Millennials and Diamonds: Why Disruption is the Best Thing that Can Happen to the Diamantaire Industry. diamDEXX Follow Mar 15, 2019 · 4 min read

Photo by Mikaala Shackelford on Unsplash

Just like millennials didn’t “abandon” buying houses, they didn’t abandon diamonds.

A big misconception of our times is that millennials –the generation born between 1980 and 1995, according to most opinions — are moving away from “the good old ways.” These comments, normally coming from Gen X’ers and baby boomers, are rooted in a general mismatch in stages of technologic adoption and lifestyle.

It’s not really Millennials’ fault.

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While constantly being caricatured as a generation that’s difficult to work with, petty, and lazy, several studies have pointed out to the fact that Millennials actually work harder than previous generations. Millennials also tend to make less money than their generational counterparts while taking on high levels of debt –particularly in the US — in a time of extreme inflation and currency depreciation.

Quick note: If you click the second link, it takes you to ‘1 in 5 Millennials with debt expect to die without ever paying it off’

These macro and microeconomic global trends have led to most Millennials diverting from traditional working schedules, lifestyle expectations, social dynamics, and consumer habits. In particular, Millennials’ ways have caught the attention of luxury industries (such as diamonds,) which fear to disappear when facing a generation that’s unable to meet the spending expectations of their elders.

Millennials and Diamonds.

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However, surprisingly, Millennials are accounting for 60% of diamond sales… just on a slightly different way than expected.

Normally characterised as centrepieces in engagement rings, diamonds (“girls’ best friends”) are a staple of marriage, an institution that Millennials don’t take as seriously as previous generations. In fact, Millennials are more likely to approach marriage as teamwork, try to keep expenses low, and even avoid marriage altogether.

This has forced diamantaire companies to market their products differently… and open the gates for disruption to come into the scene.

New marketing techniques

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According to De Beers’ CEO, once the diamantaire giant recognised a pattern of Millennials avoiding marriage and its implications but regularly consuming diamonds (even despite economic trouble) the company quickly associated the market trend as a shift in perception.

Millennials, being mostly drawn towards spending money on experiences as opposed to possessions, would often buy diamonds for themselves –as milestones, indulgences, or symbols of success.

And, it turns out, a flourishing retail market, a younger generation used to technologic advances, and a quickly changing financial panorama create a perfect storm for innovation to show up in our doorsteps.

Enter the Crypto Diamond Ecosystem

Way into 2018’s bear market, a study pointed out that 25% of millennials in the US hold cryptocurrencies, and that most of them look into the crypto field as an important means of investment. Diamonds, on another hand, make the perfect ingredient to combine with cryptocurrencies: In fact, they’re one of the most stable and crisis-resistant assets in the last decades.

Cryptocurrencies, however, are not particularly stable, which clashes with the main competitive advantage of diamonds as investment vehicles.

Because of this, we’ve created an innovative way to back crypto assets with diamonds for the benefit of both investors and the new Millennial diamond enthusiasts. We’ve created a perfectly stable cryptocurrency (DIAM) that can be used as a borderless, cryptographic alternative to fiat money.

DIAM, worth exactly $1, is backed by certified, real, physical diamonds, which can be redeemed through DiamDrop.com, a platform that eliminates intermediaries in the diamantaire world in the same way Uber or Airbnb do for their respective industries. Creating this ecosystem allows us to eliminate intermediaries, advance crypto adoption to disrupt financial systems, and provide a viable, technologically-advanced alternative to Millennial’s demand for diamonds.