With the global jewellery industry already struggling to stem the large sales losses brought about by the economic slowdown in the US – a market that consumes fully half of all the jewellery manufactured in the world – this report about mounting jewellery sales to pawnbrokers is really bad news.

What it means in effect is that firstly, the US consumer doesn’t think jewellery is something worth holding on to in tough times. Something that doesn’t bode well for the future, as the competition for a share of consumers’ discretionary spend becomes even more fierce with other luxury products barging in with large promotion budgets and innovative sales pitches.

Secondly, pawnbrokers’ inventories swelling daily and few if any attempts at redemption, there is an increasing supply of readymade jewellery now available to the consumer at attractive prices.

As though the situation wasn’t already tough enough for jewellery manufacturers and retailers…