Jewelers Mine the Market for Young Customers With Shift to Digital Diamonds

Fine luxury diamond jewellery window display with ring pedant

Even though it’s known for dazzle, jewelry’s past wasn’t always principled, giving us the made-up Hope Diamond “curse” and the very real brutality of the blood diamond trade, all of which create ideal market conditions for ethically sourced sustainable jewelry on its continued rise.

It’s been trending for years, with luxury brand Chopard often credited with bringing major media attention to the issue back in 2013. Chopard designs are a staple at the Cannes Film Festival, the Oscars and other high-profile events, and the brand began encouraging red carpet stars to walk “the green carpet” instead, showcasing sustainable pieces.

A few years and one pandemic-induced digital shift later, ethically sourced sustainable gems, gold and designs are now big business as younger socially conscious demographics have gained buying power and are seeking out ethical brands that align with how they like to shop.

An example is Brilliant Earth, the publicly traded digital-first jewelry chain that announced solid second-quarter 2022 sales Thursday (Aug. 11) during its earnings report. In that announcement, Brilliant Earth Co-Founder and CEO Beth Gerstein said the Q2 showing reflects “the increasing awareness and resonance of the Brilliant Earth brand, the disciplined execution of our omnichannel growth strategy and the advantages of our asset-light, agile and data-driven business model.”

See also: Digital-First Jewelry Startup Brilliant Earth Opens 40% up After Downsized IPO

On an earnings call with analysts, Gerstein said, “we are in a strong position to take share in a fragmented industry and to prudently manage costs so that we continue to deliver profitable growth.” The brand’s omnichannel retail concept revolves around showrooms in major metros, including new locations in Maryland, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota and Michigan, where shoppers can view pieces and order in store or online in a seamless shopping continuum.

Trends Within Trends

Payments innovation is making ethically sourced jewelry more affordable, with buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Splitit featuring several brands in a blog post, including Friendly Diamonds, of which it said: “Every diamond sold is an eco-friendly lab grown diamond ethically sourced in labs that maintain the highest ecological standards.”

Signet Jewelers announced Tuesday (Aug. 9) the acquisition of Blue Nile, with the latter having a tight focus on ethically sourced, conflict free materials in its designs, aligning with Signet’s own sustainable and ethical approach to sourcing and supply chain transparency.

“By joining Signet, we will extend our premium brand and fine jewelry offering to millions of new customers while bringing new capabilities to our leading eCommerce business that will drive additional growth opportunities for Blue Nile,” said Blue Nile CEO Sean Kell in a press release. We’re equally thrilled to join a purpose-inspired and sustainability-focused company that shares our core values.”

On its website, Blue Nile stated that it maintains “a zero-tolerance policy toward conflict diamonds. Through measures such as the Kimberley Process, which tracks diamonds from mine to market, the industry in partnership with the United Nations, governments and nongovernmental organizations, polices diamond exports to prevent the trade of illegal diamonds.”

Not untouched by the subscription box boom, the August 2022 Subscription Commerce Tracker®, a PYMNTS and Vindicia collaboration, contained an interview with Allison Vigil, president of Rocksbox, a monthly subscription service that rents jewelry to customers with an option to buy.

With a nod to millennial and Generation Z interest in ethically sourced jewelry, Vigil told PYMNTS: “Our customers are really using the service on their mobile phones, so they want mobile-friendly payment experiences, and they want the points of engagement to be as easy as possible. They really want flexibility as it relates to payment options.”