I write this column with trepidation, as it discusses how the ultra-orthodox Jewish cities and neighborhoods in Israel have become the central hot spots of the coronavirus. With trepidation, because no matter how careful I will spin the tale and report on the below, it is bad news. The good news is that, in a recent report, Israel was identified as one of the safest countries at the time of this pandemic. That is encouraging news, but it can still change. A humorous look at [...]
BC-AC? No, it’s is not the name of a band. That’s AC-DC. BC-AC is a term we’re going to hear a lot more in the coming weeks, months, and maybe years. I first came across it on March 20, in an article in the New York Times, written by the renowned journalist and columnist Thomas Friedman. “There is the world B.C. - Before Corona – and the world A.C. – After Corona. We have not even begun to fully grasp what the A.C. world will [...]
On Thursday, I watched Martin Rapaport’s webinar. The webinar ran for almost two hours. As Rapaport carried on, I became progressively more uncomfortable. Did he ask valid questions? He sure did. Here are some of the questions he asked. Are diamonds more than a luxury product? Are they better than shoes and pocketbooks? Are diamonds valuable? Why?Who makes them valuable? Who stands behind those diamonds? Are diamonds a store of value in troubled times? Good questions, you’ll agree. He then continued making some more good [...]
Earlier this week, Vlad Yavorskyy posted a story about Mandarin Garnet on Facebook. He wrote: “In recent years many new gemstones have been unearthed in distant and exotic places, occasioning great excitement in the gem world. One such a fantastic moment came at the beginning of the 1990’s with the discovery of a vivid orange garnet in the remote North-West of Namibia….” And “Mandarin garnet itself is a spessartite with some almandine, and owes its bright orange color to the presence of manganese...” Thank you, [...]
In early September, the head of the IDEX design team sent me the draft of the info mailer that announced the publication of IDEX Magazine’s September issue. If you haven’t seen it, take a look. It’s a great issue with a brilliant cover story by IDEX’s former head of research, Ken Gassman, that was inspired, so he said, by several of my Eagles-themed Memos. There is also an insightful article by Rami Baron and an important profile of Victoria McKay, who heads the Women’s’ Jewellery [...]
This October, CIBJO – the World Jewellery Confederation will hold its annual congress in Bogota, Colombia, and shortly after that the delegates of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) will gather in Mumbai for their biennial congress – the 38th! There will be a lot to discuss, since the global diamond, gem and jewellery trade is facing lots of pressing issues and challenges. This past July, the United States Federal Trade Commission released the final revision [...]
Bach-liefhebbers in Israel waren tot een jaar of wat geleden aangewezen op het luisteren naar hun eigen afspeelbare verzamelingen, op de - sporadische - uitzendingen van Bach's muziek op de lokale klassieke zender, op de uitvoeringen van een handvol barok-ensembles, op het jaarlijkse Bach Festival in Jeruzalem en op andere, eveneens sporadische concerten. Voor de laatste twee moest - en moet je nog steeds - flink in je geldbuidel tasten en meestal ook een flink stuk reizen. Maar nu is Bach overal 'bereikbaar.' Op mijn [...]
This blog, written in 2013, did not make it to the digital screen at the time, but with the Swatch company announcing it is withdrawing from BaselWorld 2019. I'm happy to share it, five years later.... I love going to Basel. I mean BaselWorld, that unique fair that has been held steadfastly, uninterruptedly – even during WWII… – since 1917 and ultimately evolved, over time, into Europe’s leading watch and jewelry fair, and into a must-attend event for European, North American and Asian buyers. I [...]
From today and onward, the diamond industry and trade can stop screaming foul. During the past decade(s), the diamond industry has been discussing, arguing and sometimes been kicking and screaming foul against the tendency to call synthetic diamonds….indeed, diamonds. Throughout the years, I have witnessed grown men and women getting worked up and all emotional, arguing passionately that synthetic or lab-grown diamonds cannot be called diamonds, because they just aren’t. Their arguments were driven by emotion, not by reason. This contrary to their colleagues in [...]
(Orginally published on GemKonnect on June 1, 2018) Earlier this month, the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) released the findings of a survey done by the Harris Poll revealing that ‘a clear majority of American consumers (68 percent) recognise that diamonds created in a factory (also known as “synthetic” or “laboratory-grown”) are not “real” diamonds’. The purpose of the survey was, as stated on the first slide of the survey's presentation, to "assess the extent to which consumers associate the term 'real diamonds' with 'natural diamonds’.” [...]