Interpreting export import numbers for rough and cut and polished diamonds - what they say about demand and supply in the market

These are the provisional export and import figures received from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) for the month June 2009.

Import of rough diamonds

India imported rough diamonds worth Rs 4224 crores in June 2009 as compared to Rs 7483 crores last year in June, declining by nearly 44 percent.

This clearly corroborates what we have known all along, i.e. fewer manufacturers are buying rough and production of fresh goods has taken a hit which has resulted in a shortage of diamonds in the market. Also inventory levels for rough has come down drastically and manufacturers have almost exhausted their old stocks.

Import of cut and polished diamonds

Cut & Polished Diamonds worth Rs 3068 crores were imported in June 2009, as compared to Rs 2909 crores in June 2008, thus showing a growth of 5.44 percent.

This is surprising. If we combine this with the rough import numbers then it only means one thing; that thanks to the shortage of domestic goods, people have stepped up imports to meet the domestic requirements. Imports are usually expensive but in the current scenario where rough is very expensive, they are probably a better option.

Export of cut and polished diamonds

Total export of cut and polished diamonds stood at Rs 5061 crores in June 2009, while in June 2008 it was Rs 5248 crores. Cut and Polished diamonds exports declined by almost 4 percent.
We all know that the overseas markets are reeling and that is what explains the drop in cut and polished exports.

This is what the market watchers at TradersDiamonds feel about these export import numbers. What is your take on them?

Numbers courtesy GJEPC website Sphere: Related Content

Now get updates on Hot Diamond Deals through SMS...sign up today

We are pleased to launch the SMS version of our Hot Diamond Deals. Until now, information on these deals was available on the TradersDiamonds Website, Blog, Twitter page and Facebook page. The response has been good and jewellers have benfitted from these deals. But most of our users are not online on a regular basis and we have been getting requests to offer this service through SMS. We are now ready to roll.

Sender's Details

The SMS will come to you from the sender TD.COM .

Responding to the SMS Update

We have a two way SMS system which will allow you to respond to the updates via an SMS itself.

How to send us an SMS?

You can send us an SMS by typing TDCOM and sending it to +919848356765.

So, if you want the certificate copy of the Hot Diamond Deal no 5 and your email id is abc@yahoo.com, you can send a request for the same by sending the following SMS to +919848356765.

TDCOM send certificate copy of deal no 5 to abc@yahoo.com

This makes it easy and convenient for you to contact us, in case you are interested in the diamond being offered as the Hot Diamond Deal. In addition, you can continue to call us at 044-42935016/17 or send us an email at enquiry@tradersdiamonds.com for more information about the diamond.

In case you are not on the SMS list and want to subscribe to the service, just send us an email with your full details ( Name, Business Name, E-Mail , Mobile Number, Location) to service@tradersdiamonds.com.

More Happy Diamond Buying

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Now understand diamonds better - GIA to provide more detailed information on fluorescence of diamonds

In an effort to help educate the public about the common, but little understood, phenomenon of ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence in diamonds, the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA) will include, effective immediately, additional information describing fluorescence and its properties in every GIA Diamond Grading Report and Diamond Dossier® that carries a diamond fluorescence description of medium or stronger. A separate four-color insert addresses the most frequently asked questions about fluorescence, explains its properties in easy-to-understand terms, and includes comparison images of diamonds in both natural and UV light to illustrate varying intensities of fluorescence.

“Some diamonds show fluorescence and some don’t,” said Thomas M. Moses, GIA’s senior vice president of laboratory and research. “Fluorescence is the emission of visible light by a diamond when it is stimulated by invisible UV rays. It is a common characteristic of diamonds. The diamond simply glows under the UV lights, usually a blue color, which most often stops when the energy source causing it is removed.”

For more than 50 years, GIA has indicated the presence of diamond fluorescence on its diamond grading reports, but described it on the report as an identification characteristic only — not a grade, Moses said. The five terms GIA uses to classify the intensity of a stone's fluorescence are: none, faint, medium, strong, and very strong.

“This insert will help the public better understand diamonds in general, which gives them more confidence and knowledge when making a decision about a diamond,” he said.

The above is from a GIA press release. The fluorescence parameter and its impact on the quality of diamonds is generally not very well understood; and not just by customers but by jewellers too. The GIA move will do a world of good in educating everyone about the same.

More glory to GIA and more power to educated and informed diamond selling and buying!!! Sphere: Related Content

The Jewellery Industry and the 2009 Union Budget

The following measures were announced by the Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee as part of the 2009 Union Budget. On behalf of the industry, we thank the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) whose efforts brought about these changes.

• Extension of interest subvention of 2 percent on rupee export credit beyond the current deadline of September 30, 2009 to March 31, 2010
• Abolition of Excise Duty on Branded Jewellery
• Abolition of Fringe Benefit Tax
• Exemption of Service Tax on services received by exporters from goods transport agents and commission agents, where the liability to pay service tax is ab initio on the exporter. No need for the exporter to first pay the tax and later claim refund.
• Service Tax exemption for other services received by exporters would be operated through the existing refund mechanism based on self-certification of the documents where such refund is below 0.25 percent of FOB value and certification of documents by a Chartered Accountant for value of refund exceeding the above limit.
• Service Tax exemption to all Export promotion Council’s and FIEO on the membership and other fees collected by them till March 31, 2010.
• Extension of sun-set clauses for the tax holiday (deduction in respect of export profits available under sections 10A and 10B of the Income-tax Act) by one more year i.e. for the financial year 2010-11.
• Increase in customs import duty on Gold Bars from INR 100/10 gm to INR 200/10 gm
• Increase in customs import duty on other forms of gold like Tola Bars, medallions and coins excluding jewellery from INR 250/10 gm to INR 500/10 gm
• Increase in customs import duty on silver excluding jewellery from INR 500/ kg to INR 1,000/ kg

Courtsey GJEPC Sphere: Related Content

TradersDiamonds Business Update – We just sold our first 5 carat diamond

We have just sold our first 5 carat diamond. Being the only online B2B business of our kind, we can safely say, that this is the first 5 carat diamond sold online to a jeweller in India.

This stone was part of a 10 carat pair. The jeweller had been looking for a matching stone for some time. Finally his search ended at www.TradersDiamonds.com.

This is further proof that you can almost always find the diamond that you are looking for, at TradersDiamonds.com, thanks to the consolidated inventory of more than 4000 vendors from across the world.

One jeweller has benefitted from the TradersDiamonds advantage to sell a 10 carat pair. You can do the same. Sphere: Related Content

Domestic consumption of diamonds double in last 3 months - time for gold jewellers to make the most of India's growing growing craving for diamonds

The Economic Times reports that India’s domestic diamond consumption has doubled from 2% of the total production to 4 % of the value in the course of the last 3 months.

The article attributes this growth spurt to the crash in diamond prices owing to the global economic recession. As a result of the crash, a lot of manufacturers resorted to desperation selling, leading to an almost 15% drop in prices. But that has been followed by an increase in prices owing to a severe shortage of goods. This shortage was caused by the lack of production (owing to unstable pricing) and high rough prices. The growth in consumption, therefore, has happened in spite of this price increase and that makes the increase in demand an even bigger story – for everyone involved in the diamond business in India.

The robust growth is something that every jeweller in India needs to take notice of. The ones who are already doing well in solitaires can pat themselves on the back; for being well positioned to harness the growth, while the ones who are not dealing in diamonds might as well get started before the boom passes them by.

I say solitaires and not just diamond jewellery because the report also mentions that there has been a significant increase in demand for expensive diamonds which are more than 1 carat in size. Diamonds are no longer just an embellishment for the gold jewellery. More and more customers are looking to buy solitaires and big ones too.

So what does it take for a gold jeweller to become a diamond jeweller too?

It takes an inventory of loose diamonds, solitaire designs, a display of pieces, a few artisans who are trained in solitaire setting and a sales force with good knowledge of diamonds.

A gold jeweller can get all of these under one roof at TradersDiamonds without having to spend too much.

With a crest of strong consumer demand to ride and a readymade solitaire solution on offer, has there ever been a better time to be in the business of selling diamond solitaires. Sphere: Related Content

TradersDiamonds launches Solitaire Services for Jewellers - a first of its kind, full fledged white label solution to run a solitaire business

TradersDiamonds aspires to be a one stop shop for all solitaire related products and services for jewellers. We took our first step towards that goal by offering jewellers a certified loose diamond buying service. The second step was to start mounting the diamonds that jewellers were buying from us. We are now ready to take a much bigger step forward; one which truly reflects the possibilities that we envisage in the solitaire jewellery space for jewellers. This step is the launch of the Solitaire Services for Jewellers - a business model which combines the advantages of an online diamond buying model with the benefits that are offered by a physical retail store.

Full of the new service are given below and on our website. If you need more information about it, then either call us at 044-42935016/17 or write to us at enquiry@tradersdiamonds.com


The TradersDiamonds Solitaire Services provides a full service solitaire solution to jewellers. It takes care of all the aspects of solitaire design, diamond procurement, manufacturing, training and retail. It helps jewellers set up a diamond solitaire business from scratch and with very little investment. It can also be used by existing solitaire retailers to enhance their solitaire offering and reduce the costs involved in running that business.

What do you get from the TradersDiamonds Solitaire Services?

Solitaire Designs - TradersDiamonds has an in-house design team which will provide you with solitaire designs. If you have a design in mind and want something similar, then the design team can also make a customized design for you.

Solitaire Mocks for display - TradersDiamonds will provide you life-like mocks of their solitaire designs to be used for customer display. These mocks will be low cost and made from high-quality CZ. Thus you can get a large display of solitaire designs without having to invest in expensive diamonds

Loose Diamonds - Once a customer selects a solitaire design, you can use TradersDiamonds.com to find and buy whatever kind of diamond the customer wants for the solitaire. You can also order loose stones without the mounts.

Diamond Setting - TradersDiamonds will set the diamond that you have ordered on the solitaire mount selected by your customer. We have our own solitaire manufacturing facility where the diamonds are set by expert artisans.

Diamond Advisory Services - TradersDiamonds has a team of GIA trained gemmologists who are available to answer any diamond related questions that you might have. These might pertain to understanding the various qualities of diamonds or making a judgement on what stone to buy. Diamonds are a highly educated purchase and this service ensures that you and your team are always well - equipped to handle any queries from your customers.

Sales and Product Training - TradersDiamonds also provides sales, product and diamond training to your sales staff.

Grading Camp - TradersDiamonds will also help you organize grading camps and seminars.

Product Range

• Rings
• Pendants
• Earrings
• Bangles

How does it work?

Setting up
You just need two things to start off. A computer with an internet connection and a set of solitaire mocks from TradersDiamonds.

www.tradersdiamonds.com gives you a limitless diamond inventory - you can offer multiple options for any diamond requirement that your customers have.

Customers can try the mocks to get a look and feel of the designs. They can also appreciate the quality of manufacturing and the setting.

In addition to the designs on display, you have catalogues to show more designs to the customers. For any customer handling issues you can seek the help of our diamond advisors

TradersDiamonds can also provide sales and product training to your sales staff.

Ordering
Order for the mount and the diamond can be directly placed with TradersDiamonds, You can just call our customer service team to do so.

Delivery
Products are delivered in 7 business days at the store. Bangles take 15 business days for delivery

Pricing and Financials
This is a white label solution. We give you the cost price for the diamonds and the mounts. You can mark it up by any number to sell to your customers.

The cost of a set of 40 mounts for display is Rs 4, 00,000. These are made in 18K gold. At any point in time if you want stop, you can sell the mounts back to us at 75% of the original value.

Payment terms
Initial business will be on cash terms. We will explore credit facility after a few transactions.

TradersDiamonds Solitaire Services as compared to a traditional set-up

• They have to create designs - You don't need to create designs
• They have a minimum diamond inventory - You don't need to have a diamond inventory
• They have manufacturing team - You don't need to have a manufacturing set up for mounts or diamond setting - automated manufacturing
• Your cost of display is extremely low.
• Minimum inventory for the solitaires or high turnaround time
• Untrained staff - trained staff and expert advice a phone call away
• Can work on far lower margins as compared to a regular store

Advantage of TradersDiamonds Solitaire Services

This unique combination of offline and online creates the following advantages for a jeweller using the TradersDiamonds Solitaire Service

• Low investment in ( and therefore high ROI)

1. Diamond inventory
2. Designs
3. Display
4. Manufacturing set up

• Range of offering

1. 90,000 plus diamond inventory
2. Solitaire designs
3. International quality manufacturing
4. Sales and product expertise

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