Rob Bates
![]() Rob Bates travels around the world meeting dignitaries, climbing in and out of diamond mines, and analyzing the impact of politics and policy on diamond prices and availability. He is one of the few journalists who actually visited strife-torn Sierra Leone to get a first-hand look at the ravages from the conflict diamond situation. Rob oversees both the UpFront news section and the retail-focused Jewelers’ Notebook section of JCK. The grandson of a diamantaire, Rob is also a popular speaker and a winner of the prestigious Richard T. Liddicoat award for outstanding journalism in the jewelry industry. User Stats
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Cutting RemarksRecent Posts
Diamond Shavings: Your Friday Web RoundupJuly 2, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)
JC Penney gets ...Read More Recent Posts
GIA: Lab Business UpJuly 2, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0) In what could possibly maybe keep-your-fingers-crossed be a sign of improvement in the industry, the Gemological Institute of America said it is seeing some "nice numbers" at its diamond lab. "Obviously we are thrilled and we are cautiously optimistic," said spokeswoman Laura Simanton. "It's just one set of numbers so you can't read too much into it. Summer is coming and that's traditionally a slower time." Of course, the sights are bigger and that may help. Still, even with decent-sized sights last year, GIA's numbers fell so much it was forced to have a series of unprecedented layoffs. Recent Posts
Shake-up at HelzbergJune 29, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (6)
Outsiders are not sure which way the company is headed. Bringing in Beryl Raff would seem to indicate the company is going in a more promotional direction. However, one of her new hires is from Bailey, Banks and Biddle and Movado Boutiques, which would seem to indicate the opposite. Recent Posts
Diamond Shavings: Your Friday Web RoundupJune 26, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)
I’ve been writing the industry mood has been improving, but talking to people this week, it’s still pretty tough out there, and the new (generally unexpected) Chapter 11s don’t help. We are looking at a long haul.
And here’s the news …
Henry Dunay goes Chapter 11. ...Read More Recent Posts
Thoughts on the Kimberley ProcessJune 25, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)
- The industry is walking a bit of a tightrope here, particularly in its communications. While it needs to be seen as on the side of the “good guys” (the NGOs), the industry doesn’t want to heavily criticize the KP too much, because that will damage consumer confidence...Read More
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