up to make a purchase. After a purchase, each customers, whether rich or poor, will go home with a new diamond ring in hand, a smile on their face, and that warm feeling of accomplishment.
Finally we’ll re-establish jewelers as artisans not peddlers, and fine jewelry as aspirational not common.
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