Daniel Storch at the Queensland launch of Forevermark diamonds earlier this year. Two of Australia’s leading diamond wholesalers faced tough times in July − Miller Diamonds went into liquidation on July 18 and Storch & Co entered voluntary administration on July 31.
In an official statement to the jewellery industry, Storch & Co managing director Daniel Storch said his decision to place Storch & Co in voluntary administration was “prompted by difficult trading conditions”.
“With the loss last week of our colleagues at Miller Diamonds it is obvious that the jewellery wholesale sector is under increasing pressure…” he said.
“There have been business directional changes that have been made at Storch & Co, and others proposed. Unfortunately, the expected gains from restructure have not been in all instances realised to date.”
“The business’s financial plight has required the appointment of a voluntary administrator, Mr Adam Shepard from Farnsworth Shepard.
“It is intended that a Deed of Company Arrangement be propounded so as to enable the business to continue to trade.”
Established in 1956, Storch & Co stocks over 2000 categories of diamonds and is “a true one-stop service with gems for all budgets”. The company took on the distributorship of Forevermark diamonds in October last year.
Established in the 1990s, Millers Diamonds stocked a vast range of Russian and Belgian diamonds in all shapes, sizes, colours and clarities as well as GIA and HRD certified diamonds, but was best known for its Passion8 diamonds, which it launched in 2001, and its Passion8 jewellery collection, which it launched in 2008.