TRADE SHOWS

VIVA LAS VEGAS, THE LARGEST SHOW IN THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT MARKET

The world’s diamond and jewelry trade heads back one more time to Las Vegas’ golden Mandalay Bay resort this June, as next year the United States’ premier jewelry trade show, JCK Las Vegas, will be relocating next to the Sands Expo and Convention Center, which is the site where the event originally began 22 years ago.

The swansong year at the Mandalay Bay, which will take place June 1 through June 4, is forecast to be a blockbuster, with more than 2,300 exhibiting companies  and some 23,000 professional buyers. About 9,400  independents, majors, department stores, boutiques and galleries will be flying into the city, with 23 percent of them coming in from outside of the United States.

According to a report just released by De Beers, worldwide diamond jewelry sales grew by about grew 2 percent in 2017 to an all-time high of $82 billion, largely as a result of a strong U.S .market, where demand  rose 4 percent to $43 billion on the back of  a resurgent economy and robust consumer confidence.

The world’s most important diamond market, which last year comprised 52.4 percent of all diamond jewelry sales globally, was the leading driver of growth for the fourth consecutive year. And not no longer was a market solely driven by matrimonial jewelry, with De Beers reporting that the phenomenon of consumers buying pieces for themselves expanded to 33 percent of all US diamond-jewelry purchases.

“People around the world are spending more on diamond jewelry than ever before, and it’s encouraging to see consumers in the U.S., the world’s largest and most mature market, leading the way,” said Bruce Cleaver, De Beers CEO.

And, by all counts, more records are likely to be broken in 2018. According to the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. economy remained in gear during the first quarter of 2018 with gross domestic product expanding at a pace of 2.3 percent, which was the strongest first-quarter reading in three years.

The economic fundamentals continue to be positive. There is rising household net worth in the United States, corporate profits are good, consumer sentiment is still at a cycle high and there are impressive gains in payrolls and the labor force participation rate.

The Conference Board is projecting strong economic growth for 2018 and 2019, with GDP rising to  3.1 percent in the second quarter and finish 2018 up 2.9 percent. Consumer spending is likely grow by 2.6 percent for the year, and consumer confidence will remain at near 18-year highs.