Diamond Trends Webinar with Martin Rapaport

RAPAPORT... The market could split into two segments as high- and low-value goods react differently to the current economic uncertainty, Martin Rapaport said in last week's webinar. The absence of US stimulus payments has created a lull in demand compared with last year, the Rapaport chairman explained in the quarterly session, entitled "Treading Cautiously." Macroeconomic challenges such as inflation and higher interest rates - some of which are the result of those government payouts - have also dented consumer spending, he said. "Inexpensive diamonds will be very sensitive to price increases," Rapaport observed, noting that the cheapest goods might even show some improvement as buyers shift to the lower price points. "Then you'll see the bigger diamonds, where people just don't care about the prices. If the prices increase, they're going to want to buy more of them in an inflationary environment. So we're looking at interesting market scenarios here. We're looking at changes. We're looking at a bifurcation or separation of markets."Watch the full Diamond Trends Webinar here:Image: Martin Rapaport. (Rapaport)