The cohort the marketing literature describes as Generation Z, generally defined as people born between 1997 and 2012, entered the jewellery market as significant consumers in the late 2010s and is the principal driver of demand-side change in the trade in the 2020s. Several characteristics of the Gen-Z purchaser have been documented across multiple industry studies and now shape product development, marketing, and supply-chain decisions across the jewellery sector.

Sustainability as a baseline expectation

Multiple consumer studies, including the De Beers Diamond Insight Report, the McKinsey State of Fashion Watches and Jewellery report, and the Bain Luxury Goods Worldwide Study, have documented that Gen-Z consumers rate sustainability and ethical sourcing as material to purchasing decisions at notably higher rates than older cohorts. The 2022 De Beers Insight Report found that 69 per cent of Gen-Z respondents in major Western markets considered ethical sourcing important to their decision, compared to 52 per cent of millennial respondents and 43 per cent of Generation X.

The expression of this preference in actual buying behaviour is more nuanced than the headline figures suggest. Gen-Z consumers buy at lower price points than older cohorts (a function of life stage rather than values), and at the lower price points the practical scope for ethical sourcing premiums is limited. Where the values translate most clearly into market behaviour is in the choice between lab-grown and natural diamond at the entry point, in the rejection of certain origins (notably Burmese ruby in Western markets, where the political situation has limited its distribution), and in growing interest in recycled and antique jewellery as alternatives to newly mined material.

Lab-grown diamond adoption

The lab-grown diamond market has grown most rapidly in the Gen-Z and younger millennial segments. By 2023, lab-grown diamond accounted for approximately 15 to 20 per cent of the United States diamond engagement market by unit volume, with the share notably higher in younger purchasers. The price differential between lab-grown and natural diamond expanded considerably from 2018 to 2024, with lab-grown wholesale prices falling approximately 80 per cent over the period as production capacity expanded. The result is a significant value gap between the two categories, and the Gen-Z buyer is more likely than older cohorts to choose the lab-grown alternative both on cost and on perceived sustainability grounds.

The trade response to this shift has been mixed. The natural diamond industry, through the Natural Diamond Council and individual mining companies, has invested in marketing emphasising the geological rarity, the community development effects in producing countries, and the long-term value retention of natural diamond. The lab-grown sector has positioned itself on cost, scientific provenance, and environmental claims that are themselves contested. Independent third parties have noted that both categories have material environmental footprints and that a clean comparison depends on assumptions about energy mix and amortisation periods.

Individuality and non-engagement use cases

A distinctive Gen-Z pattern is the diversification of jewellery purchasing away from the traditional engagement-and-wedding focus that has anchored the diamond market for most of the post-war period. Gen-Z buyers are documented as more likely to purchase fine jewellery for self-celebration, to celebrate milestones other than engagement, and to purchase as gifts to non-romantic partners (mothers, friends, themselves). The market for self-purchased fine jewellery has grown considerably as a result.

This diversification has product implications. Demand for unique pieces and small-batch production has grown relative to demand for highly recognisable luxury house pieces. Independent designers, particularly those operating direct-to-consumer through online channels, have captured significant share. Vintage and antique jewellery, which can be priced competitively with new mid-market production while offering individuality and historical resonance, has grown as a category.

Stones outside the engagement-default categories have benefited. Coloured stones, particularly sapphire in non-blue hues, opal, tourmaline, and emerald, have grown in engagement-ring share. Birthstones used as fine jewellery rather than as costume have grown. The single-stone solitaire pattern has weakened relative to alternative settings including bezels, three-stone rings, and toi-et-moi configurations.

Digital channels and information access

The Gen-Z buyer entered the jewellery market with full digital fluency, and the channels through which Gen-Z buyers research and buy differ from older cohorts. Instagram and TikTok have substantial influence on visibility and purchase intention. YouTube tutorials and reviews are commonly referenced before purchase, particularly for stone education and brand evaluation. Independent online publications, including JCK and the trade press, are read by knowledgeable Gen-Z consumers who research before buying.

This information environment has consequences for the trade. Gen-Z buyers arrive at the point of sale with more information than older cohorts typically did, and the range of information includes both reliable and unreliable material. Consumer education on the quality factors of coloured stones, on the meaning of laboratory reports, and on the difference between sales claims and gemological fact has become a more complex undertaking. The trade has responded with more detailed online educational content and with greater transparency in pricing and specifications.

The values-versus-economics tension

The honest reading of the Gen-Z jewellery values story is that the cohort expresses a stronger preference for sustainability and individuality than its predecessors but spends less per transaction in absolute terms (because of life stage and economic conditions). The trade-off between price and stated values is real, and at the entry point of the market — say, the under-2-carat engagement ring — the lower-priced lab-grown alternative often wins regardless of the buyer's stated environmental position.

For the high-end natural stone trade, the implication is that the Gen-Z buyer who reaches the price point at which natural stones with provenance compete on value will increasingly demand documented sourcing, ethical production, and unique character. The trade that has adapted to this — through documented mine-to-market programmes, through greater attention to lapidary work as a value-adding step, and through narrative around individual stones — is well positioned to retain Gen-Z buyers as they age into higher purchasing power. The trade that has not is more exposed to lab-grown substitution and to the disintermediation of online direct-to-consumer brands.

Outlook

The Gen-Z cohort is the dominant demographic for new jewellery formation for the next two decades. The values they express today are consistent with the trajectory of luxury markets generally, in which the trade has moved progressively toward documented sourcing, smaller batch production, and emphasis on individual story over brand recognition. The trade pressures this creates are real and are reshaping supply chains, marketing, and product development. The conventions of the jewellery business in 2040 will be substantially different from those of 2020, and the difference will largely be the cumulative effect of the values and behaviours documented in the current Gen-Z cohort.