On December 3 to 13, Moscow’s Cultural and Exhibition Center Sokolniki hosted a jewellery show, Jeweller-2010. Rough&Polished correspondent Galina Semyonova asked its exponents to share their opinion about the results in the expiring year and their hopes for the future.
Yakutskie Brillianty-Seven Diamonds, Vassili, Consultant:
This year is definitely better than the previous one. Diamonds are going strong again and sales are growing by the day. In 2011, we expect the situation will be only improving.
OOO Almaz, Larissa, Consultant:
Of course, during this year purchasing power declined. People are mostly buying small things. Earlier, before the crisis, they used to buy more expensive goods, but now they only take the cheapest. And what is it all about? It means that people’s living standard went down. So, I do not expect any changes, at least in the near future. Silver is on the rise - even judging by this exhibition silver jewelry manufacturers are the majority here. Again, if in the past Sokolniki used to offer four pavilions for this exhibition, now only one is left - what does this mean? Can you say that the jewelry industry is living at the best time possible?
Silver 925, Romas Laukaitis, CEO:
We have everything in order and this year was no worse and no better than the previous ones. If something wrong happened, I think the blame should be on us and not on some mythical crisis. It’s the second year everyone is talking about it, but I have not felt it. Competitors appear, and competitors disappear... It's always been like this. And jewelry stores used to be closed in the past as well and new ones opened in their place. So what? Nobody blamed the crisis and other natural disasters for this way of things.
OOO Almazy i Zoloto Trading, Irina, Representative:
Sales this year show that the diamonds, especially in white gold, are going better than before the crisis. People perceive diamonds as investment. Diamonds are eternal values which can help on a "rainy day". And many, many people now view them as such. For example, here is the exclusive jewelry piece made of Australian pearls and braided in Canada into a bracelet worth 750,000 rubles. But it is not valued as a diamond. Because it is always possible in case anything happens to turn it into money because this is a valuable never losing its value. Any fashion designer's know-how - enameled silver, steel and so on - it's all short-lived. A diamond - it is forever.
Jewellery firm Alexey Pomelnikov, Olga Syomina, Representative:
Our production is in the luxury segment, and in this segment business is currently not going very well. I don’t know if it is related to the past crises or to the fact that many are waiting for the second crisis wave. There is a marked decline in sales, especially compared to the market situation in 2007 and 2008. We all hope that next year there should be some sort of stability in society. Our customers, who love us, have money, so we'll wait until they decide to reinvest them into beautiful and status jewelry.
Galina Semyonova, Rough&Polished, Moscow
