FOCUS 14 | JNA November/December 2022 others. There is a shortage of high-end stones in the market hence prices have been going up substantially. Prices of some coloured gemstones have risen by 50 per cent and, in some cases, even 100 per cent,” noted Bardiya. Luxury jewellery High-end jewellery remains abundantly sought after in the jewellery trade, according to Raphael Gübelin, president of jeweller House of Gübelin. Buyers’ increasing penchant for individuality, colours and connoisseurship is fuelling this demand, especially for jewellery adorned with top-quality coloured gemstones and diamonds. The trend is expected to continue through 2023. “There are also more occasions to wear high jewellery at events and galas that are once again taking place,” explained Raphael. “Economic factors also contribute to strong demand for high jewellery. People appreciate goods that are valuable. Jewellery fulfils this unique combination of financial and emotional value.” The challenge now lies in empowering the endconsumer and promoting consumer confidence. Transparency is also expected to gain further traction in the jewellery trade moving forward. “Transparently traded gems and jewellery will shape the business. People want to know about the journey of the gemstone. Without transparency in the value chain, there is no sustainability,” noted Raphael. 2023 Guarded optimism is likely to pervade the jewellery sector over the coming months mainly due to economic uncertainties, particularly higher interest rates, according to Ma of DFHK. “We expect more cautious spending. The festive season is here and traditionally there should be more demand. We have conservative expectations for December and January holiday sales as market corrections continue,” he said. “Once travel resumes, we will see a significant increase in business.” WFDB’s Dvash meanwhile is predicting a “stable” 2023. Major markets should also reopen soon. “We need to wait until December to be able to predict how the industry will fare in 2023, but we are quite optimistic,” he noted. “Once China and Asia completely lift Covid restrictions, these markets will spring back to life. When the US eased restrictions, demand for diamonds and jewellery rose immensely. We hope this will happen in Asia as well.” Maheshwari, for his part, raised the importance of offering more creative jewellery designs as buyers gravitate more towards experiential and meaningful purchases. Traceability is also fast becoming a strong consideration for buyers as demand for ethically sourced, conflict-free gemstones and jewellery continues to gain ground. “We hope to see more awareness of fancy colour diamonds, too. We will be heavily promoting fancy colour diamonds and associating them with collectable art to help further uplift their profile in the diamond industry,” he noted. Transparency and ethical practices alongside digitalisation will also be critical in the coloured gemstone trade. Sabbagh commented, “There is a rising movement of consumers rethinking their consumption habits to more conscious decisions. Additionally, with a growing digital presence and the ability to connect directly to consumers, coloured gem suppliers see a rise in non-conventional clientele such as Instagrammers, influencers and independent designers, instead of the traditional industry wholesalers and buyers of celebrated brands.” 103.2 US consumer confidence index in August 2022, demonstrating an uptick from 95.3 in July, according to a Bloomberg survey. This also represents the first increase in four months. 根据彭博社的调查，2022年8月美国消费者信心指数， 显示比7月的95.3有所回升。这也是四个月来的首次增长。
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