News comes from the science world of a frozen smoke from diamonds, a pioneering technology that has vast potential. The “frozen smoke” is the lightest form of diamond known, and is made up of 99.8 percent air. Nicknamed “frozen smoke” for its hazy appearance, this form of solid is known as an “aerogel”. Don’t let this description deceive you though – these airy materials can actually hold thousands of times their own weight.

According to researcher Peter Pauzauski, they had succeeded in making “the lowest density form of diamond.” The new material has a density about eight times less than cork, and 40 times more dense than air. Since diamond is very efficient at emitting electrons, the frozen smoke could prove very useful in various ways such as flat-panel video displays, quantum computers, and also human implants, given diamonds’ biocompatibility.

A diamond is a scientist’s best friend, it seems.

Although the financial crisis had a significant impact on demand in the jewellery market, with sales in late 2008 declining to below 2005 levels, the market is now on the up again; Gem Diamonds recently reported an upturn in prices thanks to increased demand in the US and emerging markets.

The recovery really gathered pace in late 2010. Now overall diamond prices are running at an average of more than $3,000 per carat, helped along by big finds such as that in the Russian diamond-rich area of Yakutia, where a huge diamond weighing a reported 136.35 carats has been recovered.

According to a Deutsche Bank analysis that The Independent recently reported on, continued strength is forecast as diamond prices run ahead of other commodities over coming years. Understanding demand for diamonds, they say, “requires an understanding of the end product jewellery market”, although investors should also keep an eye on any inventory issues in the pipeline.

Growing demand has driven operational developments in emerging markets too, the All-India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) recently joined hands with Israel-based online news portal, IDEX, to launch the Diamond Retail Benchmark (DRB), the first ever retail rate list for the sale of diamonds in India. This is designed as a consumer assurance initiative, but also demonstrates the growing interest from such nations.

Strong demand looks set to continue, and according to a recent article in The Daily Telegraph, appetite for diamonds is expected to grow as developing nations such as China and the Middle East develop their taste for luxury goods in line with rising wealth levels.

Janus Thinking is happy to announce the launch of Kahro Diamonds.

Kahro Diamonds is about the uniqueness of people and the power of diamonds. We put the fun and enjoyment back into diamonds by assisting you to find that diamond that truly represents who you are.

A diamond should reflect your personality, worldview and values. Our mission is to help you find the right diamond through this unique approach, using tools exclusive to Kahro and based on the logic behind Janus Thinking.

Kahro Diamonds enables our customers to connect with the “right” diamond, which helps them connect to the past and present as well as to their values and desires, whether it is for a once-in-a-lifetime proposal or simply a well-deserved treat for oneself.

Visit the Kahro Diamond Facebook page and take our quiz to see what kind of diamond might suit you!  If you like the page, become a fan and check back for more interactive games on the site.

Here’s a nice video from Rapaport previewing New York’s Fashion’s Night Out, an event occurring later tonight in New York that celebrates the work of a number of the city’s jewelers.

The video also covers a few corporate responsibility issues, including Ivanka Trump’s work with the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign and Donna Distefano’s fair trade initiative that ensures her jewelry is free from associations with environmental destruction or human rights violations.

While diamonds are certainly my favorite gems, many women are finding alternative types of gems to use for their engagement rings so that they can be unique without a diamond (of course every diamond is unique, and every woman can certainly find the right diamond for her, but as always luxury depends on how you interpret it). Luxist brought to my attention the particularly large (1040 carats) “Polly” emerald that is going up for auction on 29 August. Appraised for $454,000 by a GIA certified appraiser, it’s certainly too large for a ring, but it’s so unique, I could see many a Lambda be interested in purchasing it for his or her collection. The auction is open to anyone, with bids by phone or absentee bids with a $50,000 deposit.

I came across an interesting press release from the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) this week calling for the international diamond manufacturing community to restructure diamond financing. They are worried because while demand for rough diamonds remains greater than the rough supply, the same cannot be said for consumer demand for polished diamonds, particularly in the US.

Stores are closing or having a hard time turning a profit, and the focus is on lower prices and lower quality. The supply of diamonds going to retailers will decrease, but for now consumers have not yet returned to retail stores. Nevertheless IDMA are calling for retailers to pay their suppliers fair prices, necessitating keeping their prices up for consumers. Said Moti Ganz, the president of IDMA:

“Consumers can still buy three pieces of diamond jewelry for the price of one Louis Vuitton bag. The price of diamonds today should be at least 200 percent more than their price in the 1990s. Just look where gold and platinum are and look where we are!”

Should we ask ourselves why the price of diamonds has not kept pace? Actually that’s the wrong question–there is no direct link between the price of rough diamonds (based on the internal considerations of the diamond industry) and the price of polished diamonds (dictated by the consumer of diamonds and diamond jewellery, a population that was forgotten by the industry).

In my view, luxury retailers must first understand why someone goes out and buys a diamond in the first place. In my PhD research, I found that luxury shoppers are looking to express themselves and connect with how they see the world. The better a retailer can help the luxury purchaser understand her goals and connect authentically to her values and personal qualities, the more successful the retailer will be. Walking out of the store, the lucky woman or man should feel empowered, special and unique, respected and feeling free.

Providing the right service doesn’t come easily. A jeweller should be able to detect first who the client is. A Theta woman seeks diamond to help her be ‘truly her’ in a world where most things are temporary and dependent on social setting and circumstance. A Lambda woman wants a diamond that helps her to be unique and genuine; her diamond is unlike any other diamond on the planet, an individual selection that will make her exceptional. As for price, do not underestimate yourself. If you fell confused, the only reason is that the offer of the diamond was not done correctly. When the luxury customer is presented with the right offer, he or she knows exactly what the value of it should be.

Following these values for many years we found that we can properly help the luxury customer, and together with our colleagues we were very successful doing so in the last 25 years. However, the diamond industry failed in respecting the need for luxury and tries to turn the luxury consumer into a diamond dealer when the effort should be done in the other direction.

We hope that we have enough practical knowledge to start offering the luxury consumer what he or she wants. We are aware that this practical knowledge is in the hands of very few people, yet the entire world could appreciate this freedom of expression and choice. Recently we started an initiative that will bring our message to the luxury customer and enable him or her to properly purchase his or her special and unique diamond that can fit only her or him. We will need your help to check our luxury hypotheses and to see whether what we say is really convincing you. In the coming days we will address you again and ask you to be our ambassadors to help us spread our important luxury message. Stay tuned!

Last August a team of diamond thieves stole 1,500 diamonds (in 43 jewelry pieces) worth £40 million from Graff Diamonds on New Bond Street in London. This week four of the thieves were found guilty of carrying out the raid, but the diamonds still haven’t been recovered. The two gunmen who had entered Graff Diamonds had handed off a black bag containing the stolen pieces to a motorcycle rider in a concealing helmet, who rode for two blocks then disappeared on foot in Green Park.

There isn’t much hope for finding the gems any time soon. Ivy Cutler, a diamond grader at the Gemological Institute of America, said

“I have spoken with Scotland Yard and the Flying Squad and we have them marked in our system. Sometimes pieces come back very quickly, sometimes it takes years. The criminals involved in this are extremely clever, unfortunately. I think they have probably changed hands many times and possibly been moved between countries. We can only hope the diamonds eventually turn up when an innocent buyer asks for their authenticity to be checked.”

The stolen diamonds were all certified and should be recognizable, but it’s possible that the diamonds have now been recut or falsely recertified. It will be interesting to see if any reappear, or if Graff would publicise their reappearance — my guess is probably not on both counts.

Diamonds from Marange fields in Zimbabwe have been all over the news of late. Diamonds from Zimbabwe are not currently certified by the Kimberley Process (which works to stop the trade in diamonds that finance conflict), and the Zimbabwean military has been accused of seizing control of these fields and organizing smuggling operations. There’s currently an export ban on Zimbabwean diamonds because they aren’t certified conflict-free, and this week the ban was upheld by Kimberley Process members, but Zimbabwe is now considering exporting diamonds anyway.

It’s a difficult situation, because if these diamonds were sourced ethically and formally allowed to be exported, they could greatly benefit Zimbabwe’s economy and put its diamond production efforts on par with Botswana. And while it appears that efforts are being made to improve the situation, Kimberley Process members weren’t confident that the sourcing of the diamonds met its standards because the fields remain under control of the Zimbabwean military, which is accused of committing human rights abuses in addition to smuggling the diamonds out of Zimbabwe.

A subgroup of the Kimberley Process is meeting next month to try to reach a compromise on Zimbabwe; we’ll have to wait and see if this impasse can be resolved.

Last year I wrote about Chanel and Net-a-Porter apps making it to the iPhone. Since then, more luxury companies are expanding their marketing efforts and finally embracing the online sphere. Today Tiffany launched a new iPhone app that allows people (I’d imagine primarily men) to easily browse Tiffany’s range of engagement rings.

While one can’t purchase rings directly from within the app, it does offer a decent amount of utility. Users can scroll through all of Tiffany’s different cuts, fixtures and collections for engagement rings — 44 combinations in all. You can also figure out what size you need by placing an existing ring on screen and matching it to a digital sizer. And if you need more help, you can call or set up a meeting with a representative from Tiffany from within the app.

The app doesn’t do anything more than what Tiffany already offers on its website, but by offering an app, I believe Tiffany will expose its rings to a larger number of (predominantly younger) luxury consumers who have iPhones. These consumers are discerning and like their luxury on demand–they should appreciate the ability to browse rings wherever they are. People can even design rings and then share them via email and Facebook. These sharing functionalities will appeal to Theta personalities who will want their ‘marrying friends’ to know that they fit in and are getting rings. That it’s still possible to design a very unique ring within the app will help it appeal to Lambda personalities.

Yesterday a rare 5.16 carat blue diamond was sold at auction in Hong Kong for $6.4 million, half a million more than the top price that Sotheby’s estimated. Terry Chu, deputy head of Sotheby’s jewellery department for China and Southeast Asia, said:

There have been a lot of new diamond buyers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and elsewhere in the region. I think after the financial crisis, the Asian buyers realized that the prices of diamond are relatively stable compared to other types of auction items.

It’s interesting that Asian buyers are so interested in diamonds (though it should be noted that the eventual buyer was Moussaieff Jewellers of London) — we’ve seen other markets beginning to heat up in Asia. This auction and the auctions for other diamonds from the De Beers Millennium Collection that will surely follow are yet more signs that economic recovery is underway.