Xinhua Reports 12.7% Rise In Imports In First Half Of 2009 To $300 Million As China Eyes Top Spot In Global Diamond Consumption
Diamonds are becoming more popular — and accessible — every year in China
Good economic news in China this year has translated to good news for diamond producers, if figures released recently by China’s news agency, Xinhua, are correct. This year, following a nearly 50% decline in diamond sales in the US and 24% drop in Japan — according to China’s Global Times — China has become the world’s third largest diamond market with $300 million in sales through the first half of the year. Although this might sound like a lot, particularly in the context of the global economic slowdown, the Chinese market still has a lot of room to grow. Despite rough figures in the US over the past year, the American market still accounts for nearly half of world diamond sales, so the emerging Chinese and Indian markets will take several years of sustained growth to reach the capacity and consumer awareness of the established American and Japanese markets, a prospect that must please diamond producers immensely.
According to the Global Times, less informed middle class Chinese consumers are likely to be the easiest to reach for years to come, as diamonds are still relatively new to the Chinese market (about as new as the middle class itself). As younger Chinese buyers slowly become more informed about diamond grading and quality standards, the market is likely develop and mature:
The maturation of high-end markets in China really is shaping up to be one of the big potential stories of the next 10-15 years, as articles about everything from diamonds to automobiles indicates. It seems that the key factor in the development of China’s luxury market is the dual growth of consumer education and home-grown luxury companies. As Chinese consumers become more familiar with diamond standards and Chinese companies increasingly gain market share by appealing to the cultural design aspects most coveted by the domestic audience, we should see not only more diamond purchases in China, but also more diamond appreciation — on par with, or possibly exceeding, the appreciation of traditional stones like jade.
No matter what the Chinese middle class ends up buying, high-end consumers still remain some of China’s most devoted diamond fans — a distinction that apparently extends all the way to the top brass in business and politics. From the Christian Science Monitor: