Diamond miner De Beers has shared its latest research on US consumer trends in its latest 'US Diamond Acquisition Study' report, which found that jewellery that includes natural diamonds are the most sought-after among consumers in the country.

The report includes insights on who is buying diamonds and why and is based on a study of 18 500 women across the US, which is the diamond industry’s largest consumer market.

Average diamond jewellery purchase prices having increased by 25%. The report indicates that Gen Z is now the second biggest generation of diamond buyers, with non-bridal occasions accounting for three-quarters of overall US demand.

Completed this year, the biannual study also found that Gen Z is spending almost double what ‘Baby Boomers’ spend when buying natural diamonds – at $4 080 a piece compared with $2 250 – and that while love-related buying motivations remain the core driver of demand, personal motivations such as celebrating a new job, getting a promotion, recognising an achievement or ‘just because’ are increasingly driving diamond jewellery buying.

The study highlights that US consumers rank natural diamonds as their top preference for a luxury jewellery item, with 11% of women ranking natural diamond jewellery as their most desired luxury gift.

This places natural diamond desirability ahead of synthetic lab-grown diamonds (8%), other gemstones (5%) and plain gold jewellery (4%).

Average prices for natural diamond jewellery also increased significantly in 2025, rising to $4 063 a piece compared with $3 242 in 2023.

De Beers explains that this growth is being driven by consumers buying larger carat weights, with average total carat weight increasing to 1.86 ct, up from 1.65 ct in 2023.

When it comes to the industry’s youngest generation, the study found that Gen Z punches above its weight, with the generation now accounting for just under a quarter (23%) of natural diamond demand value despite representing just 18% of the population.

Gen Z consumers also buy or receive diamonds for more occasions than any other generation – at 1.83 occasions a year compared with an overall average of 1.7. While bridal occasions lead Gen Z demand at 45% of total purchases, gifting from relatives also plays an important role.

The report indicates that birthdays are particularly significant, representing 17% of all Gen Z diamond acquisitions compared with 13% across all generations.

Gen Z also highly values self-expression and associates diamonds with being a symbol of identity more than any other generation, while also having the greatest reliance on social media for researching their purchases.

De Beers lead researcher within Diamond Demand Insights & Analytics Diana Mitkov notes that the study findings highlight that today’s consumers aspire to own natural diamonds just as much as the generations that came before them, and ahead of any other jewellery product.

Mitkov adds that they are spending more per piece than ever before, noting, however, that “how and why” consumers buy diamonds is evolving.

Mitkov says traditional life milestones such as getting engaged are no longer the only value driver for the industry; consumers are increasingly marking a wide range of occasions with natural diamonds and are looking for distinct pieces that feel personal to them.

“As unique miracles of nature, the attributes of natural diamonds play directly into these shifting consumer trends.

“The opportunity for the diamond industry is to ensure that natural diamonds continue to capture the value of this strong underlying desire in an increasingly competitive landscape by offering compelling designs across all sizes, colours and price points and for occasions that go well beyond traditional engagement or wedding jewellery.”    

These findings feature in a new publication from De Beers, The Diamond Report, which also includes an editorial on the key forces shaping a positive future for natural diamonds by executive VP corporate affairs and strategy and chief economist Eirik Wærness; an analysis of US jewellery retail trends; perspectives from leading US designers and retailers on how the diamond buying experience is evolving; and reflections on the role natural diamonds can play in supporting socioeconomic progress for the people and places where they are discovered.

The report also notes that natural diamond sales are increasing across US independent jewellers, with point of sales data from 950 retailers showing that sales grew 4% and 9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of this year, respectively.

Coloured and low-coloured diamonds (those in the K to Z colour range) promoted by De Beers Group’s ‘Desert diamonds’ campaign outperformed, with sales growth of 15% and 19%, respectively.     

The same data shows that while synthetic lab-grown diamond jewellery sales are increasing in volume, declining retail prices mean their value share of demand remains relatively low at 15% of independent jewellers’ diamond sales, compared with 85% for natural diamonds in 2025.

In addition, the study indicates that there is a noticeable drop-off in sales once synthetic lab-grown diamonds reach 3 ct or larger in size, suggesting that consumers may feel synthetic lab-grown diamonds beyond this size could look too big.

The report notes this could mean that as synthetic lab-grown diamond prices continue to decline in line with the multi-year trend already experienced, retailers may be unable to upsell to larger sizes, which could result in lower overall sales and impact long-term gross profits.

Wærness says the diamond industry is evolving at pace with both supply- and demand-side dynamics shaping the industry’s future.  

On the supply side, declining global production of natural diamonds is expected to support an improved supply-demand balance over the coming years.

On the demand side, he says a resilient US economy and stabilisation of demand in China saw global natural diamond demand return to growth in 2025 while the industry’s marketing efforts are showing encouraging signs of momentum.

“With retail returns from synthetic lab-grown diamonds likely to come under pressure in the future, we expect retailers will increasingly differentiate them from natural diamonds in their sales strategies.

“As these fundamentals continue to stabilise, the industry has a significant opportunity to reinforce the value of natural diamonds and support long-term growth,” says Wærness.