“diamonds are long-lasting, and one will never pass.” in the last century, the diamond giant, de beers, was marketing advertising to link diamonds to “eternal”, giving them a special meaning to symbolize love. Once upon a time, wearing a dove-egg diamond ring became the aspiration of countless brides。
However, the diamond market is expected to contract as the gold heat, combined with multiple factors such as artificial diamond supplementation and low price recovery in the secondary market. Diamonds that were originally considered to be scarce are gradually falling below the high price of the shrine。
The recently released global price index for rough diamonds, previously quoted in the news as cnbc, shows that diamond prices have fallen by 6. 5 per cent since this year, 18 per cent above the historical high of february 2022。
Global diamond prices dropped by 15 months
The most recent price index published by the international diamond exchange (idex) official network shows that the index diamond index reported 116. 5 on 27 july, down by about 26. 45 per cent from its peak of 158. 39 on 7 march 2022 and down 15 months in august。
The latest published global price index for rough diamonds, also quoted in the news as cnbc, shows that diamond prices have fallen by 6. 5 per cent since this year, 18 per cent above their historical high in february 2022。
The “sliding down” of the diamond market is equally evident in the financial data released this year by many global jewellery brands。
The dr diamond ring, known as “men can customize only one in their lifetime”, is the immediate challenge of a downswing in sales for the parent company, dia. The company's first quarter of 2023 disclosed a further decline in the company's performance in the first quarter of 2023, resulting in a profit of $705 million, a 42. 27 per cent decrease over the same period。
Not only is there a dr diamond ring, but the 2023 financial newspaper published earlier in dafu zhou, a well-known jewellery brand, shows that, as of 31 march 2023, zhou dafu's sale of jewellery mosaics, platinum gold and k gold jewellery in the mainland of china fell by 19. 2 per cent and sales by 26. 6 per cent, of which the sale of diamonds decreased by 1. 8 percentage points。
The performance reports issued by the six fortune group similarly show that, as at 31 march 2023, the group's wholesale revenues had declined by between hk$30 per cent and hk$2. 152 billion, while brand business revenues had declined by between hk$15. 9 per cent and hk$1. 053 billion due to shrinking demand for diamond products。
International jewellers have similarly reduced sales expectations for the diamond market. Signet, the largest jewellery retailer in the united states, recently reduced its forecast by about 7 per cent throughout the year and announced plans to close some 150 of the 2,800 stores because of the “engagement gap”。
In addition, red star journalists in the shanghai diamond exchange network saw its launch on 28 july of intra-democracy in the diamond industry indicating that the diamond giant, de beers, had experienced a six-line decline in sales of original stones as a result of the continued slowdown in the global diamond industry。
On 7 august of this year, the shanghai diamond price index study group published an article entitled the natural diamond market is under severe stress, which shows that diamond prices as a whole continue to shock down the road in july, and that 0. 50 carat-size diamond prices continue to experience a “cold winter”。
At the beginning of this year, the pre-renowned diamond ring “i do” parent company, which had a permanent equity interest in the business, was declared bankrupt. According to the company's publicly available information, in the first half of 2022, the income from the operation of the hensel seal was $628 million, a decrease of 41. 99 per cent over the same period; the net profit was $7. 0444 million, a decrease of 88. 62 per cent over the same period。
"the 7th night's gift wants more gold."
Seven nights are approaching, and many jewellery brand shops are seizing the opportunity to advance diamond sales. Red star journalists have visited well-known walking streets in a number of cities, including zhou, zhou and dr diamond rings, all of which have introduced various types of diamond rings to attract customers。
The mall's jewelry district has a sign for the new year
“it is true that the pressure on sales has increased this year, and the diamond ring market has not been easy as a whole.” a jewellery brand salesman told red star journalists that the use of holidays to promote jewellery brands was a common practice, but that in the last two years the diamond season, which was supposed to be on valentine's day and the seven nights, had been so hot。
As a result of this front-line news report, diamond jewellery accounts for a shrinking proportion of the whole range of jewellery on the consumer market. In the united states, the largest diamond consumer, diamond jewellery sales fell by 9. 7 per cent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year, well above the 5. 9 per cent decline in total jewellery sales; in china, diamond jewellery accounted for 11 per cent of total jewellery sales in 2022, down from 14 per cent in 2021。
These data are also corroborated by the statement of the salesman. She said that sales of diamonds, especially this year, continued to decline: “it is not just us, but many other well-known brands face such a bleak sale.” even if the total price of diamond products falls, it is difficult to please customers. Based on the 7-percent discount on the diamond ring introduced by the brand, the salesman indicated that the price of the diamond ring, which had been purchased on the seventh night, was $20,000, with a greater margin。
In addition, various sales promotions, such as full discounts, vouchers and a “sip price” have been introduced in other shops. Red star journalists saw a 0. 3 carat diamond ring sold at a jewellery store for sale at a “sip price”, which dropped from $13990 to $6998. The rest of the diamond rings are also promoted by a margin of 6 to 80 cents。
However, even so, more young customers come to the store and do not visit the diamond area, but ask about the price of the gold. Red star journalists have visited several jewellery shops that, even with diamond rings hanging and discounting billboards, appear to be far more open to consumers in diamond areas than to those who choose to buy gold. According to the above-mentioned salesman, sale in jewellery shops is now almost driven by gold, which seems to be the only thing that happens to young or middle-aged groups。
Compared to the diamond market, the gold fever is supported by realistic data. According to data released by the china gold association in july, the national consumption of gold in the first half of the year was 554. 88 tons, an increase of 16. 37 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. Of these, 368. 26 tons of gold jewellery represented an increase of 14. 82 per cent over the same period, while 146. 31 tons of gold bars and coins represented an increase of 30. 12 per cent over the same period。
“the diamond ring, which is only a ornament and a prop at the time of marriage, does not preserve its value. In contrast, new marriages are more meaningful than gold.” in an interview with a red star journalist, a female customer at a jewelry store said that she would choose “three gold” for her own marriage and would not buy a diamond ring: “we would buy cheap artificial diamonds to replace them at the wedding site and would not normally wear them.” the female customer believes that gold is more valuable, and diamond rings are more expensive consumer goods and luxury goods。
Another woman interviewed also stated that she had told her client that she did not expect diamonds to be delivered during the seventh new year and would prefer gold at the same price. The reason is the retention properties based on gold。
Little carats, low-priced diamonds
“diamonds below 1 carat are collectively referred to as scrap drills, which are often worthless.” prominent actress zhang yuyan has made this point on a live platform and has quickly drawn public attention. In fact, however, more than one carat is on the first-tier market, and sales prices are prohibitive for most consumers。
"the biggest of the spot diamond rings in our store is a carat, which is worth over $100,000." red star journalists learned in the mouth of a head jeweler shopkeeper that if there was to be a need to purchase a larger diamond ring, or if there were other requirements for diamond purity, cutting, etc., it would have to be customized. The owner of the grand carats ring, a town store treasure, said that no one was looking forward to it this year。
The shopkeeper mentioned that, unlike in the past, more young people were beginning to like small carats, low gross prices but unique diamond rings in shape, unlike in the past when consumers tried to pursue large carats. According to this salesman, of the current share of diamond sales in her shop, over half-bundled revenues come from diamond rings with a total price of less than 10,000。
In addition, red star journalists have noted that another diamond ring, with a similar size difference of about 1 carat, has fallen by nearly $20,000 simply because the netting of diamonds has dropped from vs2 to si1. The salesman indicated that, in practice, the quality of the two rings was difficult to distinguish in natural light。
For the grand carat ring, consumers do not seem to buy. Red star journalists noted that a young consumer in the shop had selected a 0. 09-carat diamond ring for about $4,000. For her, the ring was meant to be decorative rather than preservation: “it was bought to wear a play, a big diamond ring to protect but not to buy it. Over 10,000 diamond rings are worth less than a cheap little diamond ring, whether or not they are worth saving.”
The aforementioned article, the natural diamond market is under severe testing, shows that the price of 0. 30 carats was warming in july. These salesmen also indicated that the usual most popular diamond ring was 0. 5 carats, followed by 0. 3 carats. A diamond ring of more than 1 carat at a price of almost $80,000。
At the same time, red star journalists have seen similar sales at various jewellery branded flagship stores. In the case of zhou dafu, the web sales data show that the low carat diamond ring, with a sales price of around $3,000, tends to pay more than 20 people, while the diamond ring, with a sales price of more than 10,000, tends to pay less than five people。
Natural diamonds are priceless
Natural diamonds of long duration were once a necessary witness to the new man's move towards marriage. However, with the topic “$14,000 in second-hand diamond sales of $80” and “$18,000 in diamond rings now worth only $180”, consumer hesitation is evident。
Red star journalists consulted several jewellery recovery platforms to learn that the price of recovered diamonds was usually around 30 per cent of the original price. If it's normal, it's even a discount。
“recycling diamonds are mainly based on the then used recovery price and the 4c classification of the diamonds (mean weight, cut, purity, colour). Mr. Zhang, an industry person engaged in second-hand diamond recovery, told red star journalists that normally the diamond ring would not raise the recovery price, while diamonds below 0. 3 carats would often not be recovered and only the metal on the ring would be valued for recovery。
“if it is a good diamond ring, it is usually recovered at a three-to-five discount. If a diamond’s purity or colour is bad, the recovery price is even around a discount.” according to mr. Zhang, the price of diamond recovery lies only with the diamonds themselves, with no impact on the certification, the old or the new。
Mr. Zhang also told red star journalists that even if they were to be recovered with a certificate, the company would conduct a second validation of the diamonds: “the smaller platform would observe optical features, cutting techniques, etc. Through magnifying mirrors. Larger platforms are identified through specialized instruments, distinguishing between natural diamonds, imitation, synthetic drilling, etc..” in the case of breeding and synthetic drilling, recovery is not generally possible。
As to whether diamonds have room for investment and appreciation, mr. Zhang told red star journalists: “natural diamonds are still considered scarce in the industry to date, but most of the diamonds sold on the market are often difficult to return to. Mr. Zhang suggested that the purchase of diamonds could not be justified if it was motivated by hobbies. But diamonds may be disappointing to a large part of the population because of preservation of value and investment: “unless there is a real collection of jewellery, it is added value, which often does not reach ordinary homes”
