De Beers says younger buyers and self-purchases are reshaping diamond demand
Gen Z already drives 23% of diamond demand value, and three-quarters of U.S. demand is now non-bridal. Self-purchase alone accounts for 31%.
De Beers is putting numbers behind a shift the jewelry trade has been watching for years: diamonds are no longer just for engagements. In its latest U.S. Diamond Acquisition Study, based on responses from 18,500 women ages 18 to 74, the company says younger buyers, self-purchases and gifting now define demand more than bridal shopping does. For brands still talking mainly about proposals, the market is already moving on.
The clearest signal is where the money is going. De Beers says non-bridal occasions made up 75% of U.S. natural-diamond demand value in 2025, with gifting accounting for 44% and self-purchase another 31%. Bridal fell to 25%. The report also says 11% of women surveyed ranked natural diamond jewelry as their most desired luxury gift, ahead of lab-grown diamonds at 8%, other gemstones at 5% and plain gold jewelry at 4%.
That shift is not just behavioral; it is showing up in spend. De Beers says average spending on natural diamond jewelry rose 25% in 2025 to $4,063 per piece, from $3,242 in 2023, while average total carat weight increased to 1.86 carats from 1.65 carats. Gen Z is now the second-largest generation buying natural diamond jewelry and represents 23% of demand value, even though it makes up 18% of the population. Its buyers spent an average of $4,080 per piece, almost double the $2,250 spent by baby boomers.
Independent jewelers are seeing the effect in real time. De Beers says natural-diamond sales at U.S. independent jewelers rose 4% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 9% in the first quarter of 2026, based on point-of-sale data from 950 retailers. That matters because independent stores still account for more than half of the U.S. jewelry sector, making them a crucial barometer for what shoppers actually buy, not just what brands say they want to sell.
The deeper story is meaning. De Beers says buyers are marking a new job, a promotion, an achievement or simply buying diamonds “just because.” That is a different emotional pitch from bridal legacy, and it is pushing brands to rethink price points, styling and messaging around permanence, independence and self-recognition. De Beers has also leaned into campaigns such as Desert Diamonds, a sign that the industry is trying to make natural stones feel less like a rite of marriage and more like a personal marker of identity.
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