53M Americans to Buy Diamonds This Holiday

Industry News

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More than 53 million US consumers intend to buy a diamond during the extended festive period from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, according to a survey by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).

The November poll, which the DPA conducted together with KRC Research, collated responses from 1,000 men and women in the US aged 18 to 55. Millennials were more likely than others to buy a diamond, it found: 35% said they would, in contrast to 21% of the entire sample.

“Consumers, especially millennials, are seeking ways to share authentic, emotional and lasting symbols of love with the special people in their lives,” Grant Mobley, the DPA’s head of US trade, said last week.

Some 20 million Americans — including 13% of millennials and 11% of all men — planned to buy a diamond engagement ring, the group added.

Of those surveyed, 7 out of 10 were unaware of the difference between natural and lab-grown diamonds, the DPA found. Only 34% of men and 26% of women the DPA polled knew there was a disparity in value, rarity, physical growth structure and origin. Meanwhile, 44% of those who planned to buy a diamond this holiday did not understand the distinction.

Once researchers had explained the differences to respondents, 71% said they were more likely to purchase a natural diamond over a lab-grown one, the DPA found.