Headlines

US Jewelry Market to Hit $90B — But This Could Hold It Back

Published

9 years ago

September 28, 2016

Annual growth of 3.1 percent is expected.

U.S. demand for jewelry and watches is likely to hit $90 billion in 2020, up from $77.2 billion in 2015, according to a new report.

If that figure is achieved, it would represent annual growth of 3.1 percent, says the Freedonia Group, a Cleveland, OH-based industry market research firm.

Fine jewelry sales will be driven by an increase in the number of new marriages.

But the company sounds a note of caution, explaining that “ongoing financial challenges faced by young adults – coupled with their growing preference for purchasing other big-ticket items such as electronics and experiences (eg, vacations) – will restrain further advances in personal spending on these accessories.”

That line of thought echoes recent concerns that millennials might not be the enthusiastic buyers of diamond jewelry that their parents and grandparents were.

De Beers, however, insisted in a recent report that millennials “do express strong desire for diamonds when they reach financial and demographic maturity.”

Read more from the Freedonia Group

How Howes Diamond Jewelers Closed a Location — and Opened the Door to What's Next

Dan Howes grew up in his family's jewelry business, eventually taking the helm of two locations his father launched in 1964. When it came time to consolidate, he turned to Wilkerson. "It was a pretty easy decision," Howes says, citing the company's strong reputation and a friend's successful experience. Wilkerson's proven sales roadmap delivered — meeting projected financial goals and guiding the process every step of the way. "This is their profession. They have it dialed in."