US Consumers Continue to Prefer Natural Diamonds, De Beers Study Reveals

 

New research from De Beers highlights continued strong consumer demand for natural diamonds in the United States, with natural diamond jewellery remaining the most desired choice among luxury jewellery buyers.

The latest US Diamond Acquisition Study, based on insights from 18,500 women across the US, reveals that consumers continue to view natural diamonds as a symbol of value, celebration and personal achievement.

The study found that natural diamonds rank as the most desirable luxury jewellery gift, with 11% of women choosing natural diamond jewellery as their preferred option. This places natural diamonds ahead of lab-grown diamonds at 8%, other gemstones at 5%, and plain gold jewellery at 4%.

Average spending on diamond jewellery has also increased significantly. The average purchase price for natural diamond jewellery reached $4,063 in 2025, up from $3,242 in 2023, driven by consumers choosing larger diamond sizes, with the average total carat weight increasing from 1.65 carats to 1.86 carats.

One of the key findings is the growing influence of Generation Z, which has become the second largest generation of diamond buyers. Gen Z now represents 23% of natural diamond demand value despite making up only 18% of the population.

Younger consumers are also spending more on natural diamonds, with Gen Z buyers spending an average of $4,080 per purchase compared with $2,250 for Baby Boomers.

While engagements and weddings remain important drivers of diamond demand, the way consumers purchase diamonds is changing. Three quarters of US diamond demand now comes from non-bridal occasions, including birthdays, career milestones, promotions, personal achievements and self-purchase.

De Beers found that Gen Z buyers are particularly motivated by self-expression, viewing diamonds as a reflection of personal identity. They also rely heavily on social media when researching jewellery purchases.

Diana Mitkov from De Beers’ Diamond Demand Insights & Analytics team said the findings show that consumers continue to aspire to own natural diamonds, while the reasons behind purchases are evolving.

“Traditional milestones such as engagements are no longer the only occasions where consumers celebrate with diamonds. Today’s buyers are looking for meaningful pieces that reflect their own stories and achievements.”

The report also highlighted positive trends among independent US jewellers. Retail data from 950 stores showed natural diamond sales increased by 4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 9% in the first quarter of 2026.

Coloured and lower-colour natural diamonds, promoted through De Beers’ “Desert Diamonds” campaign, performed particularly well, with sales growth of 15% and 19% respectively.

While lab-grown diamond jewellery continues to grow in volume, falling prices have reduced its overall value share. In 2025, natural diamonds represented approximately 85% of independent jewellers’ diamond sales value compared with 15% for lab-grown diamonds.

The study also found that sales of larger lab-grown diamonds decline once stones reach 3 carats or more, suggesting consumers may question the value and appeal of very large synthetic diamonds.

De Beers believes the future of natural diamonds will be supported by changing supply and demand dynamics. Declining global natural diamond production is expected to help create a healthier supply balance, while improving demand conditions in key markets are providing renewed confidence for the industry.

The findings reinforce the ongoing appeal of natural diamonds as rare, unique creations of nature, with consumers continuing to value their emotional significance, individuality and long-term meaning.

Source: DCLA

Small Rise in US Watch and Jewelry Sales

The modest increase largely reflects a rush by exporters to get their goods into the US before the tariff deadlines and retailers stockpiling for the same reason.

It offsets low consumer demand, which is being compounded by ongoing anxiety over US reciprocal tariffs which are expected to force up prices.

Average monthly growth in watch and jewelry sales so far, for the first seven months of this year, has been around 0.6 per cent, compared to over 5 per cent last year.

Sales in June were down 0.9 per cent, a figure that has been revised up from the original -1.7 per cent, based on actual transactions rather than estimates.

Exports of Swiss watches were up 6.9 per cent, largely driven by manufacturers front-loading their shipments to avoid 39 per cent US tariffs.

Source: DCLA

Asian Star Sales Slip Amid Weak Diamond Demand

Sales slumped at Indian diamond manufacturer Asian Star in the final three months of the year amid a weak market and an oversupply in the midstream.

Revenue on a consolidated basis — which includes subsidiaries in the US, Dubai and Hong Kong — fell 13% year on year to INR 6.98 billion ($84.1 million) in the company’s third fiscal quarter, which ended December 31, it reported last week. Sales slid 24% compared to the previous quarter. Net profit grew 37% to INR 182.5 million ($2.2 million).

Those figures reflected weak demand for diamonds in the US and Chinese markets, which discouraged jewelers from restocking. In China, gold jewelry was more popular throughout the period than those set with diamonds, according to Hong Kong jewelry retailers Chow Tai Fook and Luk Fook.

Revenue from the company’s diamond segment dropped 17% to INR 5.7 billion ($68.7 million), while sales of gold jewelry increased 9% to INR 1.74 billion ($20.9 million).

Source: DCLA

US Polished Imports Fall in October

US polished-diamond imports dropped 21% to $1.5 billion in October, recording a fifth consecutive year-on-year decline, according to recent data from the US Commerce Department. The decrease reflected a fall in the volume of imports as well as a lower average price. Polished imports have not seen a year-on-year rise since May, when the timing of the JCK Las Vegas show prompted an 18% increase.

Source: US Commerce Department data; Rapaport archives.

About the data: The US, the world’s largest diamond retail market, is a net importer of polished. As such, net polished imports — representing polished imports minus polished exports — will usually be a positive number. Net rough imports — calculated as rough imports minus rough exports — will also generally be in surplus. The nation has no operational diamond mines but has a manufacturing sector, so it normally ships more rough in than out. The net diamond account is total rough and polished imports minus total exports. It is the US’s diamond trade balance, and shows the added value the nation creates by importing — and ultimately consuming — diamonds.

Source: Diamonds.net