Image credit: Natural Diamond Council
Vacations were the only luxury items ahead of diamond jewelry for both generations. Respondents also largely attribute their affinity for diamonds to uniqueness as 70% agree natural diamonds are “one of a kind.”
Both Millennials and Gen-Z buy natural diamonds jewelry for themselves and others as gifts. One in five respondents had made a luxury jewelry purchase within the last 24 months where half of those included natural diamonds. Half of these natural diamond jewelry purchases were made for themselves which was largely driven by female consumers (72%).
Almost 80% of purchasers had bought diamond jewelry as a gift in the last 24 months. This was largely led by men.
While the majority of diamond jewelry purchases were mostly centered around a life event or occasion, approximately 25% of purchases were for no specific reason.
The future for fine jewelry purchasing is optimistic as 37% of respondents intend to buy fine jewelry in the next 12 months and 27% expect to receive it. 20% of these respondents say they will either definitely or probably purchase natural diamond jewelry specifically and 12% claim they expect to receive it as a gift. These future purchases will largely be affected by social media platforms where Millennials and Gen-Z often obtain shopping inspiration.
66% of respondents compared pricing online, 26% looked for social media advice and inspiration, and 24% read articles for tips.
Most of the actual purchases occurred in-store, however 28% were made online in the last 24 months. Of the retail purchases, most were made at independent jewelry stores rather than nationally known jewelry stores.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
