Hope everyone had/is having a great holiday!
2019 was a weird year, as basically every year is, and what better way to celebrate that with some seriously strange content. The “Weird Story of the Week” is one of my favorite parts of the JCK podcast, “The Jewelry District,” and now we’ve compiled our favorites for you to hear in one (sometimes-foul) fell swoop.
Learn about a woman who swallowed an amazing amount of jewelry (but only one watch dial). The ironic event experienced by the jeweler who designed a ring for Elon Musk. And the weird anti-hippie article that appeared in the 1970s JCK. It’s all here.
Also please check out our interview with Lightbox chief marketing officer Sally Morrison and discussion on sustainability and the future of the diamond industry.
This week in Diamond Shavings: How retail has changed this decade. Warren Buffett tried to get Bill Gates to spend $370 million on an engagement ring. And Kylie Jenner gives diamonds to a 1-year-old. All below.
InStore: Jewelers call holiday “better than expected.”
– Centurion: Holiday “stays strong.”
– SpendingPulse: Online sales lift jewelry category.
– Tiffany provides interim holiday sales results.
Looking Ahead
– Three hopeful jewelry predictions for the 2020s.
– Avi Krawitz: Looking at the “next diamond decade.”
– Why fashion in the 2020s will be “circular.”
Looking Back
– Twenty-five of the best jewelry-related reads.
– Jewelry designers share their favorite piece.
– Beth Bernstein looks back at her favorite jewelry trends of the year.
– The biggest jewelry developments of the decade.
– Eleven jewelry designers who “defined the decade.”
– Vogue’s “year in bling.”
– Edahn Golan: How the “confusing diamond decade played out.”
– What Brittany Siminitz learned this decade.
It was a big year for retail store closures (not just jewelry).
– How the 2010s changed retail forever.
– Malls now split between “haves and have-nots.”
Jewelry brand Mejuri plans IPO “in near future.”
New Blue Nile CEO sees 50–100 webrooms.
DigitalCommerce360 looks at James Allen.
Online retail beginning to “look like real-world retail.”
– Why it’s difficult for analysts to judge e-tail performance.
Amazon had its best holiday season ever.
– “Amazon’s Choice” isn’t the endorsement it appears.
– How Amazon squeezes its sellers.
How to sell diamonds to female self-purchasers.
– CBS News on the DPA’s female self-purchase campaign.
– DPA targets out-of-home advertising in India.
De Beers’ sales sink at end of “horrible year.”
– India’s rough diamond imports sank 32% in first eight months.
Why lower diamond prices are “here to stay.”
– Forbes commenter on the “organic value” of diamonds.
Why Argyle closure may jump-start market.
– Pink diamonds to get rarer with closure of Argyle.
De Beers prohibits logo use for clients dealing in lab-growns.
Zimbabwe’s human rights record could boost demand for synthetics, NGO says.
CNN International visits the floor of the Dubai Diamond Exchange.
Rolex’s “unusual” definition of a counterfeit watch.
California to ban crocodile watch straps.
Swiss government considering limiting Swatch’s ability to sell parts.
Hong Kong slump disrupts Swiss watches.
Indian jewelry company called a “scam.”
San Francisco police investigate fake jewelry scheme.
Buffalo, N.Y., woman says her ring is being “held hostage” by Sears.
HRD gets new CEO amid sale process.
Birks Group gets new chief financial officer.
Joseph Segel, founder of QVC, dies at 88.
Minnesota jeweler Arnold Bockstruck dies.
Warren Buffett tried to get Bill Gates to spend $370 million on an engagement ring.
Chris Brown sparks marriage rumor as he wears huge diamond ring.
Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend also wears huge diamond ring.
Kylie Jenner slammed for giving daughter a diamond for Christmas.
India’s Twinkle Khanna wears rings made out of onions.
Was the queen’s brooch a pro-EU message?
Gold jewelry, artifacts found in Greek tomb.
Ohio jeweler gives firefighters special rings.
Burger King employees surprised with jewelry in drive-through.
Tiffany bracelet and other valuables dropped in Salvation Army bucket.
Media Watch
Vogue U.K.: Five fascinating facts about diamonds.
WhoWhatWear writer excited about celebrity “target rings.”
From the Blog
25 of the Best Jewelry-Related Reads of 2019
From the Magazine
How to Talk (Correctly!) About Lab-Grown Diamonds
From the Podcast
Episode 9: Best of Weird Stories 2019
Episode 8: Guest Sally Morrison
Episode 7: NYC Jewelry Week, Sustainability, and New De Beers Research
Thanks to everyone who read and participated this year (and decade). Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year! We’ll pick up the conversation in 2020. Look forward to seeing you all then.
– Email: rbates – at – jckonline.com.
– Twitter: @robbatesjck
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