US tariffs on imported goods are hitting American shoppers’ spending power and prompting them to postpone purchases, bespoke jeweler Dan Moran tells the Rapaport Diamond Podcast.
“The client who has $20,000 to spend isn’t going to spend $22,000 just because now there’s a tariff,” said Moran, owner of Los Angeles-based Concierge Diamonds, who is also a licensed pilot. “What they’re going to do is get that 2-carat stone instead of the 2-and-a-quarter carat, right?”
Importers of diamonds into the US have had to pay a 10% tariff since US President Donald Trump introduced the new duties for almost all products on April 5. The administration postponed a higher rate of 26% for Indian goods by 90 days, which will end in early July.
“I’ve had three or four clients cancel orders, just because they say, with the uncertainty of what’s going on, we feel more comfortable just kind of putting money under the mattress right now,” Moran added in conversation with Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman.
Vendors are also “panicking” about how to replace goods given the new costs and the unpredictability of Trump’s policies.
Moran said his business was not greatly affected, as he had significantly reduced his inventory in recent years and focused on memo. This enables him to adjust his retail prices to the going wholesale prices without being under pressure to shift stock.
“If the water level is rising or falling on cost basis, I’m a duck,” he explained. “I can swim up here. I can swim down here. I’m not bothered. I’m going to swim wherever the water level is and add my little margin, so that I can stay in business and sell to my clients.”
The loser, however, is the consumer, who inevitably foots the bill, since the diamond and jewelry industry does not have sufficient margins to absorb the costs. “There’s no avoiding it,” Moran said. “At the end of the day, someone is going to pay this, and ultimately it will always get passed to the consumer.”
On this video episode, recorded on April 22, Moran explained why he sells both natural and lab-grown diamonds, why he stopped holding inventory, and the importance of Mother’s Day and the graduation season.
He also spoke about his plane-flying hobby and how being a pilot helped him serve customers efficiently and in style.
Listen to the podcast here:
This podcast is brought to you by GIA — the Gemological Institute of America — protecting consumers and supporting the global gem and jewelry trade since 1931 through research, education, and laboratory services.
