Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend but sales lack sparkle

Marilyn Monroe once famously cooed that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”

It’s a strategy the diamond industry is hoping will turn around lackluster sales numbers. Diamond producers and retailers have grappled with inflation, a slow post-pandemic economic recovery for China and fewer people getting engaged.

But slumping sales isn’t stopping diamond giant De Beers from pumping $20 million into its Seize the Day marketing campaign, which promotes natural diamonds just in time for the holiday shopping season. National Jeweler reports that the campaign will launch in early November and will include digital, out-of-home, print and influencer elements.

De Beers contends that there is demand for diamond jewelry in the U.S. market, but consumers face a lot of financial pressures, including continued inflation.

The diamond miner and seller confirms that sales are down in 2023. But this is compared to record levels seen in 2021 and 2022, De Beers spokesperson Zehra Dada said in an interview.

De Beers saw its revenue dive by 21 percent in the first half of 2023.

And it’s not alone. London-based diamond producer Petra Diamonds Ltd. reported a 44 percent revenue drop for the 2023 fiscal year. Rio Tinto reported its consolidated sales revenue was down 10 percent for the first half of 2023.

Retail jewelry parent Signet Jewelers, which owns James Allen, Blue Nile, Kay Jewelers, Jared, Zales, and other big diamond retail stores, reported a 16.5 percent decrease in sales for the 2023 fiscal year.

“Further, the softer demand in 2023 is the result of macroeconomic challenges in the main diamond-consuming countries—lower disposable incomes on the back of inflation in the U.S. and the sluggish post-pandemic recovery in China,” Dada told Newsweek.

Inflationary pressures are just part of the picture. Marriage rates in the United States have fallen over the past decade, meaning the diamond industry has had to shift its marketing strategy from engagement rings to other types of diamond jewelry.

Dada said engagement and bridal jewelry represent only about a quarter of diamond jewelry demand.

“Diamond jewelry is bought to celebrate a variety of important moments—not only engagements, but also birthdays, the birth of a child, a promotion at work, a major life achievement and many more besides,” Dada said. “In addition, people are increasingly buying diamond jewelry as a gift of love outside of the tradition of a wedding, as diamonds have very strong symbolic value for love and commitment, irrespective of whether a couple’s relationship is embodied in a marriage.”

More than 30 percent of jewelry is purchased by single people, according to a report from Grand View Research. Further, 56 percent of jewelry purchasers are women. The data does not separate diamond jewelry from other types of jewelry.

Women are buying their own diamonds

The trend of women buying diamond jewelry for themselves, Dada said, was on the rise before the pandemic.

“As women control a greater share of global incomes, the self-purchase segment has been a fast-growing part of the industry,” Dada said.

Atlantan Tori Boone’s partner Jeff Jackson has purchased her exactly one piece of diamond jewelry in their 14 years together—a pair of diamond stud earrings to replace a set she lost. But the couple won’t be picking out an engagement ring anytime soon.

“We’ve talked about it [marriage], but we don’t feel it’s necessary to make our love any stronger,” Boone told Newsweek.

And Boone and Jackson are not alone in their decision to remain unwed. There were 14.9 marriages per 1,000 women aged 15 and older in the United States in 2021, down from 16.3 marriages per 1,000 women in 2011, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. It’s important to note that data is taken only from women because “previous research found that women more often report data for themselves and report their marital history more accurately,” the Census Bureau report said.

The diamond industry has long been intrinsically linked to the bridal sector. But the demand for diamonds, which saw a surge in 2021 and 2022 is sagging this year.

“True, all major diamond mining companies are reporting a decline in sales,” said Edahn Golan, a diamond industry analyst, in an interview. “Together with them, diamond polishing companies, jewelry manufacturers, and retailers are suffering from a decline in sales as well.”

Diamond sales down post-COVID

Golan noted that a rush of weddings occurred after COVID restrictions were eased in 2020.

“During the COVID period, expenditure on jewelry increased,” he told Newsweek. “In addition, as soon as social distancing requirements ended, there was a surge in weddings leading to a period of phenomenal growth in consumer demand for diamond jewelry in the U.S. Since that time, sales in the U.S. declined back to their pre-COVID levels.”

Golan also pointed to an economic slowdown in China, the world’s second-largest market for diamond jewelry. This economic slowdown adds to the decline in demand for diamond jewelry.

Despite economic turmoil, including inflation, data suggests consumers are still splurging on jewelry, but not at the same rate they’re splurging on other things such as restaurants, groceries, travel and clothes. According to a recent McKinsey & Co. report, about 20 percent of respondents to a survey claimed they’d splurged on jewelry and accessories, but that category is not broken down into diamond-specific jewelry.

As for Boone, diamonds are fine, but those more practical things and help around the house mean more.

“To me, more romantic stuff is Jeff taking the trash out, unloading the dishwasher, and folding the towels,” she said. “After a hard day, having him make dinner or walk the dog, it means so much more than a diamond ring or a piece of paper.”