Summary: You’ll hear JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk about what was hot at the Tucson gem shows, and the insights Victoria gleaned as she followed several designers on their searches through the shows. Rob discusses some ongoing diamond supply news, including the ongoing negotiations between De Beers and Botswana, and the possibility of changes to sanctions on Russian diamonds. They also discuss Chat GPT, which people in the jewelry industry—including Rob himself—have started to experiment with.Show Notes02:25 Thoughts on Tucson gem shows12:35 Diamond market news20:40 Testing out Chat GPTEpisode CreditsHosts: Rob Bates and Victoria GomelskyProducer and engineer: Natalie ChometShow RecapGem Shows Shine Through Cloudy EconomyVictoria notes that those shows depend so much on how the fourth quarter went for retailers: if the holiday went well, and if they needed to restock for their upcoming collections. Many current economic uncertainties also affected this: Everything from the specter of recession, to inflation, to the war in Ukraine. Despite all the looming questions, Victoria reported that Tucson was a great set of shows.At the high end, despite price increase of 20-30% across the board, demand was still very steady. Victoria spoke with many people who reported having record shows. Dealers explained this was, in part, a reflection of gems’ longtime reputation as a reliable way to store wealth. During times of economic uncertainty, the wealthy may opt to buy gems as a hedge against inflation. And when the economy is booming, people are in good moods, and the up goes the demand for colorful jewels—but for a very different reason. So, there are diverse economic circumstances when gems can fare very well.What Designers Looked ForVictoria observed that there were many of designers at the show this year. Teams from many of the French houses (Louis Vuitton, Boucheron, Tiffany & Co., and Cartier, to name a few) and countless independent designers, including Stephen Webster, Lauren Harwell Godfrey, Lauren Kessler, Katherine Jetter, and Robert Turner, whom Victoria roamed some of the shows with. And they were all looking for different things.Stephen Webster was a unique designer to follow, since he was equally invested in finding rough stones. She describes the different shows they attended to find these. She describes him spraying a rough Peruvian pink opal with water to get a sense of the color. Because you can’t see into these stones, all you have to go off of is the outside. It’s only after cutting into the stone that you know what you’re working with. Victoria quotes Stephen’s colorful way of describing that process: “Sometimes you get what we call ‘angel’s skin’ and other times you get ‘angel’s toenail.’”Most designers start with the stones and build their collections around that. And everyone had their own unique things they were drawn to. Robert Turner loves zircons, tsavorite, and stones in brilliant colors. Katherine Jetter is an opal specialist, so she was looking for those along with Mahenge spinels, which come in very vibrant hot pinks, and were very popular with many designers. Victoria enjoyed being a fly on the wall following these designers on their treasure hunts.Victoria spoke to Dave Bindra, who—when interviewed in an
