Ladies are doing the diamond buying now

Women aren’t waiting around for their significant others to buy them diamonds anymore.

A key growth area in jewelry is women gifting themselves, according to De Beers. Nearly a third of diamond sales in the US come from women buying their own rocks and baubles — up from 24 percent five years ago, the London-based diamond cartel said Friday.

Among the self-gifters, 57 percent are married women and 43 percent are single.

“The majority of diamonds in Asia are bought by women, but in America the perception is that diamonds should be gifted,” said Stephen Lussier, chief executive of De Beers’ Forevermark diamond brand.

But that’s changing, Lussier says, and the industry is pulling out all the stops to encour- age the new trend. Overall, diamond sales grew just 4.4 percent last year to $41 billion versus 5 percent the previous year, De Beers said on Friday as it released its annual report on the industry.

Next week, De Beers is announcing a new marketing push aimed at “releasing this desire” by women, Lussier said, adding,“Diamonds need not be just about relationship markers.”

Smyth, whose jewelry store in Annapolis, Md., claims to be the largest on the East Coast, is seeing more women buy diamonds for themselves, said Josh Makowski, director of sales.

“We have women upgrade their engagement rings and buy diamond studs and pendants all day long,” Makowski said. “Women don’t check with their husbands, no way. Your average woman is working and they might even earn more than their husbands.”

American women are helping to brighten the diamond industry as more female consumers are buying their own sparklers — letting go of the idea that they should wait for others to give them the gems as gifts, according to De Beers.