This week: Did Leonardo DiCaprio sell out Nelson Mandela? Shaun Leane leaves eponymous brand. And 50 Cent sues jeweler for using his name. All below.

 

U.S. jewelry sales see holiday uptick

 

Mytheresa buys longtime rival Yoox Net-a-Porter

– FT: Owning YNAP cost Richemont billions

– Analyst: Sale shows end of “luxury spending lunacy”

– Mytheresa CEO: “The worst is behind us”

– Will Mytheresa offload Yoox and Outnet?

– The Economist: Can Mytheresa succeed where Richemont failed? (subscription)

 

Luxury brands target ultrarich customers

 

European Watch Company buys Crown & Caliber from Hodinkee

– CEO Jeffery Fowler is leaving Hodinkee

– Hodinkee sold remaining inventory for “seven-figure sum”

– Why did Watches of Switzerland buy Hodinikee? (video)

– Is it a new era for watch media?

– Or, perhaps, no big deal?

 

Pre-owned luxury watch market “shows feeble rebound”

 

What are digital storefronts—and why is Signet so psyched about them?

 

A jeweler has grown rubies in mountings

 

How low will lab-grown diamonds go?

– The “battle for bridal”

– Panel on natural and lab-grown’s “growing separation” (video)

– Surat diamond bourse pins hopes on lab-grown

– Lab-grown sales surge amid recession in Surat

 

Lucara sells Clara rough diamond platform

 

Newspaper says President Masisi is “killing Botswana’s diamond dream”

– BBC reviews Masisi’s feud with predecessor Ian Khama

 

Okavango calls off scheduled auction sales

 

How Leonardo DiCaprio sold out Nelson Mandela

 

De Beers exec says natural diamond supply has peaked

 

Diavik moves into commercial production underground

 

Burgundy Diamonds backs out of planned expansion (audio)

 

Angolan diamond business struggles with Russian links

 

Murowa diamond mine workers on strike over outstanding salaries

– Zimbabwe’s diamond wealth is “failing its people”

Surat artisan dies by suicide, family blames diamond firm

 

Mumbai jeweler held for alleged gold smuggling

 

Noted gemologist Alan Hodgkinson dies

 

Signet’s head buyer in U.K. moving to Watches of Switzerland

 

SDC appoints Nikki Siegel vice president, sales and marketing

 

Shaun Leane exits his company after it’s sold

 

Kendra Scott CEO says working for founder requires trust

 

Ring Concierge opens first stores outside New York

 

$10 million blue diamond to lead Christie’s Hong Kong sale

 

Top jewelry items at Sotheby’s go unsold

 

Sotheby’s to auction jewels from Royal Court of Bulgaria

 

Dianne Feinstein’s diamond ring fetches over $108,000 at Bonham’s

 

50 Cent sues TraxNYC for using his name

 

What happened to Lisa Marie Presley’s six engagement rings?

 

Stones believed to be diamonds turn out to be quartz

 

Proposal on dock goes “horribly wrong”

 

Family baffled as medical examiner holds on to late woman’s diamond ring

 

Media Watch  

– Le Monde on lab-growns (translated)

– The Times on Tiffany’s windows

– Forbes profile of Matt Stuller (subscription)

– FT on Indians’ growing desire for Swiss watches, Chanel becoming player in the watch industry, Singapore’s independent jewelers, Lyon & Turnbull move into vintage watches, and one writer’s love for Casio

 

From the Blog

A Jeweler Has Grown Rubies in Mountings (and Thinks You Can Too)

What Are Digital Storefronts—and Why Is Signet So Psyched About Them?

 

From the Podcast   

The Jewelry District, Episode 132: Signet CEO Change, Indie Watchmakers

 

 

Email: rbates –at – jckonline.com

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Have a great weekend.

 

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