It's that time of year again – the end of May and start of June means the JCK Las Vegas show has arrived. Along with the Hong Kong diamond and jewelry shows that take place in March and September, the huge Las Vegas fair is critical in determining the state of the global diamond and jewelry business.
When I first attended the show some 20 years ago, I was shocked by the size of the halls and the variety of goods on offer. And time has done nothing to reduce my amazement. One thing that I did learn on attending the fair for the first time was always to bring a few pairs of comfortable shoes!
The mood before any of the big shows – as long as I have been in the business – has always been one of enormous anticipation. Every year, the industry worries about what the shows will bring and always looks to them for an indication of the state of the market.
Not surprisingly, this year is no different. The trade has a tendency to believe that every year the industry faces unique problems, including global issues. Being a long-standing member of the trade, I can testify that there are always political and economic factors at work testing the industry’s resolve and ability to increase sales.
And this year is no different. As is usually the case, the trade is unsure about what it faces going forward. To name but a few, there is the question of attendance, the state of the U.S. and global markets and whether the natural diamond industry will suffer further reductions in sales due to the growing popularity of lab-grown diamonds (LGD), and indeed the challenges the LGD sector is coming under due to constantly falling prices. Added to all these, is the question of what the industry thinks about the possible sale of De Beers.
The JCK Las Vegas Show Kicks Off
The show starts on May 31 and lasts for a week. A breakdown of the show looks like this: the Luxury show along with the JCK Show are hosted as ever at the Venetian hotel, while the Couture and Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, both take place at the nearby Wynn Las Vegas.
If You Build It, The People Will Come
What works in Hollywood doesn’t, of course, usually happen in real life. The issue of whether trade shows are worth attending has been bandied around for many years. Overall, it depends on whether the company is big enough, the market is strong enough and the possibility of sales – or, at the very least, making important contacts that can lead to substantial sales later on.
The growth in online sales over the past two decades, and then the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, proved to many people that shows are not critical. There is a kind of trade-off where the seller sells online and in return offers a discount to buyers: ‘I didn’t invest tens of thousands of dollars in exhibiting, and you didn’t have to put out a load of money to attend so let’s do business online.’
Since many potential customers are there mostly to window shop, then they can do that online anyway – especially with the proliferation of high-tech cameras and instruments that can give them a detailed look at diamonds and jewelry from wherever they are located in the world.
There is no doubt that shows are still important in providing educational events and networking opportunities, along with allowing industry members to connect with clients in one convenient spot. However, many companies – particular smaller ones – are not persuaded that the outlay is worth it. The high costs involved, along with what is perceived to be a weaker market globally, are likely to decide how heavy this year's footfall will be.
In addition, there is the impact of inflation in pushing up prices for exhibitors – not just at the show, but in every other aspect – such as hotels, travel, meals and other hospitality, as well.
And then there are other highly specific factors: Israeli exhibitor numbers will inevitably be down due to the lower number of flights available to and from Israel since the war in Gaza began last October. Israelis are facing much higher flight ticket prices, and that will have an impact on exhibitor numbers from an important market.
The State of The Markets
Since this year has hardly been a glittering one following a challenging 2023, this will also impact the show.
Natural diamond jewelry sales in the critical U.S. market in the first months of this year have essentially stood still. With U.S. and European interest rates still high as governments continue to battle high inflation, buyers are not in the mood to spend their hard-earned cash on non-essential items such as diamond jewelry.
On the other hand, it has to be taken into account that jewelers will need to boost inventories which they have kept at skeleton levels over the past year. And with LGD prices on a continuous decline, retailers are discovering that those stones are not the money-spinners they thought they would be a few years ago.
Impact on Market Sentiment of Possible De Beers Acquisition
It feels like it has been a long time since there has been news from De Beers which has created a positive feeling in the market.
While the diamond giant was clearly hoping to take advantage of the JCK Show by announcing a price reduction for its Lightbox LGDs (which in itself was not going to boost the feeling in the trade since it was essentially an admission that nobody in the trade can do anything about sliding LGD prices) news that Anglo American might be willing to get rid of its diamond division will do nothing to cheer up industry members.
On the contrary, since if the company does not have confidence in the future of its diamond mining and products, then what should the rest of the trade feel?
It’s true that De Beers’ overwhelmingly large role in the diamond trade has been diminishing for more than a decade, but it nonetheless retains a mythical connection to diamonds.
Latest De Beers Sales Show Downturn
In addition to the news of the possible Anglo American sell-off of De Beers came the latest rough sales figures, showing a decline even though they came in what is traditionally a slow period for the diamond trade.
De Beers reported sales of $380 million in May, a drop of more than a fifth from the same period of 2023. Furthermore, the figures were 15% down on the April cycle, and 12% below those for February.
In Conclusion…
All factors taken into account, it would probably be safe to assume that this year's JCK show will be a solid rather than a record-breaking event.
There are always more than enough exhibitors from the U.S. and global markets looking for business in the huge American sector.
In addition, visitor numbers are always solid given the importance of the American market.
Numbers don’t always tell the whole story of the importance of a trade show, but it will nonetheless be interesting to see the JCK numbers when they are released following the show.
Abraham Dayan for Rough&Polished
