Keshi Cultured Pearls Update

Trade alert. Keshi cultured pearls are entering the natural pearl trade. Find the full article by clicking here. www.ssef.ch

Random Thoughts

Companies start out as hopes and dreams and stay there for at least a little while. Even after the product has been launched and users are jumping aboard, the company is still in hopes and dreams mode. But eventually one of three things happens to a company; it goes out of business, it gets sold, or it becomes a real business. And one of the most interesting things to watch and learn from, as an entrepreneur or investor in entrepreneurs, is what happens when you go from hopes and dreams to the real thing. There is a big chasm between hopes and dreams and the real thing. Companies need to grow up and go through the ugly adolescent phase. They start to doubt themselves, they start to churn employees, they may even go through a management change or two. Getting across this chasm is hard, it takes tenacity, both from the entrepreneur and team and from the investors. Everyone has to stay the course, buy into the plan, and execute it. Crossing the chasm to the real thing is not nearly as fun as the hopes and dreams phase. It is hard work and it happens after the gushing media has left your company for the shiny new thing. Your company will take a morale hit and you will have to lead it through this phase. But getting to the other side is worth all of it. There is nothing as satisfying in entrepreneur land than having a profitable growing sustainable business that doesn't need another dime of anyone else's capital. I have watched entrepreneurs stand up in front of their teams and tell them that they've reached that point. I get chills every time I see it.

- Fred Wilson
www.avc.com

So true!

360-Degree Research

Stuart Karten was spot on. Keep the focus on the end user. Period.

Useful links:
www.kartendesign.com
www.designresearchconference.org
www.starkey.com

Robin And Lucienne Day

Contemporary Days: Robin and Lucienne Day Design the UK, is a brilliant documentary about the British design duo whose abstract, modernist design help change the post-World War II Britian. Don't miss. www.designonscreen.org

Art Market Update

The Economist report on the state of the art market in America was interesting. Many thanks.

Useful link:
www.christies.com

CVD-grown Diamond Update

Rob Bates has an interesting update on the one-carat white lab-grown stone. Check it out.

Useful link:
www.apollodiamond.com

Art Market Update

Market fluctuations are creating larger shifts in art-world taste. Check it out.

Useful links:
www.gagosian.com
www.sothebys.com
www.christies.com

Gold vs. Diamonds

Avi Krawitz was spot on. The safe-haven mantle remains firmly in gold’s grasp. Really. Many thanks.

When it comes to gold, demand is influenced by consumption and investment. While the outlook on gold consumption for jewelry, in particular, and for industrial use, is largely a function of global economic activity, this factor is easily offset by its reputation as a risk-free store of wealth. With its historic roots of serving as a form of money, gold traditionally maintains its value as currencies depreciate.To a large extent, diamonds offer the same safety net. In fact, as Rapaport Group’s chief economist, Yariv Segev, explains, it can be argued that diamonds are even safer than gold, given their easily transportable nature. However, as Segev stresses, that’s where the similarities end. Price trends for diamonds have shown little resemblance to those exhibited for gold in the past few years. While diamonds followed financial markets in waiting for assurances of economic improvement, gold was far more bullish in its recovery from the downturn.While my father, who is by no means a financial advisor, naturally thinks about gold at the slightest sign of economic weakness, today there are few, if any, who view diamonds in the same way. On the contrary, the diamond industry is — or at least should be — cautiously contemplating the possible impact that Europe’s bailout might have on global consumer confidence.The main difference between diamonds and gold lies in the fact that investments in diamonds are not large enough to influence prices. The industry is almost exclusively dependent on consumer demand and therefore, on economic growth. This makes it highly susceptible to risk. We learned this when, as the recession set in and unemployment rose, consumers naturally shied away from diamonds. To subvert that risk, the industry would do well to encourage investments in diamonds. While a strong marketing focus along these lines would help, as has been suggested by many before, the most effective way to achieve this goal would be through the commoditization of diamonds. Granted, the complications of such a development are well recognized and constitute a debate for another forum. But the theory is that commoditization would make diamonds more accessible to the man on the street as they become easier to trade. For now, we recognize it as gold’s major advantage over diamonds in wooing investors.
- Avi Krawitz

Useful link:
www.diamonds.net