【China】Colored Gemstone Collection Trend Report Released

The Chinese colored gemstone market has moved past its initial exploratory phase and entered a stage of rapid growth. On July 12, the “China Colored Gemstone Collection Trend Report,” the first of its kind in China, was released by the country’s largest colored gemstone portal website, China Colored Gemstone Network. The report indicates that the awareness and purchase rate of domestic colored gemstone products have more than doubled over the past five years. Influenced by tight supply, the prices of colored gemstones have risen significantly over the past five years, making them one of the most watched and fastest-appreciating luxury consumer goods categories. Notably, with the improvement of the internet consumption environment, an increasing number of consumers are beginning to purchase colored gemstones through brand official websites or industry-specific professional portals, with transaction prices for collection-grade pieces reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan. Online shopping has become the second-largest purchasing channel for consumers after shopping mall counters.

In the Chinese jewelry market, the varieties with the highest awareness are primarily gold, jadeite, and purple stone. As a new consumption and collection category, colored gemstones had very low awareness five years ago, with no more than 5% of people knowing the name and general meaning of this category. Surveys now show this proportion has increased significantly.
According to a survey of its members by China Colored Gemstone Network, consumers’ recognition of gemstone varieties is also deepening. Besides the traditional three precious stones—ruby, sapphire, and emerald—which have over 80% awareness, amethyst, citrine, and tourmaline also enjoy high awareness rates of 80%-90%. Some rarer small-category gemstones, such as peridot and garnet, have nearly 40% awareness among collectors.
The report points out that over the past five years, the Chinese market has shown particular interest and strong absorption capacity for varieties beyond traditional classics like ruby, sapphire, and emerald. Among these, tourmaline has attracted the greatest consumer interest and has the most obvious impact on supply and demand. The explosive demand for red tourmaline and Paraíba tourmaline in China has directly led to a global shortage and price increases for related gemstones.

Despite experiencing financial and economic crises over the past five years, purchasing power in the Chinese market has continued to grow. Coupled with declining output from major mining areas like Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, and strong demand in the Chinese market, this has manifested as continuously rising end-consumer prices. Many collection-grade colored gemstone varieties, such as unheated rubies and sapphires and oil-free emeralds, have seen prices increase 2-3 times over the past five years. Burmese sapphire, ruby, Mozambique ruby, and red spinel have risen 3-5 times, while individual varieties like large-carat Paraíba tourmaline have even increased by 5 times or more.

According to market research by China Colored Gemstone Network, quality is the most important factor for consumers before making a purchase decision. Therefore, most Chinese consumers still prioritize large shopping mall jewelry counters as their primary channel for purchasing jewelry. However, with the improvement of the internet consumption environment, more consumers are starting to buy colored gemstones online. The transaction prices for many collection-grade colored gemstones sold online have reached hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan, fully reflecting the increase in Chinese consumers’ purchasing power and their growing confidence in purchasing through professional online channels.
It is worth noting that among online sales channels, consumers tend to choose brand official websites or professionally strong industry portal websites. For large multi-category commercial websites like Taobao and Tmall, trust in purchasing collection-grade products remains low.

Among the forces influencing China’s high-end colored gemstone market, international brands and international auctions are the two most important. The report analyzes that international brands leverage their established high-end image in the minds of Chinese consumers; changes in their product series and design trends significantly impact the entire market. In recent years, international brands like Cartier, Bvlgari, and Van Cleef & Arpels have frequently launched exhibitions or brand history retrospectives in China, with many heavyweight exhibition pieces using colored gemstones as raw materials, helping Chinese consumers recognize the beauty and rarity of colored gemstones. Regarding auctions, houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s control important global channels for rare and precious gemstones and their pricing power. At auctions, the transaction prices of some gemstones not only affect end consumers but also have a significant impact on pricing in wholesale and even mining links.

According to the report’s statistics, the top three favorite colored gemstone colors among Chinese consumers are currently blue, red, and green. These are also the three most classic colors in international colored gemstone trends. In terms of varieties, sapphire, ruby, and emerald are the most popular. These three have also been the top-selling colored gemstone varieties globally for the past few hundred years.