Hopeful start to key diamond selling season

Mbongeni Mguni | Monday October 6, 2025 06:00

Traditionally, the diamond industry records its highest sales each year between Thanksgiving in the United States and the Chinese New Year, as couples get engaged, married and people exchange gifts over the festive period.

The US accounts for more than 50% of annual natural diamond jewellery sales, whilst China was recently surpassed as the second biggest market for the stones by India.

Rapaport News, an authoritative diamond publication associated with the Rapaport Diamond Group, last week reported that respondents in its Early Holiday Trends and Sales survey reported that US jewellery sales at the start of the holiday season were up to 20% above those of the previous year.

“Natural was a hot commodity for the holidays, with 61% saying they were selling more mined-diamond engagement rings than lab-grown,” Rapaport reported. “Mined was also consumers’ top choice for fashion jewellery, getting the nod from more than half of respondents. “Diamond tennis bracelets and stud earrings were by far the most picked when it came to fashion jewellery, whilst custom pieces, jewels with gemstones, and plain gold were strong as well.”

According to the survey, 11% of those surveyed said business had improved between 21% and 50% year on year, whilst 16% said it was on par with the same period in 2024, and 21% saw a decrease of up to 20%.

The majority of jewellers surveyed expressed confidence in the peak retail period.

“Fifty-two percent of jewellers who took part in our survey expected sales for the full holiday period to be better than last year. “Some 30% believed they would be worse, and 18% projected they would be on par with 2024,” Rapaport reported.

De Beers’ spokesperson, David Johnson, told Mmegi that the group was pumping in its highest marketing spend ever for this season.

“It's too early to gauge likely demand expectations for the holiday season,” he said in an emailed response. “However, whilst it's a challenging economic landscape for consumers, the marketing investments we are making, being the largest in more than a decade, will be important in driving demand for natural diamonds over the end-of-year selling season.”

The natural diamond industry is banking on the peak retail season to mop up excess inventory that has built up in the market due to the prolonged slump in demand, dating back to 2023.

Clearing the inventory is key to resuscitating output amongst producers, a critically needed revival for diamond-dependent economies such as Botswana.

Several African diamond producers, including Botswana, and companies such as De Beers recently signed an agreement in Luanda to jointly launch a global marketing campaign for natural diamonds, under the auspices of the Natural Diamond Council.