ICA Newsletter - July 2018
Report from ICA's Ambassador to Thailand, Kennedy Ho.
Thailand has set itself a goal to become a leading global hub for trade in jewelry and gemstones by 2021, by exporting to fast-growing markets such as China. The nation's gem and jewelry exports, excluding gold, were up 2.25% in value terms year-on-year to nearly US$13 billion. And, ICA Thailand is currently working hard in preparation for the ICA Congress in 2019. Read More
The Swatch Group Leaves BaselWorld
Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group is quitting the annual Baselworld watch and jewelry trade fair, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper has reported, calling time on an event that has been a fixture of the luxury industry calendar for a century. More and more brands are deserting the fair held every March, blaming high costs and insufficient returns.
The U.S.A.'s FTC Has Approved Final Revisions to Jewelry Guides
The Guides (formally, the “Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries”) explain to businesses how to avoid making deceptive claims about precious metal, pewter, diamond, colored gemstone, and pearl products, and when they should make disclosures to avoid unfair or deceptive trade practices. Read More
De Beers Group to Move 200 Elephants from South Africa to Mozambique in Major Conservation Effort
De Beers Group is transporting 200 elephants 1,500 km from its Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve in South Africa to Mozambique. The operation, one of the largest elephant translocations ever recorded in South Africa, is part of a major conservation initiative to protect wildlife in South Africa and help restore Mozambique’s elephant population.   Read More
Calling For Entries! The 2019 Centurion Emerging Designer Competition Is Open
The 11th edition of the Centurion Emerging Designers Competition is open to all designers, as long as they meet the following criteria: 1) they have never exhibited in a U.S. fine jewelry trade show; 2) they have the ability to exhibit at a trade fair; and 3) they can supply high-end retailers should they want to purchase the line. Read More
How De Beers’ New Lab-Grown Diamond Jewelry Brand Will Change Market Dynamics – A Gem Atlas Perspective
The De Beers Group’s "Element Six" has been a world leader in lab-grown diamond technology for more than 50 years. Still, the announcement that it will be entering the lab-grown diamond jewelry space has come as a surprise to many. The ways this affect market dynamics. Read More
The Price of Platinum Briefly Sinks to a 14-Year Low
Platinum is trading at historic lows compared to some of the other jewelry metals. Currently, the white metal is trading for almost $400 less than the price of gold, which was valued at $1,240 an ounce at press time. Read More
High Jewelry’s Vision of the Future
The luxury houses that make one-of-a-kind, multimillion-dollar high jewelry for the world’s wealthiest women have not been known for taking risks. But times and clients have changed, and with those shifts has come a greater necessity for brands to merge age-old craftsmanship with bold and experimental visions. Read More
9th Annual International Pearl Design Competition Is Open for Entries
The Cultured Pearl Association of America (CPAA) kicks off its 9th Annual International Pearl Design Competition. Two divisions—international and domestic—are new for this year. Those who live outside the U.S. compete by submitting renderings and sketches, while those who live within the U.S. will compete in two stages with finished jewels. 
Kenya to promote value-added gemstone exports to boost forex earnings
John Munyes, the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, said in Nairobi that the government attaches great importance to the gemstone industry and has constructed a modern gemstone value addition center to enhance processing of gemstones. Read More
Color and More at the September Edition of the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair
Held biannually, one of the largest sections at the Bangkok fair is devoted to colored gemstones, with a vast selection of all types. In addition, colorful gemstone jewelry will be on the agenda at the majority of booths. The show runs from September 7 to 11, 2019 Read More
Reverse globalization: Chinese will use IDE factory to polish large diamonds  
The Israel Diamond Exchange and the Shanghai Bourse agree to extensive cooperation in historic MOU, whereby Chinese diamantaires will have their large diamonds polished in Israel, in a new manufacturing facility that the IDE and Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) are now building within the IDE complex. Read More
Indians Are Falling Out of Love with Gold, and Millennials Are Partly to Blame
Indians’ love affair with gold is cooling.
Imports slumped more than 25% to 54 metric tons in June from a year earlier, a person familiar with the information said, asking not to be identified as the figures aren’t public. Read More
Diamonds in the (Very) Deep
There may be more than a quadrillion tons of diamond hidden in the Earth’s interior, according to a new study from MIT and other universities, which found that 1-2% of Earth’s oldest mantle rocks are made from diamond. But the new results are unlikely to set off a diamond rush. Read More
Gold and Climate Change: An Intro
Gold is rare and, as with other precious metals, a lot of ore is mined and processed to produce small amounts of pure metal. The gold production process therefore uses a relatively high level of energy to bring finished gold to market and has a higher greenhouse (GHG) emissions intensity per ton of finished product than many other bulk metals. Read More