Pressing Matters: Good Mood, Same Issues Out of Vegas

May 2026 News Roundup

The Lab-Grown Debate Goes Beyond Price and Sustainability

Hong Kong’s Diamond Recovery Is About Trade Flows, Not Demand

News In Brief

Russia Tightens Synthetic Disclosure Rules...

Kao Mine Suspends Operations...

Signet Sees Modest Revenue Growth...

Hong Kong Jewelry Sales Jump 20%...

Swiss Watch Exports Slide 17%...

TAGS Sees Strength in Large Rough...

Alrosa Bond Issue Raises $412M...

Petra Puts Finsch in Rescue

GIA Buys 30% of Tracr

Diamonds Fund Names Chair

Signet Buys The Clear Cut

De Beers Unveils Desert Icons

RJC Elects New Board...

Mountain Province to Delist...

Asian Star Revenue Slides...

Full story here

Spotlight

The Lab-Grown Debate Goes Beyond Price and Sustainability

Solitaire International: The debate between natural and lab-grown diamonds is evolving beyond the familiar arguments about price and sustainability. Recent developments, including Pandora’s carbon footprint disclosures, a UK regulatory ruling on lab-grown diamond advertising, and calls for stricter terminology standards, suggest the conversation is increasingly focused on how the two products are defined and presented to consumers. My latest column for Solitaire Internation

Hong Kong’s Diamond Recovery Is About Trade Flows, Not Demand

Hong Kong’s diamond trade grew in the first quarter, signaling an uptick in global flows rather than a meaningful recovery in regional demand across China and the broader Asia Pacific market. The improvement was evident across both the polished and rough sectors. Historically, Hong Kong has served primarily as a polished trading center, functioning as a zero-tax gateway for diamonds entering Asia Pacific, particularly Mainland China. The city also maintains a significant

The Way Forward for Natural Diamonds

National Jeweler: Natural diamonds are facing a defining moment as lab-grown continues to gain market share, particularly among Gen Z consumers who are prioritizing size, price and practicality over tradition. In this feature for National Jeweler’s 2026 State of the Majors issue, Avi explores how the natural diamond industry is reassessing its identity amid shifting consumer behavior, shrinking discretionary spending and the growing appeal of experiences over products. The

Why Sotheby’s Wants Diamond Origin to Matter

Lost beneath the headlines surrounding the exceptional blue diamonds that did and did not sell during Geneva Luxury Week was the continued success of Sotheby’s collaboration with De Beers. The headline from the Geneva auctions was undoubtedly The Ocean Dream, lot 90 of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels sale on May 13. After 20 minutes of bidding, the triangular-shape, 5.50-carat, fancy vivid blue-green, SI1-clarity, type Ia diamond sold for CHF 13.6 million ($17.4 million), e

Anglo’s Diamond Decline

This article serves as the introductory analysis to the inaugural Diamond Executive Report, ‘The Value of De Beers.’ Access the full report here. To grasp the implications of Anglo American’s pending divestment from De Beers, it helps to understand the move in the context of its broader strategy. In May 2024, the mining group announced plans to separate from De Beers, either through a sale or demerger. The decision followed a takeover bid from BHP Billiton and formed part o

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Pressing Matters

Good Mood, Same Issues Out of Vegas

I was getting relatively positive energy from Las Vegas over the weekend, with the usual stream of company announcements timed around the JCK show (see What's Happening in Vegas?). Of course, the more important element of the show is sentiment and trading levels, which were perhaps best summed up by one subscriber who told me: “The feeling is that the US market is okay, but lab-grown keeps growing. In loose diamonds, only 2-carat and up is moving.” That’s not a big surpr

More Calm, Less Panic Ahead of Las Vegas Jewelry Week

We have a big week ahead as the Las Vegas shows kick off on Wednesday and continue through the weekend. Las Vegas Jewelry Week remains one of the clearest indicators of the state of the US jewelry market and arguably offers the strongest networking environment on the industry calendar. The K-shaped economy has become a defining theme in how the US retail landscape has evolved, with jewelers increasingly shifting either toward higher-end, value-driven strategies or volume-ba

Luxury Holds Firm as Industry Aligns

Last week’s Geneva auctions, and the GemGenève show before them, served as a welcome reminder of the resilience at the higher end of the diamond market. GemGenève, now firmly established as Europe’s premier jewelry trade show as it celebrated its 10th anniversary, drew record attendance, while the Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions generated strong buyer interest. Together, they offered an encouraging signal ahead of the Las Vegas shows that, despite the uncertainty and weak

Milestones and Magnificent Jewels

It was a milestone week for me as The Diamond Press expanded with the publication of the inaugural Diamond Executive Report, the launch of the Diamond Executive Club, and the introduction of the Global Diamond & Jewelry Tracker. Thank you for the overwhelming support. Please feel free to reach out directly if you’d like more information or simply want to better understand how it all fits together. I realize it may seem like a lot at first glance, but the three offerings are

Geneva Auctions Take Center Stage

Happy new month. It’s quite crazy how quickly time is moving. We already have the Vegas shows coming up at the end of the month, though before that GemGenève gets underway this week and next, alongside the Geneva auctions with their usual line-up of spectacular diamonds. This year the offering feels a little understated, though the 5.50-carat triangular-cut fancy vivid blue-green diamond at Christie’s, and the cushion-shaped 6.03-carat fancy vivid blue, internally flawless

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