Will Your Holiday Gift Create a Story?

NEW YORK, Dec. 01, 2016 -- What inspires jewelry designers when working with precious colored stones? Many say that it is the gemstones themselves – the gemstones ‘speak’ to them, almost as if they were living things.

A video accompanying this announcement is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5921e083-20ed-4b8c-8be3-cbb598a85481

To hold an emerald or ruby in one’s hand and look is to be swept into a tiny world of color, light and intrigue. Precious colored gemstones have the ability to express something highly unique and individual about their wearers, making them the perfect gift to recognize someone special in your life.

A recent survey conducted by Gemfields, a world leading supplier of responsibly sourced colored gemstones, found that people in the U.S. are buying, wearing and gifting precious colored gemstones more than ever before.

Key findings of the survey included:

• One third (31%) of U.S. women acquired precious colored gemstone jewelry within the prior 24 months.
• Four in ten (41%) millennials acquired precious colored gemstone jewelry within the prior 24 months.
• On average, U.S. consumers who purchased or acquired within the past two years acquired TWO pieces of precious colored gemstone jewelry (38%). 15% acquired 3 pieces and 10% acquired 4 or more.
• Millennials are nearly twice as likely to use social media and to research jewelry on their mobile devices than non-millennials are
• When men buy precious colored gemstones, it’s usually for their wives or girlfriends.  Women most often purchase for themselves (88%) or their mothers (22%).
• Color and clarity are the top two most important purchase attributes – more important than carat weight. The stone’s country of origin is a significantly less influential factor in the purchasing process than any other.
• Precious colored gemstone jewelry gets worn – a lot. 43% of women who own wear their sapphires, emeralds or rubies daily; 24% wear at least once a week. Only 7% wear on special occasions only.
• The most common adjectives U.S. consumers chose to describe emeralds, rubies and sapphires alike were beautiful, classic, timeless, in good taste and classy – sapphires were additionally described as being fashionable.
• Half of all U.S. consumers who have purchased in the last two years, and 2/3 of affluents (100K+), say they are likely to buy another piece of precious colored gemstone jewelry in the next year.

For more information, visit gemfields.co.uk/.

Contact:
Sally Morrison
Gemfields
[email protected]