Hong Kong leads global trend of women buying diamonds for themselves, says De Beers

More than half of all diamonds sold in Hong Kong last year were bought by women for themselves, the highest proportion among the top four diamond markets, according to a study by De Beers, one of the world’s biggest jewellery companies.

This reflects a changing trend in the business, which has long been dominated by men buying precious stones for women on occasions like weddings or engagements, according to Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers.

“Women are more economically empowered than ever before,” said Cleaver. “They also have a more equal partnership with men in relationships compared to 20 years ago.”

Women accounted for around 25 per cent of all diamond purchases in 2016, almost equal to US$20 billion in the four major markets of the US, China, Japan and India, according to De Beers’ annual insight report on the sector. While it is mostly married women buying diamonds for themselves in the US and Japan, single and mature women are the major force behind the new consumer trend in the greater China region. However, a common feature among the self buying woman from these three markets is that they are mostly aged over 35, said the report.

The percentage of women who buy diamonds for themselves is especially high in Hong Kong – at 55 per cent – as the city has a high non marriage rate.

Hong Kong has around 1.9 million residents who have never been married, accounting for almost one-third of the city’s 7.3 million population in 2017. Among the 1.9 million Hong Kong citizens who have never tied the knot, 921,200 are women, while 963,700 are men.