 |
|
| September 2004
Diamonds/News Growing Pinks & Blues Gemesis rolls out a series of new lab-grown fancy colors Jennifer Lopez’s engagement to Ben Affleck may have met its Maker, but one thing beneficial to jewelers emerged from the heat and pressure of their celebrity affair: pink diamonds. Created pink diamonds have met their maker in the Sarasota, FL-based Gemesis Corp., which recently added pink and blue diamonds to its line of fancy intense yellow lab-grown diamonds. “Ever since J-Lo’s pink diamond engagement ring, we’ve been getting an overwhelming number of requests,” says David Hellier, vice president of marketing for Gemesis. “The first new colors to reach markets are the blues, which are considerably easier to produce than pinks,” says Hellier. “We launched fancy light blue to fancy intense blue diamonds at the Hong Kong show this year; consumers will get their introduction through our retail partners starting in November.” Blues can take up to 20% longer to grow than their yellow counterparts, he says. The company is tinkering with its formulas to make the diamonds appear lighter or more intense. “These are fully grown blue diamonds, while the pinks start as yellows and then have additional irradiation and heat to coax them into becoming pink.” Adds Hellier, “That’s our vision for this year: yellow, pink and blue!” BON-BOM Marketing Gemesis says all indications are that fancy-colored diamonds of any kind will remain at the forefront of consumers’ consciousness. “We are calling it the BON-BOM effect, meaning ‘best of nature-best of man,’” he says. Working in Gemesis’ favor is the significant awareness of colored diamonds among consumers vs. the extreme rarity of the natural product. Most retailers don’t have a ready frame of reference when it comes to pricing the product because of natural fancy-colored diamonds’ rarity. However, Gemesis says it uses a rule-of-thumb to price its diamonds, one that’s relative to the price of natural colorless diamonds, as follows:
Gemesis officials say they’re striving for the best possible cutting standards for their diamonds. “We want Gemesis to define this category and stand out as the preeminent brand,” says Hellier. Retailer partnerships are growing in the United States (25 jewelers have formed partnerships with Gemesis here so far). Gemesis is growing internationally also, with 10 overseas jewelers now in partnership with the company. Meanwhile, Gemesis is expanding its output by adding more diamond presses (Professional Jeweler, February 2004, p. 24). “At full capacity, we will have 240 machines producing 6,000 carats per month,” says Hellier. “That output would be equal to a small natural mine.” • Gemesis Corp., Sarasota, FL; (941) 907-9889, www.gemesis.com. – by Robert Weldon, G.G.
|
