Brilliant Earth, CBG, Metal Refining, Watch Woes: ‘The Jewelry District’ Podcast

By Natalie Chomet | February 11, 2026

JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk about Brilliant Earth’s new showroom in Beverly Hills, which Victoria had just visited, and what she learned about what the 2026 bridal customer is looking for and how retailers are responding. The hosts highlight Brilliant Earth’s shift toward experiential, hospitality-driven retail and the apparently diminishing importance of sustainability in consumer decisions. Then, Rob reports on the surprising way gold and silver prices are affecting refiners. He also shares some of the industry talk he heard at the Continental Buying Group (CBG) show in Miami. Finally, he and Vic discuss the watch market, including recent moves at certain brands.

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Title sponsor: De Beers (adiamondisforever.com)
Sponsor: Facets of Fire (facetsoffire.com/retailer-testimonials)

Show Notes
02:00 Brilliant Earth’s new showroom in Beverly Hills
04:00 The brand’s shift toward experiential retail
11:10 Report on the CBG show
14:00 Overloaded gold and silver refiners
17:00 Takeaways from LVMH Watch Week

Episode Credits
Hosts: Rob Bates and Victoria Gomelsky
Producer and engineer: Natalie Chomet
Editor: Riley McCaskill
Plugs: @jckmagazine; adiamondisforever.com; facetsoffire.com/retailer-testimonials

Episode Transcript
This transcript has been abridged and edited for clarity.

Victoria:
Hey, everyone, welcome.… I just walked in the door from visiting Brilliant Earth’s brand-new showroom in Beverly Hills. It’s their largest footprint to date. I believe it’s their 42nd showroom. It replaces the one in West Hollywood they’ve had since their beginning. I think West Hollywood was their second physical showroom after Union Square in San Francisco.

They have a new concept. It’s this evolution of the physical retail experience. [Brilliant Earth] started out as a digital player, but when they migrated to physical retail, they had showrooms that were located upstairs. They were by appointment only. And this space is very much not that. It is a space on street level next to some really high-end—but unlike Rodeo Drive—retail. It’s more like Veronica Beard and Patagonia—that level of well-respected retail, but not super luxury.

It’s very accessible, and it’s a beautiful space. It has that clean “new car smell,” which is kind of cool. I think it’s interesting that they’re focusing more on experiential retail aspects. One of the things that stands out is—and this is brand-new for Brilliant Earth—they’re offering clients a date-night experience: They get to come in, choose from some food options, a cocktail menu, champagne, and have a real hospitality experience.

We talked about this in some of our predictions for 2026: this idea that luxury is now competing with luxury experiences like travel. So what do retailers need to do to step up their game and make sure that people have these memorable moments with their favorite retailers as well as things like these date-night appointments? Brilliant Earth is going to be doing a lot more events. They’re one of those true omnichannel retailers. They wouldn’t say what their sales breakdown is between digital and physical, because the blurring is so extreme. A client obviously starts on the website, may make an appointment, and may end up coming back to the website and finalizing the purchase online. But physical retail clearly matters, and it’s a big emphasis, because that concept they’re pioneering with this new Beverly Hills showroom is one we’ll see replicated, perhaps in smaller spaces, but they’re ready to go.

There are some ways it looks like a traditional store: It’s not like you walk in and there are no cases. Perhaps when it’s less valuable merchandise, you can have an environment where the salesperson is standing side by side with the client. I’d written about this when I visited the Robbins Brothers’ new space in Pasadena last year—also a bridal-focused retailer. There’s a lot of emphasis on not being across from your client, but standing side by side or shoulder to shoulder.

So the Brilliant Earth space is still a little more traditional in that there are cases and there is that feeling that you’re entering a jewelry store. There’s a lot of art—very minimal, very elegant, quite chic. I’m working on a spring weddings–themed report, so I’m especially interested now in what the 2026 bridal customer is looking for and how retailers are meeting that moment.

Rob:
One thing that occurred to me is you said it’s near Beverly Hills, which is a high-end area. Brilliant Earth is known as a heavy seller of lab-grown, and with the current price points of lab-grown, it’s kind of hard to make it a luxury product. I don’t want to say it’s impossible, because I know people are trying and have tried and I’m sure some are succeeding, but it’s becoming a low-price-point item. I was wondering if that is reflected in this new store. Are they trying to sell more high-end lab-grown, or is it more natural, or are they even doing other kinds of products?

Victoria:
Everything on view, from what I understand, was a lab diamond. But when I asked how that conversation unfolds when a client comes in, I think it all starts with what the client is looking for. Obviously, much of that is informed by their budget. I wasn’t told what the breakdown is in volume versus value of their sales. I’m sure volume is dominated by lab; perhaps value is closer to 50/50, or who knows?

What the emphasis of this space is really on is warmth and hospitality. That was a word that came up several times. It feels luxurious because it is really nicely done. It’s very minimal, which makes it easier to be luxurious. But I would say their focus is on welcoming people of all budgets. So it didn’t sound like they were focusing primarily on that high-end tier, although there is a VIP space. There are several private spaces in the back, and one says “VIP showroom” on the door. And that’s obviously acknowledging they’re in Beverly Hills, so they’re going to get some clients.

It’s quite a busy shopping street, with fun fashion retailers there as well. Around the corner, you’ve got David Yurman, Cartier, IWC, and all the Swiss brands, and YSL and Rolex, for that matter. So you’ve got all those big names on Rodeo, and Beverly [Drive, where Brilliant Earth is located] speaks to me more as a street I would shop on.

They’re migrating to perhaps a more accessible format. And with that accessibility, the emphasis is on all budgets, not strictly the high-end.

Rob:
And another thing we’re starting to hear is that sustainability is becoming less important to consumers. I would argue it’s still an important subject that people should pay attention to, but consumers are perhaps less interested in it or paying less attention because they see a lot of greenwashing or a lot of marketing-focused efforts. Brilliant Earth built its reputation on sustainability, and that was always its main marketing hook. Is that something they’re still pushing in this store, or is it more of a traditional jewelry store with that deemphasized?

Victoria:
I’m glad you asked that. It’s definitely deemphasized. It is there in a subtle way. There’s greenery, there’s art with a lot of floral accents that are beautifully done, but there’s not anything explicit. And when I was talking with a store representative, she highlighted that sustainability is a big core part of Brilliant Earth’s DNA. It’s core to the brand. It always has been.

But then what the chief brand officer, Pamela Catlett, told me was that the No. 1 reason people come to see them is product—that they’ve got the designs that people want.

You make a very astute point…. This is a brand that for many years led with its sustainable track record and its legitimacy in that realm, [and] while it hasn’t forsaken it—I think behind the scenes all that is still very important and clearly matters to the brand—but in terms of how they face the consumer, it’s more about selection, design, retail experience, customer service.

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Victoria:
Let’s hear from you, because I know you were just in Miami at the [Continental Buying Group] show. What was that like?

Rob:
It was a very delightful show…. It’s at this really cool, beautiful hotel in Miami. There’s this really elaborate water park right next to it, which I did not get the chance to enjoy, but it’s right there. It’s a nice show—small, but warm. There are really good retailers and exhibitors. And I think the mood was pretty good.

People do have concerns about the economy, the gold price. Tariffs, you didn’t hear so much. One person told me that most of the industry has found a way to “deal with tariffs,” which makes you a little nervous because you want to make sure that they’re dealing with them in a way that won’t get them in trouble possibly. But people are very nervous about the gold price, [and] a lot of talk still about lab-grown versus natural.

I gave a talk on things that are going to affect the industry: gold price, lab-grown, and the bifurcated economy, which we’ve talked a lot about on this podcast. That’s something that people are starting to notice—that the high-end consumers are spending a lot more and are the ones propping up this economy at this point.

I saw a lot of good people [at CBG], and it’s interesting to take the pulse of the industry. I think this will be an interesting year, but people still have a lot of spirit, a lot of fight. You definitely saw that on display there. People are rethinking things and doing things differently. It’s an industry going through a tough time, but nobody’s willing to give up on it. So that’s all good.

One of the things I’ve been talking to people about—and hope to have a story on soon—is, refiners are totally overloaded. Some of them are not taking in gold or silver right now. Some are, but they’re delaying payments. It has become a big mess for them, because they’re just getting so much material, so many people, every person who watches CNBC sees gold going through $5,000 and says, “Well, I’ll trade in this and I’ll trade in this.” And they’re completely overloaded with silver and gold.

One thing that I thought was interesting is, [refiners] can’t just stockpile it because of the economics of how they work. They generally get funding from a bank, they take out a loan to buy the gold to pay the person, and then they get the money back when they sell it for scrap.

But the problem now is with all this backlog. If it takes a couple weeks to refine the gold because you’re way over capacity, then the interest on these loans exceeds any profits you make. For that reason, a lot of people are saying, “Look, we can’t take silver or gold right now. We’re way over capacity.”

It’s crazy…a big cash flow issue, even for some of the biggest refiners in the world. A lot of them have certain limits on their credit, so if you’re getting a lot of gold in and it’s really expensive, you’re going to hit that limit very quickly and you just don’t have the cash flow to keep buying and buying.

One person told me, “Everybody thinks we’re making tons of money, right, because we’re over capacity and we have more business than we need. But we’re not. It’s just really stressful and aggravating.” Tough times in that particular aspect of the industry.

Victoria:
Over the weekend, I was in Palm Springs with non-jewelry people. One of them comes from an Indian family in Pennsylvania, and she said, “My mom just went in and cashed in some of her old gold jewels.” As an Indian woman, she’s collected them over the years. $20,000. So that’s just one tiny example. And how many times is this playing out across the country? That’s a lot of cash.

Rob:
I was hanging out with one of my son’s friends, and [one of the parents is] checking his phone for the silver price. He’s not in the industry, but he’s probably making a lot of money off of it because silver has, as of a few weeks ago, been going up and up.

It was LVMH Watch Week last week, and there’s a lot going on in the watch world. As our watch guru, you want to bring us up to date?

Victoria:
Yes, the gold price is just one factor…. We got an email from the PR for Frederique Constant, which is a pretty accessibly priced brand that makes Swiss watches and all kinds of cool complications, both men’s and women’s pieces. The subject was: “Price update: Frederique Constant introduces the Gilded Classics Manchette Onyx Dial.” It said, “Please note the price is $2,095 until April, and will be $2,795 from April 2026.” It is a gold piece, but I believe it’s gold-colored, because you’re not going to get a solid gold watch for $2,700. And I did ask about that because it’s a $700 price jump.

One of the big issues right now for the Swiss is not the gold price, [because] a lot of their models don’t involve [gold], so it’s not quite the same as it is for jewelry. The other big deal is currency shifts. It seems that’s an even bigger story than gold or material costs: the strength of the Swiss franc, the weakness of the U.S. dollar. There was parity for a long time, which certainly made life for the Swiss watch executives easy. But now, when their costs are in Swiss francs and their sales—many of them still driven by the U.S. market—are in dollars, it’s really tricky for them to manage.

What you’re seeing [is] a result of not only the challenging environment right now but also the lingering luxury slowdown that has affected the watch business over the last couple of years. China’s slowdown is entering its fourth year. The U.S., with the tariffs, things are better but not great, because they established a 15% tariff [for Switzerland] in December—clearly better than 39%, which was the high, but still not ideal.

There’s a lot of stress around how to manage the markets, so what we’re seeing is executive shuffling. The news came out—I believe this was made clear to people at LVMH in late December—that Antoine Pin, the CEO of TAG Heuer, was departing the brand. He’d been there for about 18 months. Never a good sign. They haven’t announced a replacement, so that brand is CEO-less at the moment.

There have been a number of reshuffles with the Richemont Group here in the U.S. Panerai’s Philippe Bonay, who was a longtime head of the Americas, left in the fall. He’s now been replaced by Laurent Toinet—a lovely guy who I’ve met several times. He was at Roger Dubuis.

These are things the brands or groups try to do to mitigate some of the losses, figure out how to regroup. I don’t think anyone’s really landed on what works, other than being independent, which of course doesn’t help the groups much. But we see time and time again, whether it’s the primary market or the secondary market, that it’s the independently owned brands that perform best. Of course, I’m talking about the big three: Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, which continues to perform well and have its certified pre-owned business grow.

We continually see that the group-owned brands are lagging, whether that’s in secondary-market prices for their timepieces or in the primary market. So that’s the lasting takeaway.

Rob:
That’s not because people know these brands are owned by a group—consumers don’t necessarily care, right?

Victoria:
Correct. And I should call out Cartier and Omega—they are bright spots in the secondary market in terms of their value retention and pricing. And Cartier in the primary market as well has been a real bright spot for Richemont. But yes, you’re right. I don’t think consumers care, nor should it ultimately matter to them.

What makes a difference behind the scenes are the kinds of decisions that a brand can make about its future—whether it has cash reserves to weather certain periods, what kind of marketing it’ll do. And the groups are more constrained by the bean counters, the accountants, the people who are less concerned about reputation and image and long-lasting value than they are about the balance sheet and what it says to shareholders at the end of the month or the quarter.

LVMH just had results—I didn’t scrutinize them, but the headlines suggest some poor results and shares dropped. And this is an ongoing challenge for the brands.

Rob:
I wrote a story on Richemont—I think they changed three people around and moved one from one brand to another. I’ve noticed LVMH does that a lot. To me, that seems like a very odd thing to do. I can understand doing it every now and then, but they seem to do it pretty regularly—they just take one person and move him to another brand.

I guess it’s good for people to get a wide range of experience, but it seems it would be a little destabilizing if you do that all the time. I guess there are reasons for it. These people who make these decisions get paid a lot more than me, so who am I to question their brilliant wisdom? But it just seems like a weird thing to do—to keep shuffling your people around—especially because when people come into a new situation, generally they like to bring their own people in.

Victoria:
I think sometimes it’s a band-aid and certainly not a long-term strategy about how to cope with challenging conditions. We’ll see. I’ll have a lot more to say as I report stories about Watches and Wonders—and I’ll have a lot more to say about the market in general, too, for jewelers when I get back from Tucson.

When we have our next non-guest episode, I think we’ll both be more informed about what the year looks like and what our listeners can expect from 2026, have some more insight—and hopefully good news, certainly—from Tucson.

Rob:
2026 is off to a hell of a start, I have to say. Talk to you soon.

Victoria:
We won’t go there. Thanks, Rob. All the best.

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