Millennials are buying diamonds, it turns out

(ft.com) - Sitting in her studio in central Berlin, the fine jeweller Lilian Von Trapp is poring over sketches for her new collection. On her desk, she is surrounded by multi-chain diamond necklaces and stackable bangles — new designs for spring/summer 2018. Prices for individual pieces reach €2,500 and, perhaps surprisingly, half of Von Trapp’s customers are millennials. Millennials are said to be the experience generation — 78 per cent prefer to spend on experiences rather than possessions, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the Harris Group. But new research by MVI Marketing has found that luxury brands like Cartier and Tiffany & Co are among a millennials’ favourite when buying jewellery. And in a 2017 report, miner De Beers attributed a surge in diamonds’ popularity to the millennial, self-gifting consumer. (Demand exceeded $40bn for the first time in America — an increase of 4.4 per cent.) In fact, across important markets including the US, China and India, millennials represent 45 per cent of all diamond purchases, according to De Beers.