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Maybe Diamonds Aren’t Forever  (MDAF)

The diamond industry that’s always been dominating the precious stone market experiences a little uprising competition from coloured stones during the past decade. “Rarer than diamonds yet cheaper, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires are gaining favor just as sales for diamonds are beginning to show weakness.” (MDAF)

I believe the coloured-stone market will grow to become a fierce competition to the diamond market in the near future. As it mentioned in the article, coloured stones set much more competitive prices compared to diamonds. The distinctively lower prices of coloured stones serves as great incentive for consumers to consider experimenting with something different but of equal or sometimes even higher brilliance than ordinary diamond stones. And, it did. Consumer tastes have changed significantly over the past few years. The diamond industry currently undergoes a decline in its market share. Though colored-stone market does not currently have the budget diamond market has for advertising. There are other ways to promote their product and lead a trend. For example, the article talked about “celebrity driven effect”. People naturally tend to follow the action of their idols. Based on this knowledge, the colored-stone market can consider offering free gifts of stones to certain well-known celebrities, in return for their consent to wear these stones at specific occasions. This strategy can be even more effective than doing real advertisements. Lastly, with the competitive entrance of colored stones, consumers gain more power and freedom in selecting what they want. Diamond market is definitely losing some of its market shares, and if they don’t take their competitors seriously and fails to adapt their marketing and sales strategy to the current situation, it will eventually lose its dominance of the industry.