Tiffany London – The Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA)

Tiffany Buys Some of a Legendary Diamond Mine’s Last Finds

The new Tiffany Collection comprises 35 gems, including an unusual red stone, from the Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia.

About a year ago, a representative of the Argyle Diamond Mine — a site in Western Australia that was the pre-eminent source of pink diamonds until it closed in 2020 — approached Tiffany & Company’s chief gemologist with an unusual offer: the chance to purchase a collection of diamonds that were among the last stones taken from the mine.

The decision, Tiffany executives said, didn’t require much consideration.

“We had to do it,” Anthony Ledru, the brand’s president and chief executive, said in his bright office in New York’s Flatiron district. “It’s perfect with what we stand for.”

The purchase, which was finalized several months ago, involved 35 diamonds of various shades: pink, almost purple and even one red gem, an especially unusual color for a diamond. The gems, which had already been cut in various styles, “checked off all of those boxes: rarity, scarcity and beauty,” said Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany’s chief gemologist.

But the stones are small, ranging from 0.35 carats to 1.52 carats, considerably more petite than the statement-size gemstones frequently used in engagement rings and solitaire necklaces.

“These are small, there’s no doubt,” Ms. Reynolds said, “but for connoisseurs, collectors who understand how rare these are, it’s incredibly appealing.”

How much did the jeweler pay for what it now calls the Tiffany Collection? Mr. Ledru wouldn’t disclose the sum, but said it was “probably not enough compared to what it’s going to become in the next five, 10 years.” (He did note that it was Tiffany’s largest single purchase of 2022.)

Exactly how the diamonds will be used in jewelry hasn’t been decided, although Mr. Ledru said it was likely that they all would be used in one-of-a-kind designs. In the meantime, the diamonds are being shown to select clients in New York City and, next month, in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The eventual prices are sure to be high. “You pay a premium for anything that says ‘Argyle pink diamond,’” said Renée Newman, an independent gemologist and author based in Los Angeles.

Source: NYT

Tiffany to Sell Its Most Expensive Diamond

Tiffany & Co. will offer a necklace featuring an 80-carat diamond, expected to be its most expensive piece ever, at the reopening of its New York Fifth Avenue flagship store next year.

The oval-cut, D-color, internally flawless stone, which the jeweler sourced from Botswana and will set in-house in New York, is at the center of the piece, Tiffany said Tuesday. It is also the largest diamond the company has ever offered. Only the 128.54-carat, yellow Tiffany Diamond worn by both Audrey Hepburn and Lady Gaga is larger, and that piece is not for sale.

*The original 1939 version of the necklace*

The jewel is a reimagined version of a Tiffany necklace created in 1939 for the World’s Fair, which features an aquamarine in place of the diamond. The unveiling of that piece set the stage for the original opening of the flagship store on the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in 1940.

“What better way to mark the opening of our transformed Tiffany flagship store in 2022 than to reimagine this incredible necklace from the 1939 World’s Fair, one of our most celebrated pieces when we opened our doors…for the first time,” said Victoria Reynolds, chief gemologist at Tiffany.

Source: diamonds.net

Tiffany Promises More Transparency For Diamonds Amid Greater Concern Over Social Responsibility

Tiffany & Co. announced Tuesday it will share the full background of its newly sourced diamond rings, an industry first as it looks to attract customers who care about quality as well as social and environmental responsibility.

FRANCE-US-ECONOMY-LUXURY-LVMH-TIFFANY&CO — ffany & Co. will share more background on its engagement rings. AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

KEY FACTS

As demand for lab-grown diamonds is on the rise, it is likely Tiffany and other jewelers want to assuage conflict diamond and sustainability concerns which have long plagued the diamond industry.

The 183 year old jeweler will provide a Tiffany Diamond Certificate with the diamond’s region or countries of origin as well as where it was cut and polished, graded and quality assured and set in jewelry starting this October.

Tiffany says disclosing the country where each stone is crafted and set marks a first for global luxury jewelers and follows last year’s announcement that Tiffany would become the first to provide the country or region of origin for its diamond rings.

Twenty years ago, diamond industry leaders including Tiffany’s adopted the Kimberley Process aimed at stopping the worldwide trade of conflict diamonds, which it defines as “rough diamonds used to finance wars against governments,” but critics have said the definition is too narrow and does not factor human rights and sustainability concerns.

In 2018, the advocacy organization Human Rights Watch evaluated whether 13 of the world’s major jewelry brands responsibly source their gems and minerals and Tiffany’s topped the list, still, the report found “none of the companies can identify all of their diamonds’ individual mines of origin.”

Despite recent “quarantine proposals,” Tiffany’s engagement jewelry sales dropped nearly 97% year-over-year from $280.4 million to $142.5 million in the first quarter of 2020 and total net sales dropped by nearly 45% from more than $1 billion to $555.5 million.

TANGENT

Nearly 70% of millennials would consider buying an engagement ring with a lab-grown diamond, according to a 2018 report from MVI Industries, a marketing research and analytics firm for the gem, jewelry and watch industries. Lab-grown diamonds have the same chemical composition as a traditional diamond but they are usually less expensive.

Source: Forbes

Tiffany Reports Recovery in China Sales

Tiffany & Co said its jewelry business is rebounding in China after the coronavirus pandemic and its merger with French luxury retailer LVMH is clearing regulatory hurdles.

The U.S. jewelry maker said Tuesday in an earnings release that its same-store sales were down about 44% in the fiscal first quarter as the pandemic shuttered shopping malls and stores across the globe. Yet CEO Alessandro Bogliolo pointed to China as “indicative that a robust recovery is underway.”

TIF swung to a net loss of $64.6 million, or 53 cents a share, from earnings of $125 million, or $1.03 a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 45% to $555.5 million.

Analysts were expecting Tiffany to earn three cents a share on sales of $701 million, but the coronavirus pandemic has made comparisons with estimates difficult to make.

The company has 324 stores worldwide. About 70% of the stores were closed as of April 30, when the fiscal first quarter ended.

Tiffany said its jewelry sales dropped off significantly in the three-month period. Engagement jewelry declined by nearly 50%, more than any other category.

The company said its focus on expanding business in China, investing in its websites and adding new jewelry products prior to the pandemic have made the company more resilient.

In China, same-store sales were down about 85% and 15% during the first and second months of the quarter, but have picked up again in April and May.

Shares galloped $2.53, or 2.1%, to $124.71 early Tuesday.

Source: marketwatch

Tiffany Weathers Slow 4Q for Record 2018

Tiffany & Co. reported record annual sales in 2018, despite the challenging economic environment that caused a slowdown in the fourth quarter.

“In 2018…net sales surpassed levels not seen since 2014,” said Tiffany CEO Alessandro Bogliolo. “Softer trends in the second half of the year reflected, in part, what we believe were external challenges and uncertainties.”

Group revenue grew 7% to $4.4 billion, the company said Friday. Sales increased 13% to $1.2 billion in the Asia-Pacific region, while revenue in the Americas climbed 5% to $2 billion. Sales in Japan rose 8% to $643 million, and proceeds in Europe went up 3% to $504 million.

The jewelry retailer’s new marketing strategy, including its “Believe in Love, Believe in Dreams” and holiday campaigns, buoyed sales, Bogliolo noted in a conference call with analysts last week, transcribed by Seeking Alpha.

Worldwide comparable-store sales — at branches open for at least a year — rose 4% at constant currency rates.

Profit for the year jumped 58% to $586 million, its highest in a decade, according to Rapaport records. Earnings were boosted by a lower income-tax rate, which included a $16 million benefit related to the enactment of the 2017 US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Tiffany explained.

During the fourth quarter ending January 31, 2019, global sales declined 1% to $1.3 billion, due to softer demand from local customers and foreign tourists. The lower spending was attributable to market volatility and external uncertainties, the company observed.

Profit for the three-month period more than tripled to $205 million versus $62 million a year ago, also as a result of the lower tax payment.

The company expects net sales for 2019 to increase by a low-single-digit percentage over 2018, as the lower foreign-tourist spending it encountered in the fourth quarter continues into the new fiscal year, it said. Higher expenses relating to its six-point program to stimulate growth will also negatively impact earnings, Tiffany noted.

Among its 2019 initiatives, the jeweler is strengthening its message on diamonds via a campaign on social media, accelerating its product renewals and launches, as well as delivering a more exciting omni-channel experience, Bogliolo explained in the analyst call.

Tiffany will begin selling engagement rings on its US website, he added. Phone orders were previously the only outlet for purchasing outside its store locations. Additionally, the company will launch an e-commerce site in China later this year.

Tiffany’s stock rose 3.1% on Friday following the results.

Source: Diamonds.net