One Year Anniversary

In any business, it’s important to recognize milestones, not necessarily as a reason to celebrate one’s accomplishments, but to take stock and reset the benchmarks from which to build.

This week marks one year since I launched The Diamond Press. The objective today is the same as it was then: to build a community around clear, insightful analysis of the diamond industry.

Looking back, the first year comes with mixed feelings. The community has grown steadily. Traffic to The Diamond Press increased through the year, and my subscriber and follower base across social platforms and the Pressing Matters executive memo rose 47%.

That’s encouraging, but the numbers are not the point. What matters more is the quality of the audience and the value of the engagement. The real measure of progress is the consistency and impact of the content being published.

That’s where my focus is for 2026. Every subscriber on YouTube and follower on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X is genuinely appreciated, and I do want to continue growing Pressing Matters. Still, the priority is to produce distinctive content that adds value and deepens understanding of the diamond market.

Watch this space.

This blog first appeared in the January 5 Pressing Matters Executive Memo. Read the full memo here, Pressing Matters, featuring the following sections:

• Market Outlook: Correction or Continued Pressure

• Your Take: What do you anticipate for the diamond trade in the coming year?

• In Focus: 10 Predictions for the Diamond Industry

• Industry Voices: Learning from History

• Deep Dive: What to Call a Diamond

• The News That Matters: India updates disclosure rules

• The Week Ahead

• Pic of the Week: Overtreated Pink

A 1.10-carat fancy deep brownish orangy pink diamond submitted to GIA was found to be multi-treated using HPHT annealing, irradiation, and heating to create nitrogen vacancy centers responsible for its pink color. The diamond displayed a visibly uneven, mottled color distribution, an unusual outcome for a treated pink diamond that the GIA linked to uneven nitrogen aggregation and pre-existing crystal deformation. (Image credit: GIA)