News Briefing
NEWS BRIEFING: 31 July 2026
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A curated edit of the week's global jewellery news - national and international - compiled for industry insight and trend monitoring.
💰'Anglo Said to Be in Talks to Sell De Beers for About $1 Billion'
Bloomberg News, 29 July 2026, Bloomberg: Anglo American is reported to be negotiating the sale of its 85 per cent stake in De Beers to a consortium for around $1 billion, a fraction of the diamond miner's former worth after a prolonged downturn in the rough market.
💰'LVMH Shares Encouraging Half-Year Results As Luxury Renews With Growth'
Clara Ludmir, 28 July 2026, Forbes: LVMH's watches and jewellery division grew 11 per cent in the quarter, with Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari's high jewellery lines the strongest performers in a half-year result that suggests the luxury slowdown is easing.
💰'Gold Buyers Shifted to Lighter Jewellery as Prices Stayed High in Q2'
Nivetha Dayanand, 31 July 2026, Gulf News: World Gold Council figures show jewellery volumes down 17 per cent year on year as record bullion prices pushed shoppers towards lighter, lower-carat pieces even while the value of what they spent rose.
💰'Central Banks' Gold Buying Hits Record in Q2 as Geopolitical Risks Persist'
Alvin R Cabral, 30 July 2026, The National: Official-sector buying reached a record 289 tonnes in the second quarter, offsetting some of the weakest consumer demand on record and underlining how far central banks now drive the gold market.
💰'Why Heavy Gold With Diamonds Is So Popular Right Now'
Kate Matthams, 16 July 2026, Forbes: Designers including Fie Isolde and Anita Ko report rising demand for substantial gold-and-diamond pieces despite record metal prices, as buyers increasingly treat jewellery as a store of value rather than an ornament.
💰'Thangamayil Jewellery Shares Slide 27% in Three Days Even as Q1 Profit Rises 86% YoY'
Prashun Talukdar, 31 July 2026, Business Today: The South Indian retailer's shares fell sharply despite an 86 per cent profit jump, as investors weighed higher gold import duties and regional tensions against the headline numbers.
💍'How Taylor Swift and Zendaya Are Driving the Trend for Bespoke Engagement Rings'
Gayatri Bhaumik, 21 July 2026, South China Morning Post: High-profile bespoke commissions are accelerating consumer demand for old-mine cuts, warm-toned "desert diamonds" and personalised settings in place of the standard solitaire.
💍'Tom Holland Dons Luxe Spider Brooch At "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" London Premiere; Here's The Story Behind It'
Rutunjay Dole, 31 July 2026, Free Press Journal: Tom Holland marked his superhero send-off with a one-off Pragnell brooch featuring articulated legs, a piece the British jeweller spent more than 350 hours making.
💍'Madison Beer's Engagement Ring Is Going Viral—Shop 5 Similar Styles'
Jessica Moore, 29 July 2026, USA Today: Madison Beer's elongated cushion-cut diamond from NFL quarterback Justin Herbert, valued at up to $700,000, has become a widely copied reference point for brides seeking a modern silhouette.
💍'Ethel Cain Shows Off Matching Rings She Had Made with Her Teeth for Her and a Friend'**
Charlotte Phillipp, 20 July 2026, People: The musician commissioned jeweller Mia Perez to set her own extracted teeth into a pair of matching silver rings, an unusually literal take on sentimental jewellery.
💍'All the Details on Queen Letizia of Spain's Rarely-Seen Engagement Ring'
Audrey Schmidt, 26 July 2026, People: A look back at King Felipe's 2003 proposal ring — a Suárez design of sixteen baguette diamonds — highlights how seldom Spain's queen actually wears the piece in public.
💍'Ear Cuffs Are the Most Versatile Jewellery Trend of the Summer: Here Are the 9 Best to Buy Now'
Helena Lee, 20 July 2026, Harper's Bazaar UK: Harper's Bazaar makes the case for the piercing-free ear cuff as the season's most practical statement, citing red-carpet adopters from Cate Blanchett to Rihanna.
💍'Jess Cartner-Morley on Fashion: Mermaidcore Calls for Shimmer and Shells – Just Don't Go Overboard'
Jess Cartner-Morley, 22 July 2026, The Guardian: The Guardian's fashion columnist positions shell and coral jewellery as the finishing note of a grown-up "mermaidcore" look, with a warning about how easily it tips into costume.
💍'Cuff Bracelets Are Summer's Coolest Jewelry Trend—And This $70 Style Is Top of Our Wish List'
Clementina Jackson, 13 July 2026, ELLE: ELLE traces the sculptural cuff's return through the contrasting street style of Zoë Kravitz and Alexa Chung, arguing the wrist has displaced the neckline as the season's focal point.
💍'Corded Necklaces Are the Latest Jewelry Staple—And They Start at $25'
Lila Hathaway, 17 July 2026, ELLE: Leather, satin and woven cord necklaces are emerging as a softer, more bohemian counterpoint to the metal chains that have dominated recent seasons.
💍'Why Yellow Gold Jewellery Is Defining Jewellery Design in 2026'
Annie Darling, 25 July 2026, South China Morning Post: Yellow gold's comeback is being driven by a dual appeal, offering emotional warmth at a moment when record metal prices have made the material an investment in its own right.
💍 'From Tutankhamun to Today: How Van Cleef & Arpels Revives Egypt in Its 2026 High Jewellery Collection'
Amrita Katara, 18 July 2026, Tatler Asia: Van Cleef & Arpels' 180-piece "Fascinating Egypt" collection reaches back to the maison's own 1920s pharaonic designs, drawing an explicit line between ancient Egyptian ornament and art deco form.
💍'Misfit X Melee The Show Inspires Designers In New York'**
Kate Matthams, 28 July 2026, Forbes: Nine independent designers were each handed a one-of-a-kind Misfit diamond to interpret as they wished for New York's Melee The Show, evidence of a growing collector appetite for stones with character over flawlessness.
💍'The Jewelry Brand Behind BTS' FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Performance'
Kate Matthams, 22 July 2026, Forbes: London house DOSIS G6C, founded by Central Saint Martins graduate Beichen Guan, reached a global audience with bespoke pieces for BTS's World Cup halftime show, showing how quickly a small atelier can now rival heritage names for visibility.
💍 'From Tutankhamun to Today: How Van Cleef & Arpels Revives Egypt in Its 2026 High Jewellery Collection'
Amrita Katara, 18 July 2026, Tatler Asia: Van Cleef & Arpels' 180-piece "Fascinating Egypt" collection reaches back to the maison's own 1920s pharaonic designs, drawing an explicit line between ancient Egyptian ornament and art deco form.
💍'Paris Couture Week High Jewellery Gave Me a Heatwave and 101 Carats I Will Never Be Allowed to Buy'
Amrita Katara, 16 July 2026, Tatler Asia: After touring ten Place Vendôme maisons, Tatler's editor argues that the rise of lab-grown stones has pushed high jewellery houses to compete on rarity, provenance and craft rather than carat weight.
💍 'Floral Jewellery Is Blooming, From Chanel and Dior to Asian Ateliers'
Francesca Fearon, 30 July 2026, South China Morning Post: A new wave of oversized botanical motifs is running from the Paris houses through to independent Asian jewellers, with scale and realism replacing the dainty florals of previous seasons.
💍'Vhernier's Freccia High Jewellery: A Masterclass in Sculptural Restraint'
Collection Magazine, 28 July 2026, Collection: Vhernier has softened its signature triangular Freccia motif into detachable sculptural pieces combining mirror-polished gold, jade and the house's layered Trasparenze technique.
💍'Treasures From Ancient Egypt's "Golden City", and the Stories of the People Who Made Them, Revealed in San Francisco Show'
Elena Goukassian, 30 July 2026, The Art Newspaper: The de Young Museum brings twenty objects from Amarna to North America for the first time, using gilded jewellery and workaday items to shift attention onto the craftspeople behind Tutankhamun-era splendour.
💍'This Medieval Byzantine Shipwreck Boasts More Gold Treasures Than Any Other Vessel Found Beneath the Mediterranean'
Meilan Solly, 28 July 2026, Smithsonian Magazine: Divers off the Croatian island of Mljet have raised gem-set gold belts and an imperial signet ring from a seventh- or eighth-century wreck, the richest gold haul yet recovered from the Mediterranean.
💍'The Louvre's Apollo Gallery Reopens, This Time Without Any Crown Jewels'
Leigh Anne Miller, 22 July 2026, ARTnews: Nine months after the theft of its Napoleon-era jewels, the Louvre has reopened the gilded Apollo Gallery as an architectural showcase alone, its remaining crown jewels moved elsewhere for safekeeping.
💍'New Study Reveals How Cypriot Goldsmiths United Four Ancient Cultures'
Mark Milligan, 19 July 2026, HeritageDaily: Analysis of 3,400-year-old gold headbands and mouthpieces from Hala Sultan Tekke shows Bronze Age Cypriot goldsmiths fusing Egyptian, Mycenaean, Minoan and Near Eastern motifs into a single house style.
💍'Birmingham Jewellery Biennial Announces Flagship Exhibition'
Gerda Krivaite, 28 July 2026, Our Culture: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery will stage a contemporary jewellery show curated by former V&A curator Sophie Morris as the anchor of the city's first Jewellery Biennial in 2027.
