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GIA Seeks Consumer Opinion on Symposium Issues

Members of the jewelry industry met and debated current industry topics at the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) International Gemological Symposium, held August 27-29 in San Diego, California. One of the major questions in virtually every session was how to capture consumer confidence. Anticipating that, the GIA commissioned an Internet-based consumer survey covering each of the debates at the conference.

The Jeweler Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC) queried a panel of 7,223 consumers about their opinions on synthetic gemstones, gemstone treatments, country of origin, purchasing on the Internet, and conflict diamonds.

In the synthetics category, most respondents (77%) correctly identified the word “synthetic” with a laboratory-created or man-made gemstone. The majority (59%) also consider imitations such as cubic zirconia or glass to be in that category, and 14% even identified treated gems as synthetic.

Fifty-two percent said they would consider buying a synthetic colored gemstone.

In the section on treatments, respondents were given a list of processes that might be done to a gemstone, and asked which of them they would identify as being “treated.” The most popular answer was modifying by heat or chemicals to improve the color, followed by modifying by heat or chemicals to improve the clarity and coating to improve the color.

Tellingly, the highest percentage of respondents said they didn’t know what it meant when a colored stone was identified as “treated.” In the next question, when they were asked how likely they would be to buy a treated colored stone, the largest percentage (34%) said they needed more information before they buy. The answer highlighted consumers’ uncertainty about buying gemstones in general -- a similar percentage also wanted more information about diamonds before buying.

The lack of education extends to origin: most respondents couldn’t identify countries where colored gemstones were mined, nor did they appear to care: 47% said that it was “neither important nor unimportant” for them to know where their gems were mined, while only 5% said it was “extremely important.”

Likewise, when asked if they would pay more for a colored stone if they knew where it was mined, 58% said no, while only 14% said yes.

When it comes to buying jewelry, respondents went traditional. They’re most likely to buy from a local independent retailer (44%) or a national chain (24%), with only 4% saying they would buy from a Web site first. However, there is potential: 34% said that they were at least somewhat willing to buy fine jewelry online in the future.

The JCOC is the consumer marketing research division of MVI Marketing. A complete copy of this study, as well as other surveys the JCOC has done, is available online at www.jcoc.info.

September/October 2006 • Cameroon: Douala Days • Gem Artists vs. The Internet • News & Updates • In This Issue