A growing number of experts concluded that investing in luxury goods in recent years is the safest way to save money and protect them from economic shocks.
Who has not dreamed of a platinum ring purchasing a wedding ring? The beautiful precious metal always attracts the eye, but its high price invariably discouraged buyers. Now it is the best time to buy platinum jewelry.
Due to certain macroeconomic developments, platinum is triumphantly coming back to fashion.
If some time back the price of the white metal exceeded that of gold nearly twice, in recent months the gap has decreased significantly due to excessive speculation in gold.
Gross demand for platinum in the jewellery sector is forecast to increase by 2% to 2.47 million ounces, according to Johnson Matthey’s Platinum 2011 Interim Review.
Jewelers are increasingly interested in using this precious metal for manufacturing.
Polarium, a magnetised platinum alloy, produced by designer Steven Kretchmer and containing 77.7 per cent of platinum, is the latest jewelry innovation. Polarium is permanently magnetic, extremely hard and quite scratch-resistant.
According to a recent research by Altagamma, an Italian association of luxury brands, American and French brands were the best performing in 2010 with sales growth reaching 12.3%. They were followed by the Italians, whose sales increased by 10.4% over the same period. The average growth rate of luxury brands in Europe was 7.4%.
Strong leaders
World-wide luxury group LVMH has added ArteCad, a Swiss watch manufacturer, to its portfolio. Like other watch manufacturers, LVMH aims to reduce its dependence on outside suppliers of clockworks and watch parts, including those under the control of Swatch Group.
PPR Group acquired a 100% stake in Italian tailor Brioni. Having closed this acquisition the group is going to strengthen its portfolio of premium brands in the fast-growing segment of expensive men's clothing. Brioni, in turn, hopes to expand its product range accelerating the company’s international expansion, especially in countries displaying high growth rates. The transaction is subject to review by the competition authorities and is expected to be completed in the 1st quarter of 2012.
Richemont, the world's second-largest conglomerate of luxury, has announced its results for the six months ended 30 September 2011. The group increased its sales by 29% (up to € 4,214 million) and achieved a sustained growth in all segments accross all regions. Sales of jewelry houses went up by 34%. Both Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels posted exceptionally good results. High growth rates were mostly generated by new stores launched primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
In order to further promote the brand, French jeweler Cartier launched its first online campaign, Painted Love, on Facebook, where it already boasts of having 280,000 fans. Today, luxury brands understand that bypassing social media may result in losing touch with the real time and miss a huge market opportunity. So such brands like Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have become quite popular in social networks after gaining insight into compelling statistics.
London-based Jewelry House Graff Diamonds plans to raise about $ 1 billion from its IPO in Hong Kong next year to further expand its presence in Asia. Graff boutiques have become popular in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Bros Manifatture, a leading jewelry designer and manufacturer in Italy, owning such prestigious brands as Bros, Brosway Jewels, Brosway Watches and Dhiva, added yet another major brand, Rosato, which is a jewelry house from Arezzo, to its portfolio.
Closing such a deal in time of crisis, the group confirmed its reliability and ability to implement the most ambitious projects.
Rosato itself, known in the luxury community for its original design of jewelry (outlined on the background of others by colored enamel and unusual shapes of goods), hopes to join the ranks of the finest jewelers in Italy and abroad once again, this time assisted by Bros.
Italian holding Buccellati, the runner-up in 2011 among high-end jewelry makers, secured financial support from SIMEST promoting Italian enterprises abroad.
Drawing on SIMEST the jewelry group plans to maintain and strengthen its presence in global markets to which it already exports more than 80% of its production and double its turnover in three years. Upon closing this transaction SIMEST will acquire a 49% stake in Mario Buccellati’s company, whereas the remaining 51% will remain in the hands of the parent company, Buccellati Holding Italia.
New Frontier
Next year Louis Vuitton, the most successful luxury brand, will open its first boutique 150 square meters in area on Place Vendome in Paris, trading in jewelry only. This is a crucial step and a new frontier for the big brand and quite an important signal for the entire industry.
Jewelry network Pomellato, whose wholesale part in overall sales reached 60 percent, recently decided to open its first store dedicated to jewelry line Dodo in London.
Italian jeweler Damiani confirmed its intention to launch its first boutique in New Delhi in November next year. The company also said it was looking for a place to station its second mono-brand boutique in Mumbai.
Recently, Chopard opened thier sixth store in Italy, in Bologna. It was not the first time that the project was authored by renowned designer Thierry W. Despont providing an exclusive style to Chopard’s boutiques.
On December 1, a large (spanning over 697 square meters) Gucci flagship boutique was unveiled in Sydney. To mark the opening Frida Giannini, Creative Director, developed the Limited Edition Sydney Collection, which will be sold exclusively in the new store, Westfield. The sales revenue from the collection will go to the Australian Children's Fund, which provides vital assistance to children in Australia who suffered from violence.
Statistics
The alfemminile.com portal shared the results of a poll among more than 800 of its online users. According to the Web portal, 62% of respondents confirmed that diamonds were their favorite gems, 17% voted for emeralds, 11% for sapphires and 9% for rubies.
At the time of purchase of jewelry, almost all respondents, 93% are guided by the beauty of jewelry, 77% take into account its cost and only 21% choose jewelry pieces compliant with current fashion trends.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents would like to receive jewelry as a birthday present, 57% - at Christmas, 56% with a proposal of marriage and 48% on St. Valentine's Day.
New collections
It has become almost a trend for fashion houses to create jewelry collections. Following French company Louis Vuitton, Italian fashion house Prada released its first collection of jewelry. The collection features a retro style and is skillfully made of different materials (crocodile leather, metal, resin and precious stones). Prices for jewelry will delight customers starting from 350 euros onwards.
Another newcomer to the world of jewelry was an Italian fashion brand - boutiques of Milan, London and Paris received the first line of jewelry from Dolce & Gabbana.
According to Stefano Gabbana, the director of the fashion house, its creators were inspired by Sicily, its history, traditions and symbols.
Swiss brand De Grisogono wishes a Merry Christmas to all of us releasing at once three collections made in a contemporary version of the baroque style - Tubetto, Pigna and Incrocio.
Record deals
The world's largest pear-shaped yellow Sun-Drop Diamond from South Africa weighing 110.03 carats was sold for 10 million Swiss francs at a Sotheby's auction in Geneva.
"It is an absolute record for a yellow diamond,” said David Bennett, the head of Sotheby's jewelry division, adding that it was the eighth most expensive diamond ever sold at auction.
Another world price record was set at Sotheby's auction by a huge blue-green emerald weighing 12.01 carats. Its price per carat was a record $119,000. The rare stone was quarried at the legendary mines of Muzo in Colombia.
Gold Exclusive
The world's largest coin was made in Australia. It took more than a ton of pure gold (99.99%) to make it. It is 80 cm in diameter and 12 cm thick. Almost a year was spent to manufacture the coin. By rough estimate, its value is more than 40 million euros. The coin was at once registered in the Guinness World Records.
Veronica Novoselova, Rough&Polished correspondent in Italy
