Editor’s Note
This article highlights a significant shift in luxury retail, where high-value jewelry items are now being purchased online. It examines the factors driving consumer confidence in digital platforms for such major investments.
Recently, a ring from the Swiss luxury brand Piaget, priced over 20 million won, sold on the domestic online luxury platform Catch Fashion, becoming a hot topic. Following that, a necklace over 4 million won and a ring worth about 3 million won from the French high jewelry maison Boucheron were also sold consecutively.
Traditionally, purchasing high-priced gemstones usually involved seeing them in person. There were concerns with online transactions, from authenticity verification to delivery. However, recently, high-end jewelry has become one of the most spotlighted categories in the online luxury market. This is because the younger generation, accustomed to online shopping, is establishing itself as ‘big spenders’ not only in existing fashion and living goods markets but also in high-priced product markets like jewelry.
According to the global diamond distributor De Beers, purchases by the MZ generation accounted for two-thirds of the US diamond market. It is explained that a significant portion of these were likely online purchases. The advantages are substantial, including the ability to check various products without the need for a physical store run and the availability of discount benefits.
Overseas, global luxury companies are actively investing in e-commerce to draw the MZ generation into the online market. The Richemont Group, which owns high-end jewelry watch brands like Cartier and Vacheron Constantin, owns the e-commerce platform Net-a-Porter. The French luxury online shopping platform 24S has the global luxury conglomerate LVMH as its parent company.
In South Korea, luxury jewelry brands are successively entering KakaoTalk’s ‘Gift’ service, known for its high accessibility. Following the entry of the American luxury jewelry brand Tiffany, Piaget opened its official brand store there in August last year, with Bulgari joining in April this year and Fred in July.
For Catch Fashion, which has official partnerships with global distributors like MatchesFashion and Farfetch, luxury jewelry transaction volume in the first half of the year until June grew by 58% compared to the same period last year.
Recently, as bold styles like crop tops that reveal the waistline and cut-out style swimwear for resort wear gain popularity, jewelry is also becoming more glamorous. A Catch Fashion MD recommended Hermina Athens’s Athena Sea Bamboo & Gold Plated Necklace and Jacquemus’s Chiquito Necklace.
Products with sculptural beauty were also recommended. Sophie Bille Brahe’s Gold Vermeil Hoop Earrings offer a unique sculptural feel from the finely grooved side of the earring and the round ball-shaped back. They can create a sophisticated and chic atmosphere.
For summer fashion with more exposure, expressing boldly with daring jewelry is also a method.
A particularly notable jewelry trend this year is genderless jewelry. Especially, pearls, once considered the most feminine item, have become a representative item of genderless jewelry. BTS’s V has established himself as a ‘fashionista’ by wearing large pearl earrings and pearl necklaces in the past, and has shown leading fashion with various gemstone stylings.
According to Catch Fashion, men’s jewelry purchases in the first half of this year nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.
A Catch Fashion MD recommended Eliou’s Sage Pearl, Lapis, Jade & 14K Gold Plated Bracelet. Smoothly surface-treated lapis lazuli and jade beads are hand-strung with freshwater pearls.
Also, Bottega Veneta’s Enamel Pendant & Gold Plated Necklace connects an abstract pendant coated with sparkling green enamel to structural box chain links. The Gucci GG Enamel & Sterling Silver Ring reveals Gucci’s style with the interlocking GG logo.