IIJS Wraps Up With Strong Jewelry Sales Amid Recession Worries

Diamond- and colored gemstone-set jewelry manufacturers had an extremely good show, with strong buying. Gold jewelry manufacturers, while reporting good sales, said the surge in the price of gold – and the recent falls in stock markets around the world - had detracted from the good showing.

Loose diamonds encountered the stiffest resistance in the larger sizes, with buyers asking for up to 8% off for 1-carat goods. The -2 sieve size (-0.01 carat) and stars (-0.02 carat) however, were moving at only slightly reduced prices of 2-3%, with the better categories showing some appreciation.

The result of the high prices in these categories was that many jewelry manufacturers had avoided them altogether in their product offerings.

The +6.5-11 sieve sizes (0.03-0.07 carat) did well in terms of sales because many categories in these sizes were cheaper than the smaller stars and -2 sieve sizes. Much of the jewelry on offer used diamonds in these sizes.

Diamond jewelry with other diamonds sizes also sold well because manufacturers were willing to offer them with lower quality diamonds to meet buyers rigid price limits.

As exhibitors head home, they worry about the strong possibility of another global recession. Global stock markets plunged again on Monday and in Mumbai, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex, dropped 512 points from its previous close within minutes of the bourse’s opening. It recovered somewhat to register a drop of 315 points by the end of trading.