Consumers Willing to Pay More for Verification

RAPAPORT... Consumers would willingly pay a premium for a diamond that had been verified by an independent thirdparty as being responsibly sourced, according to an MVI Marketing survey. Approximately one third of consumers would shell out anextra 5% on top of the retail price for a diamond that has been verified asresponsibly mined, or sustainably lab-grown, or for which the country of originwas certain, while about a fifth would pay an additional 10%.  Nearly half of respondents stated they would not buy diamondjewelry from a lab or mine that was known to have an adverse social orenvironmental impact at their site and on their workers, while 30% said it wassomewhat important to them. Similarly, 50% of those surveyed said they would bemore likely to purchase a jewelry brand that they knew had a positive impactover other brands they weren't sure about. When it comes to third-party verification and knowing adiamond's country of origin, 48% considered it very important for mineddiamonds, while 44% felt that way about lab-grown stones, the data showed. Outside verification made consumers even more likely to open their wallets: Some 7% of those surveyed gave the highest rating in terms of confidence in self-created standards,while 20% voted that way for standards created by multiple companies or verified by a third party. Meanwhile, when asked what they considered most important toknow prior to purchasing, other than price, respondents ranked the 4Cs first and a grading certificate second, followed by the brand's reputation. Verificationthat a diamond was mined using socially and environmentally responsible methods came in fourth.  MVI conducted the survey in July 2019 among 1,506individuals aged 23 to 55, with a household income over $50,000, who havepurchased or received fine jewelry within the past year. Some 70% were femaleand 30% male, while 77% were US citizens, and 23% were Canadian. Image: A pair of diamond earrings. (Shutterstock)