Japan’s Polished Diamond Imports Fall 25% in January
March 11, 10 by Edahn Golan
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Diamond jewelry retailing is declining in Japan’s trendy
shopping districts, such as Shibuya district, Tokyo (above)
Photo: Guwashi
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Japan imported $50.3 million worth of polished diamonds in January, the country’s weakest January in at least four years. Japan imported 189,338 carats at an average value of $266 per carat, according to data released by the J Club, Inc. Japan.
The disturbing figures reflect a 24.9 percent decline in value and a 2.8 percent decline in volume compared to January 2009. Accordingly, the average value of imports slumped 22.8 percent in the period.
The continued drop in diamond imports by Japan reflects a declining interest by Japanese consumers in jewelry overall and more particularly, diamond jewelry. For many years, Japan was the second largest consumer market in the world, however Japan’s waning interest in diamonds and the growing consumer consumption in China and India will likely demote Japan to the third or even fourth largest global market at some point this year.
It’s possible that China and India are already bigger diamond consumer markets than Japan, but exact figures for the two emerging markets’ diamond consumption for 2009 are not known.
Japan’s growing disinterest in diamond jewelry could be attributed to several things. The country has been battling a decade long recession. It also suffered the ills of the global economic pains of 2008-2009, which may have led many to forgo any flashy high-cost luxury expenditures.
Another reason may lie in marketing. Ever since De Beers ended its marketing promotions in Japan, sales of diamond jewelry have been on a downward slope. To date, no one in the country has picked up the challenge of promoting diamond jewelry generically.
