Rolliefest, Tariffs, De Beers: ‘The Jewelry District’ Podcast

By Natalie Chomet | October 08, 2025

In this episode, JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates cover the exclusive watch collector event Rolliefest and the latest developments on tariffs and the sale of De Beers. At Rolliefest—which is so exclusive, attendees don’t even find out where to go until shortly beforehand—Victoria met passionate watch collectors, admired their unique timepieces, and even shared some of her own. Rob, meanwhile, has been following the tariff saga, and he reports on a new exemption that gives the jewelry industry a much-needed—if minor—break. The hosts also discuss the ongoing sale of Anglo American’s majority stake in De Beers, and the mechanics of Botswana making a play for ownership.

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Title Sponsor: Nivoda (nivoda.com)
Sponsor: De Beers (adiamondisforever.com)

Episode Credits
Hosts: Rob Bates and Victoria Gomelsky
Producer and engineer: Natalie Chomet
Editor: Riley McCaskill
Plugs: @jckmagazine; nivoda.com; adiamondisforever.com

Show Notes
01:10 Watch this space
08:55 Tariff exemptions for certain gemstones
16:25 Botswana (and maybe Angola) sets its sights on De Beers
23:00 A hat tip to Alexander Lacik

Show Recap
Watch this space
Victoria was invited to an exclusive event in New York City for watch collectors called Rolliefest. The biennial event was founded in 2019 by Geoff Hess, global head of watches at Sotheby’s. It started as a passion project, where Hess invited vintage collectors he knew, and has grown from there.

The event is still invite-only, and attendees don’t find out the location until the week before. A series of events unfolds over about 36 hours at Rolliefest. Its opening cocktail party was hosted in the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the Met Gala took place. Hundreds of dealers, collectors, and a few members of the press from all over the world gathered.

The “heart and soul” of Rolliefest, as Victoria put it, was the watch-sharing luncheon, held at One World Trade Center (the building where JCK is headquartered). Collectors came to the Aspire event space at the top of the skyscraper—some brought three watches, while others brought 30, Victoria says. She brought her Gomelsky watches, a Raketa, and a Cartier she wears daily. Everyone shares their collections in the middle of the room. Geoff estimated that there was $20 million worth of pieces in that room.

Victoria comments that “Rolliefest” is a bit of a misnomer because there are all makes of watches represented besides Rolexes. She saw some of the rarest watches in the world, “like one of 10, one of five, one of one,” she says. The long table in the middle of the room looked like a giant swap meet, but only some attendees were there to make transactions. Even vintage watch dealers like Mike Nouveau didn’t come primarily to sell, but rather to see “truly, some of the most collectible timepieces on earth.”

The stories were the real collectors’ items at this event, according to Victoria. “With vintage, there’s always the potential for some incredible provenance and a tale of what this watch has seen, how it’s lived, who touched it, and what hands it’s passed through,” she notes.

Tariff exemptions for certain gemstones
Though there isn’t much good news on the tariff front, Rob reports on one exception for the industry: Some jewelry products that aren’t found in the United States—including loose diamonds, colored stones, and natural pearls (not cultured)—have been added to the Annex IIA exemption list.

However, there’s a catch. These items can be imported tariff-free only if they’re exported from a country that has signed a trade deal with the United States. Due to a U.S. trade deal with the European Union, diamonds cut in Antwerp may now be shipped to the U.S. tariff-free.

But the exemption would not apply to India at the moment—and 90% of diamonds are cut and polished in India. “The way the tariffs work is the ‘country of origin’ is based on where the item is substantially transformed,” Rob explains. So diamonds cut in India are considered to come from India, even if they were mined somewhere else.

While this exemption won’t change much immediately, it’s something that jewelry businesses and trade organizations, including Jewelers of America, AGTA, and De Beers, have fought hard for, so it’s still a win, Rob says.

Botswana (and maybe Angola) sets its sights on De Beers
Speaking of De Beers, Anglo American has been trying to divest its 85% stake in the diamond giant. The government of Botswana owns the other 15% of De Beers and is looking to become De Beers’ majority owner. About 75% of De Beers’ diamonds are produced in Botswana, which makes it De Beers’ most important partner.

But purchasing a majority stake in De Beers would be understandably hard for Botswana to pull off right now. Because of the state of the diamond industry, the country is having severe economic issues. “One of the reasons they were so admired was because health care and education was free, and now both those systems are extremely strained,” says Rob.

Botswana’s president, Duma Boko, has said he wants the De Beers transaction to take place by the end of October, which seems quick for a complex transaction of this nature, Rob says.

Despite the challenges, Botswana has an advantage: As a key stakeholder, it has effective veto power over any potential buyer. Rob cites Chaim Even-Zohar’s recent article in a Botswana newspaper that advocates for Botswana taking control of De Beers and provides some funding options. Even so, at present, it remains unclear where the money would come from.

Angola also has a bid for De Beers ready, which imagines a consortium with Botswana and other African diamond producers like Namibia and South Africa getting together to take ownership of De Beers. The specifics of how this would be structured remain to be seen.

One reason the De Beers-Botswana partnership has worked so well, Rob believes, is the different demands the two players have as far as transparency. Some partnerships between governments and private industry don’t go well, but Rob sees De Beers and Botswana as a notable exception.

A hat tip to Alexander Lacik
In closing, the hosts pay tribute to Pandora chief executive Alexander Lacik (former podcast guest), who will be leaving the jewelry company early next year. “It’s not always that a CEO steps down and gets praised, so well done, Alexander,” Victoria says.

Any views expressed in this podcast do not reflect the opinion of JCK, its management, or its advertisers.