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* Women buying rings for themselves spend more than men
* De Beers sees oversupply of rough diamonds stabilising
* Trade tension, Hong Kong protests dented China sales
LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Anglo American unit De
Beers said its 2019 marketing budget will exceed last year's
figure of $170 million and will focus on the biggest market the
United States, where women lavishing diamonds on themselves has
boosted sales.
While U.S. demand has held firm, the diamond market has
weakened elsewhere and trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong
have dented sales in China, the second largest diamond market.
But luxury groups see potential for growth in jewellery
demand, as shown by LVMH's nearly $14.5 billion offer,
made public on Monday, to buy Tiffany & Co.
Esther Oberbeck, group head of strategy at De Beers, the
world's biggest diamond producer by value, said in an interview
the company was about to launch new marketing campaigns, focused
on the U.S. and China.
She did not specify the budget, but said De Beers' 2019
spend would exceed last year's $170 million and was the highest
in more than a decade.
The campaigns, which she said would concentrate on
"self-purchase and the bridal market", are based on research
carried out for De Beers, published on Monday.
It found the share of U.S. women buying their own engagement
ring doubled from 7% to 14% over the five-year period 2013-2017
and that women on average spent a third more than men – $4,400
compared with $3,300.
De Beers sells rough diamonds and jewellery through its
Forevermark brand.
Its research anticipates the rough diamond market will
recover from a period of oversupply as some mines reach their
end of their lives, notably Rio Tinto's Argyle
mine in Australia.
Global consumer demand for diamonds rose by 2% in 2018 to
$76 billion and, in dollar terms, China and the United States
were the fastest-growing regions, both increasing by 5% year on
year, it said.
Demand for diamond jewellery in the U.S. rose by 5% to $36
billion, representing just under half of total global diamond
jewellery demand, underpinned by "solid macro-economic factors",
the De Beers research found.
Diamonds are still the leading choice for engagement rings,
whether between same-sex or heterosexual couples.
But demand for diamond jewellery as a gift to mark all kinds
of special occasions, including rewards to oneself, now
outweighs demand directly related to weddings, De Beers said.
(Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by Ed Osmond)
