Cooled Market in Japan and Flourishing Demand in China for Diamond

"Everlasting" diamond and "timely" cash, which is more important? At least in the eyes of the Japanese, diamond is losing the luster of the past. It is reported from the news agency that the Japanese are fast selling jewelry with excess shipping them to China and India buyers.

It is reported that the most popular jewelry inlaid rings and earrings of the 1980s or 1990s have overshadowed with Japan's population ageing and economic downturn. The data of Japan's Finance Ministry shows that Japan's old diamond exports in first four months of the year increased by 77%, to 38000 carats, which has been the most since 2007. We all know that Japan is the world's second largest importer of diamond less than a decade ago.

The 64-year-old full-time wife named Yinzi says, "I want to spend money on travel and dining, rather than to hide diamond”. She has sold a two carat diamond but declines to disclose how much cash she got. However, she says, the price is lower than that of 30 years ago.

In 2013, according to the Bureau of Statistics in Japan, about 25% of Japanese have aged over 65, and it is only 12% in 1990. For Yinzi, she just sells some things she doesn't need, to live a simple life, but others sell inherited jewelry to prepare for death.

The data shows, in 2014, China is second only to the United States in the growth of the diamond market. And Japan is now in the fourth after United States, China and India.

Analyst Paul says China diamond market is led by the growing middle class, which have the potential to become a big engine to pull the overall demand for diamonds. As the income increases, the Indian diamond sales has also got great growth, which makes India become the diamond cutting and polishing center in Asia.

Indian diamond traders Bandali says that he purchases old diamond 4 times a month in Japan, and then sells them in Mumbai, India and Hong Kong, China. "the same quality of diamonds, Japan's old diamond is cheaper than India's new diamond". After old diamond renovation, he says, "People can not see the difference between new diamond and old diamond".