Although the melting pot of America had a major financial meltdown, the U.S. is getting back on track, and it’s that stew of diversity that may be the savior of the diamond market. The U.S. has been built on immigrants and people coming from around the world, contributing their cultures and ideas, many of which have been adopted in an open and inviting environment. Those very differences may create future growth opportunities. In the past year or so, many in the industry have fled the U.S., crying that it is a mature market and that business has gone elsewhere. While that is, to some extent, true — China and India are much bigger growth markets — it must be noted that the U.S. is still by far the largest consumer of diamonds in the world. And there is still growth potential. The growth, however, needs to come from untapped markets. The face of the United States has changed. It is no longer dominated by the Caucasian Baby Boomer. Many of Hispanic descent have immigrated to the U.S. or been born here as first-generation Americans; their numbers are huge, approximately 46.9 million, or 15 percent of the population. The African-American population has become more upwardly mobile. The Asian population has also grown in number and culturally has a strong jewelry tradition. These are markets that have not been fully tapped into in the U.S. and they are ripe for growth.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2010. To subscribe click here.