Softening of Diamond Demand?

[WillyDiamond]

I am wondering what others think on this matter. I have been getting what I call an unusual number of "discount/sale" emails from diamond dealers. These discounts are coming outside of the popular Christmas/Valentine's Day time, but rather all year round.
I have read that the youth of today are not buying watches and certainly not buying luxury brand watches, they look at their smartphones for the time. I am just wondering if the youth of today is turning away from diamonds also and causing a softening of the market.

 

[thecat]

I've no idea if it's softening but it's great if it's true.

 

[denverappraiser]

I'm not seeing it, although this is a point of great stress for people in the trade. Engagement rings are fundamentally unnecessary and if people come around it would cause some serious problems for jewelers.

That said, I'm seeing the opposite. The 'diamond bridal tradition' is growing. It's expanding into markets like India, latin America and China. Young men are still interested in marrying young women, and increasingly around the world, that transaction involves a diamond. Mines, on the other hand, can't expand. The most they can get is whatever God put there and when it's mined it's gone. Exploration is not going well. As mines play out there are no major developments in the pipeline. No one knows how this will play out in the future but the supply side of the equation is actually pretty grim.

Watches, by the way, are different. They USED to be necessary and now they're not. That's an important change. It's not just cell phones. The correct time is available on computers, TV's, cars and all sorts of other devices that are part of our daily lives. If you need to know what time it is, it's easy enough to arrange. 40 years ago that wasn't the case.