Chairman of the Rapaport Group, Martin Rapaport delivered his keynote “State of the Diamond Industry” at Breakfast 8.am to 10 am on Monday 1st of June at the Annual Rapaport Breakfast and Conference held in the San Palo Ballroom, level 3 ,Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas.
At this years meeting Rapaport touched on buying diamonds on credit (credit memo). He noted that the jewelry industry cannot sell to people on credit, especially during a recession. Diamonds must be sold to real buyers who have the money to pay for them. “We need real people with real money” ,” we can’t memo our way out of the recession”.
The U.S market relies too heavily on credit to finance the jewelry sector. Martin Rapaport said “Just say no to memo and encourage cash purchases”. The jewelry industry must avoid those who are not financially capable of buying stones.
Martin Rapaport also noted that the future of the diamond industry lies in India and China, two large nations with a rapidly growing middle class. Diamond sales are up 3% in India and 5% in China, while in the U.S it is down 11%.
Rapaport was also also highly critical on the hoarding of stones by jewelers to keep prices from dropping.
The Rapaport Diamond Report is the leading source of information on diamonds, including prices. Established in 1978, Rapaport Group is now an international network providing services for the development of the global diamond markets. Activities of the Rapoport Group include research, marketing services, research,diamond trading networks, internet information, diamond certification, quality control, shipping, financial services and compliance.
