This past May, I reported on the new movie coming out entitled The Blood Diamond. In it Leonardo DiCaprio plays a smuggler who is jailed in South Africa.

There has been a huge amount of press about this movie, most especially in the jewelry industry, and so far, I haven't seen anyone shutting up about it. Now, the big concern is the fact that the movie may hurt holiday jewelry sales, which of course, as most people can guess is when the majority of diamonds and jewelry in general is purchased.

More from CNN.com: The jewelry category is on fire lately, with retail sales up a sharp 8.7 percent in the first six months of this year, according to government estimates.

However, the industry's most lucrative period is yet to come.

According to analysts, the November-December holiday shopping period typically accounts for almost half of jewelers' annual sales and up to 100 percent of their full-year profits.

If the first-half momentum holds, then jewelry sellers could be poised for a stellar year overall. But negative publicity from the movie could slow things down.

"The industry is paranoid because this film is releasing around the crucial holiday season. If they lose sales, retailers won't be able to recover the shortfall until the following year," said Ken Gassman, president of the Jewelry Industry Research Institute.

It's amazing how much influence movies can have on our culture, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see after the holidays if this materializes or not.

Image from M&C.com