Edahn Golan’s Post

I believe lab grown and natural diamonds should have decoupled on pricing since the segments are inherently different. US jewelry market reaffirms the distinction between luxury and premium segments. In economic turbulence, ultimate luxury continues its march. It will be interesting to see how the premium segment gets redefined.

Jewelry sales in the U.S. remained steady in August as consumers purchased more items but spent less per piece, raising some concerns for the industry. Nevertheless, there are positive signs, according to diamond analyst Edahn Golan #diamondnews #diamonds #diamondmarket #diamondsales #jewelrysales #diamondanalysis #diamondindustry #diamondjewelry

The U.S. jewelry market saw a mixed 2024 - overall sales rose, but key sectors struggled. Natural diamonds lost some appeal, yet buyers paid more for them. Analyst Edahn Golan recaps 2024 in the diamond and jewelry industry #diamondnews #diamonds #diamondmarket #diamondsales #naturaldiamonds #israelidiamonds

Mother’s Day sparked a promising trend in the jewelry industry this year. With sales surpassing last year's figures, US consumers are showing signs of increased demand. In May, jewelry sales rose by 1.8% year over year, with a 2% increase in average expenditure per item. The Jewelry Index reflects this positive shift, with a continuous upward trend since March. Notably, sales surged by 5% on May 10-11 compared to the same period in 2023. Retailers are also optimistic about the year ahead, as evidenced by the positive outcomes at recent trade shows in Las Vegas. Exhibitors reported heightened buyer demand, indicating a strong market outlook. However, the demand for loose lab-grown diamonds at JCK was subdued, resulting in notably reduced prices. Read more about the latest trends in jewelry sales from Tenoris: [Link to the article](https://lnkd.in/d7j-upjC) #JewelryIndustry #ConsumerDemand #RetailTrends

US jewelry sales remained flat in August following a period of growth in July, according to Tenoris. Retailers have seen a surge in inventories recently, particularly in lab-grown jewelry, indicating potential challenges ahead. Natural diamond jewelry sales decreased by 3% year over year, while lab-grown jewelry sales saw a 10% increase despite a 17% decline in average price. This trend warrants attention as it may signify underlying market shifts. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dAPvmDZC

2024 ended on a high note and overall good news, but not all was awesome with the holiday season. Loose Natural (and loose lab as well) did not do very well during the holiday season, but it seems like the price drops helped stabilize that a bit by encouraging some to go larger. This could also be a result of the trend where because large lab stones are so common that it's pushing the expectation for natural up as well. Finished natural diamond jewelry were also following this trend to larger pieces. Overall with natural diamonds now it's higher price points and lower units which reflects their shift to a more defined luxury product. Whether Lab becomes more of a fashion item or retains it's fine jewelry bona fides remains to be seen, but with the sheer volume of news around lab grown 2025 will be a formative year in the diamond market for lab and natural and how they play with and against each other. But it's still a cause to celebrate that the news as a whole was positive for independent jewelers in the US. It's a great way to start the new year. https://zurl.co/4doAS

The Latest data is on Tenoris, here are a few findings: June 2024 was a slow month for the jewelry market. Jewelry sales at US specialty jewelers softened 2.1%, as the number of units sold declined 3.5% year over year. Primarily, it was weak demand for natural diamonds that dragged down sales. According to Tenoris data collected from more than 2,000 US jewelry retailers, retailers’ cost of goods sold decreased 3.2% year over year, aiding them increase their overall gross margins to 50% during the first six months of 2024. Revenue from finished jewelry and diamond sales softened 0.6% in the first half of 2024. At the same time, the average retail price of sold items during the period rose 0.7%. See the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dVZgcsNB

Mixed figures for the holiday season to date. Our initial analysis finds that overall jewelry sales rose 2.5% in November. This despite a 2% decline in unit sales. Diamond jewelry sales were flat, but average consumer expenditure rose 5.4%. More to follow.

There is a lot of meat in this post. My simple takeaway is that the battle ground for LGD is shifting to finished goods which is a healthy trend. I am not sure about the inventory buildup of LGD jewellery because unlike loose LGD it is harder to memo finished LGD jewellery. This may explain the inventory buildup. It was never clear to me how much memoed loose LGD are in the retail pipeline and perhaps Edahn Golan can clarify. Memoed goods are off balance sheet so how are they measured in the Tenoris system ? I am also a bit puzzled by the loose LGD buildup at the retail level since I thought a lot was memoed. Are retailers buying such goods now ? As I said there is a lot of data to digest. It might be useful if Edahn can summarise the key takeaways especially for the LGD sector. Thank you in advance.

The latest data from Tenoris: US specialty jewelers experienced a 2.1% decrease in jewelry sales, with a 3.5% decline in units sold compared to the previous year, driven by weak demand for natural diamonds. Based on data from over 2,000 US jewelry retailers, the cost of goods sold decreased by 3.2% year over year, contributing to an increase in overall gross margins to 50% in the first half of 2024. Despite this, revenue from finished jewelry and diamond sales softened by 0.6% during the same period, while the average retail price of items sold saw a modest 0.7% increase. For a more detailed view of market trends and performance, check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dw-8Gtnf