The global trade in coloured gemstones, badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, may begin to see a return towards normalcy from Q3 onwards, with the recovery being smoother at the upper end of the market. This was the broad consensus among the experts who participated in a webinar hosted by GJEPC on “Coloured Gemstones: The Way Forward” on May 15.

On the panel were Sean Gilbertson, CEO, Gemfields; Steve Bennett, Chairman, Gemporia, UK; David Bennett, Worldwide Chairman-Jewellery, Sotheby’s; and Ephraim Zion, Chairman, Dehres Limited, with the discussion being moderated by Rishabh Tongya, Co-Founder, Diacolor Ltd. & Gemrock Ltd. GJEPC’s viewpoint was presented by Nirmal Kumar Bardiya, Regional Chairman-Jaipur, GJEPC and Vijay Kedia, Convener, Coloured Gemstones Panel, GJEPC

Some of the key viewpoints presented at the webinar were:

• Sentiment among the trade is currently quite low due to the global spread of the pandemic, particularly its impact on USA and Europe which were the leading consuming markets for coloured gemstones. Though Hong Kong has reopened, business is not expected to stabilise before September or October. The panel was optimistic the coloured gemstones business will recover over a period of time.
   
• Gemfields will not hold auctions of emerald and ruby in May & June as planned, but have rescheduled these to October and November 2020 respectively. This has meant severe opportunity loss of revenue. Mining activity at Kagem Emerald Mine in Zambia and Montepuez Ruby mine in Mozambique have been suspended but there is a good chance that business will return to normal in the next six months
   
• The Gemporia experience in ecommerce over the past month indicated that buyers were willing to make purchases, but there were difficulties in replenishing stock due to lockdown in supplier countries including India. The situation on the supply front has improved to an extent following the opening of manufacturing in China, India and Thailand. Gemporia believes that business would be back to normal soon with buyers shifting towards gems and jewellery as other options for discretionary spending such as fine dining, travelling, holidays etc. would take longer to restart. Moreover, at a time like this, the importance of family and personal ties increases, so individuals will likely express their feelings with the exchange of gifts.
   
• Demand from the middle class would be impacted more severely and may result in lower levels of spending or a shift towards products at lower price points. However, demand from the affluent sections would not be affected as they would be looking for avenues to spend their surplus given that many other options to do so would still not be available. The lower end of the market would be more badly hit, but there would be almost no impact on higher end products.
   
• Gemfields said that as a responsible producer, it would respond to the situation with a view to helping businesses recover and it was likely that prices of rough emerald and ruby would decline.

• Quality and design would be an important aspect influencing a buyer’s purchase decisions, so unbranded jewellery manufacturers should focus on these.

• While selling loose stones online, those which tell a story that people can relate to will see higher demand and better prices.                  

Speaking on the role of GJEPC and its efforts in helping Indian gems & jewellery industry face the pandemic, Bardiya said that emphasis had been given to restarting manufacturing and exports. The industry also extended support to the daily wage workers to help them survive the difficult times and had contributed almost US$ 6.5 million to help mitigate the effect of the pandemic.

The coloured gemstone and jewellery industry in Jaipur along with the 3 lac workforce would ensure that the supply of rough gemstones would not be hampered, Kedia said. Stocks of rough are available and restarting of manufacturing would get a further boost once flights resume since mines in some countries had already resumed operations.