Regarding the world economy there were no good news all year round but it
got really bad in the second half. The key words were Lehman bankruptcy, the Madoff scandal, the crises of banks
and the automobile industry the world over and the like.
"Bailout" was elected word of the year
and the rescue measures, which governments on all continents provide, run into trillions of dollars.
Accordingly expectations for Christmas sales were rather subdued with many in the trade in
fact anticipating a severe slump.
Surprisingly and fortunately things turned out
not bad at all.
German newspapers even wrote that the gemtrade was registering
record sales because many investors turned their backs on the stock market and started stockpiling gemstones
instead.
This was wishful thinking, of course. At least we of the Vienna Gem
Center cannot support this conclusion, nor do we know anybody in the gemtrade, who can.
But by and large we (and others in the gemtrade) were quite contented with this year's
Christmas business. Although the demand for truly expensive stones lagged behind the previous year, sales of
inexpensive stones rose and compensated for the loss.
The gemstone of the year
was definitely amethyst and with purple still being the fashion colour, we expect amethyst to stay in demand for
some time to come.
Pavé settings are still trendy, too, so there still is strong
demand for tiny rounds. Interestingly enough this affects fancy garnets (tsavorite, demantoid, spessartite and
mandarin garnet), as well as amethyst and tanzanite much more than the classic ruby, sapphire and emerald.
Apropos round stones: the trend clearly is for top quality and diamond
cut.
Analogically in squares the demand is for princess cuts.
In general we witness a growing awareness for high quality and perfect cut amongst the
public as well as amongst jewellers and goldsmiths. Contrary to a decade ago customers do not buy the largest gem
they can afford but the best.
A development we of the Vienna Gem Center support
wholeheartedly.
