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How is Coronavirus impacting the jewellery and diamond trade?

I didn't assume they'd be sold at a loss, just wondered if we might see a swing in jewellery trends away from rings and toward other pieces, as a general fashion trend.

My diamonds don't keep me warm at night (that's what the cats are for) but they do keep my heart full of joy :-)
 
What about bracelets! I'm seriously considering putting some gems in bracelets because rings and hand-washing are just not mixing well for me.
 
Ive been wearing more bracelets and necklaces in the past few days, as I need the dopamine hit from my sparklies to counter-act all the doom and gloom. :) I agree that rings are not so practical at the moment with all the handwashing.

I definitely won't be buying any more jewellery at the moment, but I may well be dusting off pieces that haven't been out for a while. Once they have been given a good clean you can almost get the feeling of having brand new bling :D
 
Sigh, I got up early to go to the supermarket to buy a pack of toilet paper. Limit 1 pack per shopper. Supermarket opens at 7am, got there about 7.05am.
Apparently I needed to be there BEFORE 6.30am to stand in a queue to get 1 packet. No toilet paper for me!
So I bought 78 rolls online. Free shipping yay. Won’t be needing a reorder til Christmas, hopefully by then this madness is over.
The Formula 1 Grand Prix here in Melbourne is apparently cancelled for spectators, whether or not the race still runs is ?
Nothing will stop the spread of the Corona virus. What we need to do is reduce the rate and speed of infection so that our health systems can cope with the higher than normal need for medical support. We can’t stop the spread of any other flu or cold viruses, that’s how it is. The main thing is to slow the rate of transmission so if you are in the % that experience serious complications that there is a hospital bed and ventilator to help you recover.
 
Although demand will decline, I have to wonder about supply. If this virus is all over, and people who are mining get sick, and the mines are shut down then that diminishes the supply, so that could also have an effect on pricing, the opposite of what we all want. Just don’t now.
 
Bron357 said:
Sigh, I got up early to go to the supermarket to buy a pack of toilet paper. Limit 1 pack per shopper. Supermarket opens at 7am, got there about 7.05am.
Apparently I needed to be there BEFORE 6.30am to stand in a queue to get 1 packet. No toilet paper for me!
So I bought 78 rolls online. Free shipping yay. Won’t be needing a reorder til Christmas, hopefully by then this madness is over.
The Formula 1 Grand Prix here in Melbourne is apparently cancelled for spectators, whether or not the race still runs is ?
Nothing will stop the spread of the Corona virus. What we need to do is reduce the rate and speed of infection so that our health systems can cope with the higher than normal need for medical support. We can’t stop the spread of any other flu or cold viruses, that’s how it is. The main thing is to slow the rate of transmission so if you are in the % that experience serious complications that there is a hospital bed and ventilator to help you recover.
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Ewwww! A piece of bread for me. :lol:
 
Lucky me, I get a shower!
 
Well, to my surprise, someone has just bought the yellow diamond ring I had for sale on ebay. He is planning a proposal and doesnt seem phased by coronavirus at all. Although he was planning to fly her from the UK to NY for the proposal, and that plan has been abruptly changed as of yesterday.............
 
diamondhoarder said:
Well, to my surprise, someone has just bought the yellow diamond ring I had for sale on ebay. He is planning a proposal and doesnt seem phased by coronavirus at all. Although he was planning to fly her from the UK to NY for the proposal, and that plan has been abruptly changed as of yesterday.............
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Looks like I sold it just in time! Our government has just anounced new guidelines to avoid all non-essential social contact, travel, visiting pubs, restaurants, cinemas, attendance at events etc etc. I wonder if shops might start closing or working on very reduced hours due to much lower footfall.
 
My concern, well mostly my husband's concern, is that I have wired the money for new diamond studs and now the market has dumped even more. He says cash is going to run out for people real fast and is worried I (we) might get stuck being out of money with no jewelry. It's a reputable vendor so I'm hopeful that doesn't happen but I'll feel a LOT better when I get them (estimated 2? more weeks).
 
lmyracle said:
My concern, well mostly my husband's concern, is that I have wired the money for new diamond studs and now the market has dumped even more. He says cash is going to run out for people real fast and is worried I (we) might get stuck being out of money with no jewelry. It's a reputable vendor so I'm hopeful that doesn't happen but I'll feel a LOT better when I get them (estimated 2? more weeks).
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I see why you would be concerned, especially after the Enchanted situation. As its from a reputable vendor, and we are still at the beginning of the slow-down I'm sure you will be fine.

But you make a great point, and for people considering large purchases over the coming months it would probably make a lot of sense to pay a little extra and use credit cards instead of wire for that extra peace of mind.
 
I recently ordered a diamond half-eternity band for myself and a platinum band for my husband to be... for a wedding that may need to be cancelled. The bands are coming at the end of the month and I don’t know if I will be excited to see them, or sad that our wedding might not happen. I’ve been wondering if I should return them while I still can.

I’ve had the dresses I ordered for my bridesmaids for a week, and they’re still in box... I haven’t looked at them because I’m pretty sure I’ll be sending them back.
 
What a relief - my studs have shipped! I've definitely had uneasy feelings about wiring cash given the current state of affairs. They shipped them out just prior to being closed down for a few weeks due to the virus.
 
Overall the economy downturn will dictate, in my opinion, these types of purchases far more than the virus (or spread of the virus) itself. Anniversaries continue, birthdays continue, engagements will continue.. [except, perhaps for those who are quarantined together, and change their minds :lol: ].

What seems obvious to me is online jewelry purchases will be more needed in the next few months than ever before- despite the reticence of some to spend in a down economy. No one wants to walk into a mall, strip-center, or parking lot and spend time indoors looking at jewelry in close proximity to others at this time. My B&M friends will likely confirm this immediate impact - it is yet to be determined how internet traffic will change in the long term.
 
I have a project at the jeweler right now, so I'm looking forward to finishing that. I'm not very concerned about my investment portfolio as I'm looking at the long term, but I've decided to put 100% of my income towards helping others in need and additional investments to take advantage of this buying opportunity. Then maybe I'll buy more bling with my profits, but honestly I don't even have the bandwidth to think about jewelry right now. I'm basically trying to not get the coronavirus, not die, and not run out of food.
 
I had a 50% deposit down on a diamond ring that DanielM has made for me. I was planning on waiting until next week to pay the balance for my birthday, but every time I checked my cart the price went up, thanks to the tanking AUD. I paid for it at the start of this week and it has thankfully left the US, I was anxious that I'd be waiting months if I left it any longer, due to restricted flights.
 
1 AU$ bought 0.72 US cents a year ago. Today $0.57
-1% and most of drop in 1 month
 
Garry H (Cut Nut) said:
1 AU$ bought 0.72 US cents a year ago. Today $0.57
-1% and most of drop in 1 month
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I meant -18% drop, but as the day progressed we dropped from a peak of 0.58 to now 0.553. Another nearly 5% in 12 hours. So 0.72 to 0.553 = -30% in a month or so.
 
MRBXXXFVVS1 said:
I have a project at the jeweler right now, so I'm looking forward to finishing that. I'm not very concerned about my investment portfolio as I'm looking at the long term, but I've decided to put 100% of my income towards helping others in need and additional investments to take advantage of this buying opportunity. Then maybe I'll buy more bling with my profits, but honestly I don't even have the bandwidth to think about jewelry right now. I'm basically trying to not get the coronavirus, not die, and not run out of food.
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I'm trying to maximize supporting small businesses by buying a few more pieces than perhaps I would have. As long as I have a roof, a full fridge, and the health of my family I am doing ok and my heart breaks for folks who work for themselves and can't even claim unemployment.
 
CSpan said:
I'm trying to maximize supporting small businesses by buying a few more pieces than perhaps I would have. As long as I have a roof, a full fridge, and the health of my family I am doing ok and my heart breaks for folks who work for themselves and can't even claim unemployment.
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Same. I put down a deposit with a small work from home artist and am mailing some things to my local jeweler who is working from home for a bit.
 
I wonder if our PS vendors might weigh in on sales during this terrible time with the Coronavirus? How could anyone be buying diamonds now? Receptions this summer must have been cancelled, and buying an ER for a reception down the road is just a moving target.

We were invited to a Sweet 16 in May, it has been cancelled, no date set, but the parents who are good friends of ours are hoping for a Sweet 17 instead.
 
We have a few people coming in and mostly pick ups of projects that began much earlier. We will make this months budgets but what the future holds is anyone's guess,

We will probably go to half staff working from home shortly - we are setting our CRM system up so sales people can work from home and arrange appointments to meet clients in store.

Our jewellers are well separated and there is no reason they can not continue to work while we have work. Our CAD guy can work from home.

We have not repriced anything as yet and that gives the sales people a great benefit in offering goods that may be 30% more for the next few years. They have access to a lot of our clients Bdates and anniversaries :-)
We can custom make in platinum cheaper than white gold now too.

Here is the image that will be on the A frames on the foot paths.
1584664759467.png

We had some violent robberies 3 years ago and since then we have made the stores into Fort Knox's. I put up this billboard then that many people remembered as we spent a fortune on security and the smoke cloak demo shown live on national TV news:

1584664938808.png
 
I am surprised this thread dropped from page 1.

In addition to the closing of businesses in NYC diamond district, Stuller and some of their sister and brother manufacturers outside NYC have closed temporarily.

We are still working. We have compartmentalized, with staff and jewelers working from home, but are still working. It may be slower than we like, but we will continue to assist and deliver.

Amidst all of this, I’m taking joy in those going forward with their proposals. One client told me about his great grandparents marrying during the Great Depression (that’s a lot of great) to show their strength. I am a former US Marine and would have had the same attitude. Everyone who gets my newsletter already knows that, since I laid out my philosophy to them yesterday.

We are here to help whoever we can, for as long as we can. We all need optimism right now. Everyone hang in there.

Wink
 

Diamonds.net - Rapaport Suspends Price List Until May 1

The Rapaport Group will not publish the Rapaport Price List until May 1, after putting the issue to a vote among members of its RapNet trading network. The latest edition from March 20 is the official Rapaport Price List until such time, Chairman Martin Rapaport said in a letter disclosing the...
www.diamonds.net
 
No need for the Rapaport Price List - we've got this covered:

IMG_8619.jpg

My thanks to Amy Phillips from David Klass Jewelry for this chuckle!
 
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