In a recent article on Solitaire, an B2B gem and jewelry magazine published by India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky discusses China’s diamond industry, which “is poised for a rebound in 2023, following a pandemic-induced recessionary period.”
According to Zimnisky, in the decade prior to the Covid pandemic, growth in diamond jewelry demand in Greater China marked a compound annual rate just shy of 10% (in USD equivalent). Then Covid came, lockdowns, and a pandemic-induced recessionary period in 2019-2022. Now, in 2023, he says, “the Chinese diamond market is positioned for a recovery.
For instance, in January-February, Greater-China corporate Chow Sang Sang saw sales jump 89% and 26% year-on-year in its Hong Kong-Macau and Mainland China markets respectively.
Another example: LVMH, which generates approximately a quarter of its sales in China, reported “green shoots” in late-January – especially in Macau, noting that “business is back, the Chinese are buying… the stores are full… it’s really come back at a very strong pace… we have every reason to be confident, indeed optimistic, on the Chinese market.”
Although shopper foot traffic in China is still down when compared to 2019 levels, in the medium-term, Zimnisky explains, “diamond and jewelry demand in China is expected to be supported by government-induced consumption stimulus”, especially two programs called the “Dual Circulation Strategy” and “14th Five-Year Plan.”
Read the full analysis here.
