The JCK Las Vegas show closed on Monday with diamond suppliers satisfied with the level of sales even though trading activity was slower than previous years. Exhibitors noted that buyers bought goods to fill orders but they avoided larger scale purchases to fill inventory. Similarly, inter-dealer trading was stable but slightly subdued.
The show featured about 2,500 exhibitors and attracted approximately 23,000 attendees. The numbers are on par with last year.
“While it’s a healthy industry, jewelry industry is certainly not growing in terms of a number of stores opening,” said Yancy Weinrich, group vice president of Reed Exhibitions’ JCK Portfolio. “Since moving to Mandalay Bay four year ago, we’re up 43 percent. We are certainly back at pre-recession levels.” Weinrich added that the organizers mull extension of the friar next year.
According to feedback by the participants trading activity at the fair was slightly lower compared to the previous edition.
The main trends observed by diamond suppliers that spoke with Rapaport News include good demand for 0.30-carat to 0.70-carat, G-J, VS-SI goods, strong demand for non-certified pointer sizes in parcels, meanwhile demand for certified 1-carat to 2.99-carat diamonds was on the weak side and there were a lot of inquiries for 3-carat and larger sizes and shortages of good-quality fine-cut diamonds.
Olga Patseva, Editor in Chief of the American Bureau, Rough&Polished
