New York – Facets of Fire has announced the appointment of Katie Stelmaszek as its new Director of Marketing.
Stelmaszek has 12 years’ experience in the industry. In her new role, she will act as a “brand visionary” and work closely with retailers on marketing needs, the company said.
With a proven track record in wholesale and retail marketing, the company said it’s confident Stelmaszek will help the brand grow and provide the “level of customer service [its] retailers deserve”.
Stelmaszek joins Facets of Fire from Buzz Advertising Agency, where she served as general manager, helping national jewellery retailers grow their businesses through marketing. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at Bottom Line Marketing in roles including creative director.
Stelmaszek holds a degree in media production and emerging technologies from Northern Michigan University.
I am thrilled to be developing the marketing strategy for a company focused on revolutionising the natural diamond industry,” said Stelmaszek.
“Having worked closely with jewellery retailers, I recognise the need to differentiate and elevate natural diamonds in order for retailers to remain profitable against synthetic diamonds.”
London-De Beers Group reported a 23 per cent drop in production in the third quarter, although the company said its full-year production target remains unchanged.
The company mined 7.4 million carats of diamonds in the third quarter, down 23 per cent on the same period last year.
The largest decline came from the Venetia mine in South Africa, where production fell 78 percent year-on-year to 365,000 carats as the mine continues its transition from an open pit to an underground operation.
Venetia will continue to process lower-grade surface stockpiles for the next few years as it waits for underground operations to start up, De Beers said.
Production was also down in Botswana, De Beers’ top producing country, due to planned maintenance.
Production fell 12 per cent to 5.8 million carats, with output at the Orapa mines (Orapa, Letlhakane and the mothballed Damtshaa) down 21 per cent and at Jwaneng down 5 per cent.
In Canada, production at the Gahcho Kué mine totalled 676,000 carats, a decrease of 9 per cent compared to the previous year, due to planned processing of lower-grade ore.
Production in Namibia was flat at 530,000 carats, with output from both Debmarine Namibia and the country’s onshore operations remaining stable.
Despite the decline, De Beers said its 2023 production guidance remains unchanged at 30-33 million carats, as does its unit cost guidance ($75/carat).
The drop in production in the third quarter came amid a slowdown in rough diamond sales; in September, De Beers recorded its lowest total for a sales cycle since the peak of the pandemic in mid-2020.
During the quarter, the company held three sights with sales totalling 7.4 million carats, compared with sales of 9.1 million carats from three sights in Q3 2022 and 7.6 million carats from two sights in Q2 2023.
De Beers reiterated what it said earlier this month—it will allow sightholders to buy as little or as much as they need in the final two sights of the year to help re-establish the supply-demand balance in the mid-stream.
