No Time For Panic

Panic is Never a Strategy!

That little mantra from trusty old Jim Cramer has always stuck with me — and it’s just as true for the diamond industry as it is for the stock market. I’ll admit, I tune in for Jim’s market analysis, but I also learn from his on-air style (media being the other business I’m in). But I digress.

With the dust starting to settle on the tariff news — particularly the initial 25% duty on Indian imports and the additional 25% slated to follow — it’s worth assessing how we respond to such seismic changes. Do we duck and dive, or pivot and adjust our game plan?

We’ve faced enough systemic crises over the past decade to explain the industry’s resignation when another challenge lands. Still, a 50% tariff on Indian goods is a blow that will have global repercussions.

Strategic thinking involves defining the problem, getting the full picture, exploring every available option, weighing the odds, and acting — easier said than done, I know! But while each business will face its own considerations, the broader industry conversation comes down to a few fundamental questions:

- How will the tariffs affect manufacturing?

- How will they influence the wholesale pricing of diamonds?

- What impact will this have on the trading centers?

- How should manufacturers plan polished production for the holiday season?

- How will jewelers prepare their holiday inventory?

- And, ultimately, will consumers feel the pinch?

I don’t have the answers. For now, we can only speculate with so many moving parts. There’s still a chance the extra 25% duty on India could be rolled back before the August 27 deadline, and there’s hope the industry can yet win a full exemption for diamonds and jewelry. That’s a cause worth rallying behind.

While the knee-jerk reaction may be to panic, the real test is channeling that energy into creative action. Meeting this challenge will take coordinated lobbying, agile supply chains, and industry-wide collaboration. In the short term, the industry must adapt, but we can’t lose sight of the bigger goal: stimulating demand and reclaiming diamonds’ share of the luxury wallet.

The coming weeks will be decisive. We can’t control policy shifts in Washington, but we can protect margins, engage customers, and find ways to limit supply chain disruption. In the short term, operations must adapt, while the long-term goal remains to safeguard demand.

This article was part of the August 12 Pressing Matters executive memo. Read the rest of the memo here: Pressing Matters