Diamonds not always a girl’s best friend

BEIJING – Well-heeled Chinese women are questioning the old maxim that diamonds are a girl’s best friend as their jewellery collections expand along with their bank balances.

While diamonds are definitely still a must-have in the jewellery boxes of wealthy women in China; rubies, sapphires and other coloured gems are becoming popular too. “Diamonds are still sought after for weddings or a traditional event.But Chinese really want to show their individuality, that’s the trend for everyone now,” said Yao Yuan, a director at the International Gemological Institute.Take 20-something events manager Zhu Xiaomei.Like many upwardly mobile Chinese women, she’s not shy about buying her own jewellery – and the piece that caught her eye during a shopping trip in Beijing was an ornate gold ring with coloured gem chips.”I like to buy a lot of pieces and change them to go with various outfits, so I look first at the stones and the appearance,” said Zhu, rejecting a dramatic silver collar in a nearby case as “too plain”.China is one of the few countries in the world where jewellery demand has held relatively steady this year, even with gold prices at 28-year highs and platinum at record prices.That’s due to China’s booming economy, the fourth largest in the world, which is growing by 11 per cent per year.Almost three decades of economic reform and rapid growth has created a wealthy elite and affluent middle class, eager to spend their way up the social ladder.China’s richest 800 people are worth an average US$562 million each, according to the yearly Hurun Report, while 21 million of the absolute poorest citizens live on less than US$88 a year.SAPPHIRES, RUBIES AND EMERALDS Wealthy Chinese women have moved from a traditional preference for gold that could be quickly melted down for cash to a willingness to pay for jewels based on fashion and design.Many women of means in China, like Zhu, are not shy about buying their own jewels.Their fiancés might buy a solitaire diamond ring but anything else is fair game for these newly affluent professionals.In contrast, in the United States, about 80 per cent of diamond jewellery purchases are gifts for someone else.Like many Chinese women keen to expand their jewellery collections, Zhu said she is willing to buy several pieces each year at a few thousand yuan a piece, and occasionally splurges for something over 10 000 yuan (US$1 200) – the equivalent of a month’s salary for a white collar manager in Beijing.”Women in China are more forward than the rest of the world in buying for themselves,” said Seth Grossman, communication planning director for Carat Media.A marketing push by DeBeers since the mid-1990s means that nearly every middle-and upper-class bride in status-conscious Shanghai gets a diamond chip in her wedding ring.Campaigns to promote diamonds with platinum have also been wildly successful in Shanghai and other wealthy cities.Jade, the traditional Chinese stone much prized in past centuries, is still popular among older women.But younger women seeking a casual and colourful look are more inclined to buy jewellery with sapphires, rubies or emeralds.Coloured gems began to take off about a year ago, said Chen Jianxin, managing director of Tani.X, which offers pieces set with stones from Thailand and Sri Lanka.”Chinese women like rubies, they go well with their skin and they are more noticeable than sapphires,” said Jessica Jiang, a saleswoman with Xingzhongtai Gemstone Co of Shenzhen.The company offers single, expensive stones to older woman and a special, “lucky seven” design of smaller, tightly set stones that appeal to the tastes and budgets of younger women.”Diamonds were promoted successfully in China for some years, but coloured stones are just beginning.People like them because of the cost and the style,” explained Jiang.Nampa-Reuters”Diamonds are still sought after for weddings or a traditional event.But Chinese really want to show their individuality, that’s the trend for everyone now,” said Yao Yuan, a director at the International Gemological Institute.Take 20-something events manager Zhu Xiaomei.Like many upwardly mobile Chinese women, she’s not shy about buying her own jewellery – and the piece that caught her eye during a shopping trip in Beijing was an ornate gold ring with coloured gem chips.”I like to buy a lot of pieces and change them to go with various outfits, so I look first at the stones and the appearance,” said Zhu, rejecting a dramatic silver collar in a nearby case as “too plain”.China is one of the few countries in the world where jewellery demand has held relatively steady this year, even with gold prices at 28-year highs and platinum at record prices.That’s due to China’s booming economy, the fourth largest in the world, which is growing by 11 per cent per year.Almost three decades of economic reform and rapid growth has created a wealthy elite and affluent middle class, eager to spend their way up the social ladder.China’s richest 800 people are worth an average US$562 million each, according to the yearly Hurun Report, while 21 million of the absolute poorest citizens live on less than US$88 a year.SAPPHIRES, RUBIES AND EMERALDS Wealthy Chinese women have moved from a traditional preference for gold that could be quickly melted down for cash to a willingness to pay for jewels based on fashion and design.Many women of means in China, like Zhu, are not shy about buying their own jewels.Their fiancés might buy a solitaire diamond ring but anything else is fair game for these newly affluent professionals.In contrast, in the United States, about 80 per cent of diamond jewellery purchases are gifts for someone else.Like many Chinese women keen to expand their jewellery collections, Zhu said she is willing to buy several pieces each year at a few thousand yuan a piece, and occasionally splurges for something over 10 000 yuan (US$1 200) – the equivalent of a month’s salary for a white collar manager in Beijing.”Women in China are more forward than the rest of the world in buying for themselves,” said Seth Grossman, communication planning director for Carat Media.A marketing push by DeBeers since the mid-1990s means that nearly every middle-and upper-class bride in status-conscious Shanghai gets a diamond chip in her wedding ring.Campaigns to promote diamonds with platinum have also been wildly successful in Shanghai and other wealthy cities.Jade, the traditional Chinese stone much prized in past centuries, is still popular among older women.But younger women seeking a casual and colourful look are more inclined to buy jewellery with sapphires, rubies or emeralds.Coloured gems began to take off about a year ago, said Chen Jianxin, managing director of Tani.X, which offers pieces set with stones from Thailand and Sri Lanka.”Chinese women like rubies, they go well with their skin and they are more noticeable than sapphires,” said Jessica Jiang, a saleswoman with Xingzhongtai Gemstone Co of Shenzhen.The company offers single, expensive stones to older woman and a special, “lucky seven” design of smaller, tightly set stones that appeal to the tastes and budgets of younger women.”Diamonds were promoted successfully in China for some years, but coloured stones are just beginning.People like them because of the cost and the style,” explained Jiang.Nampa-Reuters