Natural diamond sales soared in July, rising with overall US jewelry demand, which grew 6.5% year over year. Tennis bracelets sales leaped 30% and dangle earrings soared 70%. But the most remarkable change was the rise in consumer demand for natural diamonds. Overall revenue from loose and finished natural diamond jewelry sales climbed 8.5% as consumers increased average spend per unit by 5%.
Total US Jewelry YoY Sales Trend
Finished Jewelry Revenue Up
Fine jewelry enjoyed a solid month in July. While unit sales were flat year over year, revenue increased 6.4%. The rise was purely due to a 6.4% increase in average retail price. Year to date, the market is down 1.4% in unit sales and up 1.9% in retail sales value.
The average sales price increase continues to show the varying strength of the market at different price points. The $1,500-$4,999 price point was up 4.2% year to date while the $5-$249 price range was down 4.5%.
The shift to higher average retail prices translates to a July 7.5% increase in gross profit for retailers from their finished jewelry sales.
Natural Diamond Jewelry Sales Solid
Natural diamond jewelry had a solid month with unit sales up 3.2% and sales value up 7.6%. The increases are somewhat tempered due to the comparative month of July 2023 being extremely soft.
US consumers purchased more jewelry in nearly every jewelry category. Bracelets were up 15.5% year over year, demand for necklaces rose 8.8%, and pendants sales improved 3.8%.
Ring sales grew almost 1%, driven by fashion unit gains of 6.9% and revenue up 21.4%.
Earrings, the sole category that slipped was down just 0.1%.
LGD Jewelry Units Sales Keep Rising
As of July, lab-grown diamond jewelry accounts for 10% of all finished diamond jewelry sales.
In July, unit sales were up 59% and revenue from sales increased 52% year over year. Gross profit was flat after showing declines in each of the first six months of the year.
The average carat weight of LGD set in finished jewelry continued to grow, swelling from 1.35 in July 2023 to 1.57 in July 2024.
LGD-Set Finished Jewelry Revenue
Loose Diamond Sales Rise
Bucking the prevailing sentiment in the diamond industry midstream, loose diamond unit sales – natural and lab grown – leaped in July. This is true both compared to June and to July 2023.
Partially, it had to do with exceptionally modest sales in July 2023, but not only. Historically, July sales are low, declining against June. This year, July sales outperformed June.
Natural Diamond Sales: A Rebound?
Year over year, loose natural diamond sales rose 4.2% by volume and a very handsome 10% by value. This provides some relief as the diamond industry struggles with a steep drop in demand from China.
How did this happen? The average expenditure on a natural diamond increased nearly 1% month over month and by 5.7% year over year as demand tilted to larger size diamonds.
Is this good news? If the rise were only in value, you would have questioned the good fortunes. After all, the rise in value could mean that the affluent buyers are spending more, while the rest are spending less.
However, the distinct rise in units sold says that US consumers are not just spending more on natural diamonds, they are actually buying more diamonds.
Further, because we are looking at loose diamonds, this means that more consumers are interested in customized jewelry. They pick a semi-mount of their liking and separately select a loose diamond.
This is typical of engagement ring purchases, but this was not the case in July, when engagement ring purchases posted a seasonal decline.
In July, the rising average size of diamonds hit 1.38 carats as it continues to inch up.
US Loose Natural Diamonds Sales Trend
Lab-Grown Diamonds Rise Too
Sales of loose lab-grown diamonds also did well in July. Month over month, unit sales rose 3.3%, underscoring that diamonds in general did well in July. Year over year, unit sales soared 28.6%, while revenue increased 4.4%, the first time in November 2023 that the value of loose LGD sales increased year over year.
The deviation between value and volume of sales increases was driven by a further decline in the average retail price of lab-grown diamonds. In July, it fell nearly 19%, year over year.
Year to date, loose LGD sales were down 5%, only due to the deep decline in prices.
Loose Lab-Grown Diamond Sales Revenue YoY
About Tenoris
Tenoris collects retail sales data from a broad representative sample of US jewelry retailers. Tenoris subscribers include retailers, manufacturers, miners, and financial firms. They use this data to study everything from broad market trends to price prediction, assisting them in identifying changing trends and opportunities ahead of their competitors.
Tenoris can help improve your business through a better understanding of the US jewelry market. Contact us to discover how our reports provide comprehensive insights of the US jewelry market and how you can gain access to this data.
