So much for the watches (read part 1 here). What of the diamonds and jewellery on show at Basel this year?

The first thing to say is that the jewellery people are second-class citizens at Basel.  The clue is in the name: ‘BaselWorld 2009 – The World Watch and Jewellery Show’.  First: Watches.  Second: Jewellery.

Actually the hierarchy goes further.  My own view is that it looks like this: (i) Watches, (ii) Finished Jewellery, (iii) Diamonds, (iv) other gemstones, (v) support products and services (packaging, machinery, etc).

But despite having to play second fiddle to the watch brands, hundreds of jewellery exhibitors come to Basel each year, with others coming just to show off loose (un-set) diamonds.  Some of the diamonds are worth hundreds of thousands – perhaps millions – of dollars, and this year I saw diamonds as big as 40 carats in weight.

The diamond market has not been especially strong in recent months because of the drop-off in consumer demand and the difficulty in getting bank finance.  The mood in Basel was a little subdued, but most attendees arrived with low expectations and in some cases those low expectations were slightly exceeded.  Too early to talk about green shoots in the diamond market, but a month or two ago most diamond people were extremely depressed, and things feel a little more optimistic now as diamond people adjust to the new reality and start to look forwards.

What trends were seen this year?  Bracelets were more in evidence than in previous years, mirroring the success of mens’ watches perhaps, and black diamonds also made a strong showing.  Sometimes diamonds are naturally black, and sometimes they are treated in order to become black (which must be declared, but isn’t always…).  Black diamonds are usually deployed to provide some contrast against the white diamonds (“night and day” as one brand put it), and sometimes it’s just a novelty – something different.

Shopping on behalf of Diamondthrills, I spent two days doing the rounds of diamond jewellery manufacturers and brands from countries including Hong Kong / China, Thailand, India, Israel, Germany, and Italy.  I made good progress, and have identified about 10 to 12 possible suppliers, mostly Italian and from the Far East, with one or two German companies also being possibilities.

It was fun to be in Basel for a couple of days last week, and it was interesting to be there in a new guise for the first time – not as an executive from De Beers, mostly talking to clients and looking at diamonds, but as an independent buyer, talking to jewellery manufacturers and looking at finished jewellery.  But at the same time, it was good to run into a number of clients, friends and colleagues from my De Beers days.