MONTH IN REVIEW
www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk
DIAMONDS
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LAB-GROWN DIAMONDS
Diamnet trading
platform officially
launches following
12-month
development De Beers to
launch new
fashion jewellery
brand with lab-
grown diamonds
A new diamond trading platform
has been launched by the former
managing director of Chalfen of
London, Howard Levine.
The platform - designed for the
wholesale market - aims to connect
retailers with a wider number of
dealers and manufacturers as well
as helping them to sell more bridal
jewellery to consumers.
Diamnet provides retailers with a
vast database containing diamonds
from leading suppliers including Hennig
Diamonds, Bass Premier, Weissbart ,
and AMC Diamonds among others.
The database has an advanced
set of filters which lets retailers
choose between price, weight, clarity,
colour and whether the diamonds
are available on approval. It will also
come with a secondary database that
allows retailers to source mounts from
manufacturers including Chalfen of
London, Domino and River Mounts.
The service is available to all
retailers once they have registered as
a trade member.
Levine, founder of Diamnet said: “I
am in the perfect position to launch
this. The high street is changing, the
digital and physical are merging. The
best weapon an independent jeweller
has at their disposal is the engagement
ring, it is the most important sale for an
independent jeweller and is their main
chance to build trust with a consumer.”
Levine believes that bricks-and mortar
independent jewellers are falling behind
easily accessible online retailers as they
lack personalisation, omnichannel selling
and in-store experiences for consumers.
“Most independent jewellers are
behind the times. I created Diamnet
to tackle these problems and to even
the playing field between brick and
mortar independent jewellers and
online retailers.” De Beers Group has announced the
launch of a new company called
Lightbox Jewelry that will begin
marketing a new brand of laboratory-
grown diamond jewellery in September.
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JEWELLERY FOCUS
Lightbox lab-grown diamonds will
retail from $200 (£150) for a quarter-
carat stone to $800 (£603) for a one-
carat stone. The line will feature pink,
blue and white lab-grown diamonds in
a selection of accessibly-priced earring
and necklace designs.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers
Group, said: “Lightbox will transform
the lab-grown diamond sector by
offering consumers a lab-grown
product they have told us they want
but aren’t getting: affordable fashion
jewelry that may not be forever, but is
perfect for right now.
“Our extensive research tells us this
is how consumers regard lab-grown
diamonds – as a fun, pretty product that
shouldn’t cost that much – so we see an
opportunity here that’s been missed by
lab-grown diamond producers.
“After decades of R&D investment,
we’re able to offer consumers a
better price today. While it will be a
small business compared with our
core diamond business, we think
the Lightbox brand will resonate
with consumers and provide a
new, complementary commercial
opportunity for De Beers Group.”
Lightbox will launch in the US and
will initially be available to US-based
consumers through the Lightbox
e-commerce website, with retail
partnerships to be announced in
due course.
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WATCHES
Versus Versace
launches
‘Millennial
focused’
timepieces
Fashion brand Versus Versace has
launched its new summer watch
collection, Buffle Bay, aimed at
Millennial customers.
The watches feature a 3D lion’s head,
positioned on the right side of the
timepiece in the 3 o’clock position, and
is available in four colours: light blue,
white, deep red or dark blue. The items
will be available in either gold, rose
gold, leather or steel straps.
Duncan Harris, sales and marketing
director at Timex UK, said: “The new
Buffle Bay from Versus is aimed at
the millennial customer who wants a
timepiece that embodies the diffusion
essence of Versus Versace - bold styles
and affordable trend led fashion.”
He added: “The Buffle Bay runway
SKU sets the brand apart by taking
the unmistakably Versus Versace lion
head and creating a relief-inspired
accent on the bezel. We’re excited to
see the sell through with some of the
key customers carrying the collection
already as early indicators are that this
collection will be a bestseller.”
Hallmarking in
May fell by
11.3%
to 649,602 items
(compared with the
previous May)
July 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk