Gen Z drives U.S. diamond demand beyond bridal, De Beers says

Gen Z is rewriting the natural-diamond market in the United States, spending an average of $4,080 per purchase, nearly twice the $2,250 baby boomers spend, as diamond buying moves well beyond the bridal case. De Beers’ U.S. Diamond Acquisition Study, published June 11 and based on 18,500 women ages 18 to 74, shows a category increasingly shaped by birthdays, promotions and self-purchase.

The numbers point to a market that is not shrinking so much as changing shape. Average U.S. natural-diamond purchase prices rose 25% to $4,063 in 2025 from $3,242 in 2023, while average total carat weight climbed to 1.86 carats from 1.65 carats. De Beers says natural diamonds remain the most desired luxury jewelry product, and 11% of women ranked them as their most desired luxury gift, ahead of lab-grown diamond jewelry at 8%, colored gemstones at 5% and plain gold jewelry at 4%.

Gen Z is now the second-largest generation buying natural diamond jewelry, accounting for 23% of demand value even though it represents 18% of the U.S. population. That group buys or receives diamonds for 1.83 occasions a year, above the overall average of 1.7, and birthdays make up 17% of Gen Z diamond acquisitions compared with 13% across all generations. Bridal still matters, but it no longer defines the market. Across the U.S. overall, bridal purchases account for 25% of natural-diamond demand, while gifting represented 44% of sales in 2025 and self-purchases 31%.

That shift is especially important for everyday jewelry, because it favors pieces chosen for repeat wear and personal marking rather than one ceremony. De Beers says motivations such as a new job, a promotion, an achievement or simply just because are increasingly driving purchases, a pattern that makes diamonds feel less like a once-in-a-lifetime buy and more like a recurring luxury habit.

The broader trade data supports that view. Point-of-sale figures from 950 independent U.S. jewelers showed natural diamond sales rose 4% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 9% in the first quarter of 2026. Natural diamonds accounted for 85% of diamond-jewelry sales value in 2025, compared with 15% for lab-grown stones. At JCK in Las Vegas, diamond market analyst Edahn Golan said lab-grown stones’ share of engagement-ring sales rose from around 10% in 2020 to 58% in 2025, a change that helps explain why average purchase values are moving higher.

Feriel Zerouki, now president of the World Diamond Council, has pointed to campaigns such as Desert Diamonds as part of the push that has helped move the needle, especially in larger sizes. For natural diamonds, the new center of gravity is no longer just the wedding aisle. It is the daily life of gifting, self-reward and the kind of purchase that can be worn long after the occasion has passed.