Milllenials and Generation Z consumers – young people – have a taste for diamond jewelry, says a new survey from the Natural Diamond Council.
The online survey, conducted by 360 Market Reach, polled 5,000 young people during October 2020.
The poll found:
Given an unlimited amount of money to spend, younger consumers said they would choose to purchase or receive diamond jewelry second only to vacations, which represents a particular opportunity now that people are not taking vacations.
Among the most cited reasons by young people for wanting natural diamonds: they are “one of a kind” (cited by 70%) and are symbols of love and connection.
Some 37% of young people responding said they plan to buy fine jewelry in the next 12 months and 27% expect to receive it. About 20% of these people say they will either definitely or probably purchase natural diamond jewelry in the next year, and 12% plan to give it as a gift.
Around half of all jewelry purchasers over the last 24 months have acquired natural diamond jewelry.
Half of natural diamond jewelry purchasers have bought diamond jewelry for themselves, though that varies by gender: 72% of female purchasers have bought at least one piece for themselves, compared to 23% by men.
Young women’s key reasons for buying diamonds include design, which was cited by 51% (meaning they found a piece they really loved); the ability to be worn every day, cited by 49%; and long-term style and value (46%).
Almost 80% of purchasers have bought diamond jewelry as a gift, and 28% have bought for both gifts and themselves. Males largely gift to their significant others, while women gift to their mothers and children as well as their significant others.
Key reasons for gifting diamond jewelry by young people included
- its long-term value (45%)
- the fact that it can be worn every day (39%)
- the design, meaning it’s “a piece that the recipient would love” (40%)
- the fact that they consider diamond jewelry a perfect symbol of love for someone else (33%).
Around a quarter of purchasers bought a piece of diamond jewelry “just because,” rather than for a special occasion. However, 89% of purchasers bought it for a special occasion—generally an engagement or wedding (25%), or for annual events such as birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas and Hanukkah (72%); or for other special occasions like the birth of a child or a career achievement (17%).
