Latest news with #jewelry
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Saudi gold demand defies price surge amid cultural, digital shift
RIYADH: Gold prices may be at record highs, but that has not stopped Saudi consumers from buying. In the first quarter of 2025, demand for gold jewelry in the Kingdom jumped 35 percent year on year, even as global demand fell 21 percent, according to the World Gold Council. That surge comes amid a global price rally, with gold breaching $3,500 per ounce in April, up from around $2,370 a year earlier — driven by geopolitical tensions, inflation fears, and aggressive central bank buying. 'This rapid increase in the price of the bullion can be attributed to one main reason – central bank buying,' Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial, told Arab News. Yet despite the soaring cost, Saudi Arabia's deep-rooted gold culture continues to shine, with consumers purchasing 11.5 tonnes of gold jewelry in the first quarter, up from 8.5 tonnes a year earlier. 'This feat occurred despite the 34 percent rise in prices in early 2025, demonstrating Saudi consumers' strong demand and purchasing power,' said Valecha. Gold in the Kingdom is more than a financial asset — it represents tradition, adornment, and intergenerational wealth. From bullion bars to minimalist 18-carat jewelry, Saudi buyers are proving resilient even as other regional markets, such as the UAE and Kuwait, witness sharp declines in demand. Hamza Dweik, head of trading for the MENA region at Saxo Bank, emphasized gold's cultural role, telling Arab News: 'Gold is deeply embedded in Saudi traditions, especially during weddings and festive occasions. This cultural attachment ensures a steady baseline of demand, even during price surges.' Global factors Valecha explained that following the conflict in Ukraine, many countries grew concerned about holding excessive reserves in US dollars, prompting nations such as China and Russia to increase their gold purchases. 'China has spearheaded record levels of global central bank purchases of gold. Hence, looking ahead, the trend of gold buying by central banks is expected to continue,' he added. Another push came in May, when Moody's downgraded the US credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing 'a sustained increase in government debt (exceeding $36 trillion), rising interest payment ratios, and persistent fiscal deficits exacerbated by political dysfunction and policy uncertainty.' Valecha added that this marked the first time the US lost its top-tier rating from all three major agencies. Cultural drivers In different parts of the Kingdom, people buy gold for different reasons. In the north, around 70 percent of buyers view gold primarily as an investment, while in the south, it is more closely tied to tradition and adornment. Gold bars and coins are also gaining popularity, with people stocking their safes with bars of varying weights and purity. In the first quarter, gold demand in Saudi Arabia grew 15 percent year on year to 4.4 tonnes. Jewelry preferences are also shifting — from favoring diamonds to a growing obsession with gold. More young buyers are opting for 18-carat pieces due to their affordability, modern style, and lighter tone, as they appear less yellow than 21- and 24-carat gold. 'They also have a less flashy design/colour, which makes them better for everyday use,' Valecha explained. Digital platforms and online gold purchases are also on the rise, blending tradition with technology — from buying fractional gold and using savings apps to investing through exchange-traded funds. 'Younger generations are blending tradition with technology — embracing digital gold platforms, fractional ownership, and ETFs, while still participating in cultural gifting. This is reshaping how gold is marketed and consumed,' Dweik added. While countries including the UAE and Kuwait have seen gold demand decline, Saudi Arabia is moving in the opposite direction, with domestic consumers leading the surge, supported by strong spending habits. Consumer spending in the Kingdom hit an all-time high in March, rising 17 percent to SR148 billion ($39.44 billion) — the highest monthly increase since May 2021 — before easing to SR113.9 billion in April. The shift in consumer behavior is evident across the Kingdom. Jewelers in Riyadh spoken to by Arab News reported a growing interest in custom pieces, lighter-weight ornaments, and contemporary designs that suit both festive occasions and everyday wear. The 18-carat trend, once seen as a budget-friendly option, has become a fashion choice, according to the jewelers. More women are purchasing gold for themselves, breaking away from the traditional gift-only narrative. While physical stores remain popular for high-value purchases, particularly during wedding seasons and religious festivals, digital platforms are making inroads. Online retailers like L'azurde are adapting to this demand by offering buy-now-pay-later plans, making gold more accessible to a wider audience. Popular jewelry items include 21-carat necklaces and rings, while younger buyers favor 18-carat pieces for daily wear. Market outlook Looking ahead, both Valecha and Dweik expect prices to remain strong. Valecha predicts gold could reach $3,700 per ounce by year-end, though he cautions short-term investors. 'Buyers should assess their investment horizon — long-term holders may still find value, while short-term buyers should be mindful of volatility,' he said. 'Sustained central bank purchases, heightened investor appetite in a period of uncertainty in the economic landscape, and projected interest rate cuts drive this bullish projection. The projected price under a recession scenario is as high as $3,880 per ounce,' Valecha added. Dweik agreed, and said: 'While structural drivers support continued growth, potential corrections could occur if inflation eases or interest rates rise.' Saudi Arabia may also be poised to grow into a regional gold trading hub. Valecha believes that with the right infrastructure and regulatory framework, the Kingdom could play a larger role in the global market. 'To elevate its status, a modern, transparent gold market ecosystem and enhanced refining capabilities would be essential,' he said. With deep-rooted traditions, rising investment activity, and a modernized retail environment, Saudi Arabia's gold market is not only resilient — it is evolving. In a time of global uncertainty, gold continues to shine across the Kingdom.
Forbes
13 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Gem Genève: An Appreciation Of The Connoisseur's Gem And Jewelry Fair
Based in Israel, FIMA Diamonds is famous for its expertly cut natural diamonds, which also embody ... More extremely fine clarity and color. Attracting the world's top jewelry designers, retail jewelry buyers, fashion journalists, collectors and goldsmiths, GemGenève, co-founded by Geneva-based gem and antique jewelry dealers Ronny Totah and Thomas Faerber, specializes in design-driven high jewelry, fine jewelry, vintage and antique jewels, plus gemstones of superb quality. Staged in Geneva, Switzerland's Palexpo center since 2018, the most recent edition of the trade show took place from May 8 to May 11 with 253 exhibitors, including 209 dealers, and attracted a record 4,970 visitors, making GemGenève's ninth edition its best attended ever. Yet GemGenève functions as far more than a pivotal jewelry trade fair: it's also a talent discovery zone, thanks to the show's Emerging Talents exhibition that's curated and coordinated by Nadège Totah, daughter of show co-founder Ronny Totah. Gem Genève's program included a lively interview between jeweler and philanthropist Jean Boghossian ... More and Roger Bertozzi. Ms. Totah's considered selection presented new jewelry design concepts by ascendant designers and goldsmiths from diverse countries. As she explained in an email, 'The Emerging Talents & New Designers space at GemGenève grants participants imaginative freedom and artistic license. Rather than dictating themes and strict guidelines like most trade shows do,' she continued, 'we encourage designers and makers to realize their individual aesthetic visions through creative expression, material and technical innovation.' While she selects participants in Emerging Talents based on the quality of their designs, their artisanal savoir-faire, how they use materials and the overall effects that their jewels embody, Ms. Totah also looks for jewels that are contributing original elements to the narrative of jewelry history. Gem Genève co-founder Ronny Totah is a specialist in Kashmir sapphires and natural pearls. His ... More company Horovitz & Totah is active in Europe, Asia and the United States. Toward that end, she does her due jewelry diligence by researching up-and-coming designers and jewelers online, and sometimes travels to meet with them and view their jewels in person. Once Totah selects designs for the show, she detailed, 'We work to create an environment for the Emerging Talents that will compel visitors to do more than view the jewels, for we want them to stop and study these rare creations in all their glory.' (The Emerging Talents & New Designers realm stages jewels in vitrines with strategically created ambient lighting.) As Thomas Faerber put it an email, 'This realm is very important as it allows young talents to benefit from an international platform where they can exchange exchange experiences, consult with their peers, receive advice and hear opinions of their work from professionals, collectors and others.' Very often, Faerber noted, 'Gem Genève is the first time that they can benefit from a large media presence, and for some it can project them into the international jewelry scene and allow them to grow.' FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Nsanshi Art, a Zambian jewelry school based in Solwezi, made its international exhibition debut at ... More GemGenève. Zambian artisans work with copper and silver from their country to create ethical, sustainable, and culturally authentic jewels. There are other vital reasons why this zone of discovery is such an integral part of GemGenève. As Ms. Totah mused, 'Our industry is in fact a global community, and GemGenève is committed to helping shape and propel our industry forward by supporting rising talents in this shared ecosystem. We create our future together, at each edition of GemGenève, and we are only as strong as our alliances.' A key way that the show builds new alliances and extends brand reach is by welcoming members of the public to attend, in addition to those in the trade. As Messrs. Totah and Faerber observed in an email, 'GemGenève is also free for students and offers a full program of talks and panels featuring jewelry historians, gemologists and authors that are evidence-based, educational, and of potential value to students, collectors and many types of industry professionals.' Another culturally eye-opening aspect of Gem Genève involved Nsanshi Art's display of original items crafted by Zambian students, which was showcased in the JGAA's Africa Jewellery Week™ Exhibition space at GemGenève. This collaboration showcased African artisanal savoir-faire and creativity to the international audience. Regarding other opportunities that the show offers to budding designers, Totah noted that, 'Some of the people in the Emerging Talents space, such as Shavarsh Hakobian from Armenia, chose GemGenève to exhibit for the very first time outside their country of origin in 2023. While his designs are distinguished by their unique shapes, materials such as thread or butterfly wings, and labor-intensive, artisanal excellence," she wrote, 'designs by Richard Wu Jewelry are marked by organic fluidity, innovative materials like titanium, and meticulous craftsmanship.' For example, Totah wrote, 'Wu dreamt of an arm gently ascending, a bracelet encircling it like stars. The finished piece seemed as if from outer space; it was devoid of a clasp and free from any support. While its form appeared as effortless perfection, it took hundreds of iterations of trial and error to finally came to life!" she observed. "This piece highlights Richard Wu's blend of bold innovation and timeless elegance with a contemporary vision, she explained. Geneva-based antique jewelry dealer Thomas Faerber, who co-founded Gem Genève with fellow dealer ... More Ronny Totah. Other featured designers and makers in the Emerging Talents category included Lucas Hage, a young Geneva-based designer, who Totah cited as 'interesting for subverting traditional jewelry norms. His distinctive style features broken or imperfect stones and draws inspiration from Dark Fantasy style.' Then there was William Llewellyn Griffiths, based in Australia, whose 'gothic-romantic, baroque-inspired jewelry resembles wearable architecture, with intricate metalwork, secret compartments, and richly colored gems.' Additional talents of note included Bojem, which, according to Totah, 'is an interesting studio for its poetic and minimalist approach to jewelry that balances organic curves with delicate gemstone placements, often using soft-colored sapphires and tourmalines set in brushed gold.' Arman Suciyan, an Istanbul-born designer, was included for its 'sculptural, hand-crafted jewelry that blends traditional techniques with futuristic and organic forms. His work draws on mythology, nature, and personal narrative,' Totah detailed, 'which results in intricately detailed, imaginative pieces.' Turkish designer Arman Suciyan highly sculptural jewels exhibited at Gem Genève 2025 in the Emerging ... More Talents and New Designers realm. As Mathieu Dekeukelaire, Director of GemGenève, wrote in an email, 'GemGenève has always been more than a trade show. It's a living, evolving experience. We have already began working on our tenth edition, which will take place in Geneva from May 7 to May 10, 2026." What's more, Dekeukelaire related, 'We remain committed to constant reinvention, from scenography to layout and to the programming of talks, ensuring that each edition looks and feels like a fresh encounter for visitors, exhibitors, and Friends of GemGenève alike. I'm proud,' he averred, that change and creativity continue to live at the very heart of our identity.' Myriad facets of gem and jewelry-related creativity were shared with the show's attendees through speaker and author programs presented in the Gem Genève seminar areas. Highlights included a colorful talk with jewelry historian Amanda Triossi and Caroline Kranz, the Deputy Curator of the Cartier Collection. These experts regaled the audience with historical facts and anecdotes about masterpieces from the heritage house of Cartier, which has amassed one of the world's most artistically and historically important jewelry archives. Violaine Bigot, Laurent Cartier and Kathia Pinckernelle will discuss how Art Deco jewellery defied convention by looking at materials, techniques, patterns, gems, colours and more. Violaine Bigot, the heritage director of the Paris maison Chaumet, Laurent Cartier, Ph.D., director of special projects at the Swiss Gemmological Institute and jewelry historian Kathia Pinckernelle, M.A. discussed how Art Deco style gave birth to revolutionary Art Deco jewelry by relating the rich history of how that era's jewelers used materials, techniques, patterns, gemstones and colors in artistically novel ways that remain relevant to this day. Then again, Capucine Juncker's talk about her new book, Diamonds of Goldconda, scintillated just like its subject, which happens to cover the legendarily limpid diamonds from India's former Golconda Sultanate, which is located in what are now known as the Indian regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Another authoritative industry figure who presented at Gem Genève was Rui Galopim de Carvalho, FGA, DGA, author of Gempedia: A Comprehensive Glossary For Gemstones and Gemmology. With over 7300 entries related to gemstones and gemmology aimed at students, professionals and anyone interested in these subjects, it's also worth noting that Gempedia has been endorsed by The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, the world's longest established provider of gem and jewellery education, and is also endorsed by the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), one of Asia's first international gemological institutes. In Faerber's view, "GemGeneve has established itself over the past nine editions as one of the most important shows in our field. We have made it grow every year into an international platform," he claimed, 'where professionals, curators, and private individuals 'can present their designs and gems, exchange ideas, make new connections 'and look forward to meeting again.' While Faerber, the Totahs and Dekeukelaire are too discreet to say so, it would appear that GemGenève continues to grow steadily as it provides a gracious, safe and stimulating environment for those in the gem and jewelry industries to do business. By bringing the JGAA, the first African organization for jewelry professionals, plus African artisans to the attention of the industry and the public, GemGenève is redefining the role of jewelry trade shows in an unprecedented way.
CBS News
14 hours ago
- CBS News
Fremont police arrest 4 suspects after robbery at Kumar Jewelers
Four people were taken into custody after Fremont police responded to a robbery at a jewelry store Wednesday evening, police said. Shortly before 5:30 p.m., police responded to Kumar Jewelers on Mowry Avenue and Farwell Avenue, where they said multiple people were involved in a robbery. Police said the group rammed a vehicle into the front of the business, gained entry and smashed display cases before taking off in multiple vehicles. One of the suspect vehicles was located at the scene and four people were taken into custody, police said. Stolen property was also located in the vehicle, police said. "It's just not fair. I mean, this is America, so you're entitled to be able to run your business peacefully and safely, and it's just unfortunate that this is the reality," said Sahil Verma of Humar Jewelers. "Sometimes it's not a matter of if but a matter of when." The investigation is ongoing.
New York Times
19 hours ago
- New York Times
They Followed a Truck for 300 Miles. Then They Stole $100 Million in Jewelry.
The Brink's semi truck containing dozens of bags of glittering jewels and luxury watches from an international jewelry show near San Francisco pulled into a rest stop nestled among the mountains north of Los Angeles. So, too, did the thieves who were following it on a 300-mile journey. Although specific details on how exactly they pulled off what federal prosecutors are calling 'the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history' were not available, an indictment in the case said that some had acted as lookouts while others made off with 24 bags, containing an estimated $100 million worth of goods. Now, nearly three years later, seven men have been charged in connection with the theft, and some of the jewelry that was stolen has been recovered, the Justice Department said in a news release on Tuesday. 'This isn't a group that just woke up and met in the park and said, 'Hey, let's go follow a jewelry tractor-trailer from a jewelry show,'' said Scott Guginsky, the executive vice president of the Jewelers' Security Alliance, a trade association that tracks jewelry crimes for retailers and the police, adding that a lot of thought goes into planning such a crime. The men who have been indicted — Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, Jorge Enrique Alban, Jazael Padilla Resto, Eduardo Macias Ibarra, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores and Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano — each face two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, as well as theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to the Justice Department, which did not say how the men were caught. Five of the men — Mr. Mestanza, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Lugo, Mr. Valencia, and Mr. Alban — were also charged with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, as well as interference with commerce by robbery, prosecutors said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Spiced and seized: Robber caught 300 metres from Langkawi gold shop after chilli powder heist
ALOR SETAR, June 19 — A robber was arrested before he could even turn the corner on the street of a gold shop he had just fled from at Jalan Pandak Mayah 5, Kuah in Langkawi today. Langkawi police chief ACP Shariman Ashari said in the robbery at about 11.48am, the 45-year-old local man entered the shop wearing a face mask. 'During the robbery, the 69-year-old owner and his 60-year-old wife were inside the shop. The suspect threw chilli powder at the victim's wife and proceeded to smash the jewellery display glass with a machete. 'The suspect then fled but was chased down by the goldsmith and several bystanders,' he said in a statement today. He said the suspect was arrested about a 300-metre dash from the gold shop by policemen on patrol in the vicinity. 'The gold (jewellery) looted was estimated at RM50,000. The suspect has been detained for further investigation and the case is being investigated under Section 392/397 of the Penal Code (robbery and causing grievous harm),' he said. — Bernama
