Diamonds can be a man's best friend, China jewelers say

By Royston Chan

SHANGHAI (Reuters Life!) - Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but some Chinese jewelers are hoping men will develop the same fondness for the precious stone.

Exhibitors at a Shanghai gold and jewelry fair this week displayed diamond-studded rings, pendants, bracelets and belt buckles, all targeting big-spending males.

"Jewelry has targeted female consumers, but there is demand from male consumers in China," said Kevin Chen, marketing director for jewelry wholesaler Boee Jewellery, which has been selling a men's diamond series for five years.

"Our customers for the men's series are those who have a certain taste for beauty, are of a certain social status and achieved a considerable amount of monetary strength," he added.

China is a lucrative market for all things shiny.

According to the jewellery show's organizers, it is the world's fourth-largest gold consumer and Asia's second-largest market for diamonds (www.chinajewelryshow.com/2007).

A booming economy and growing numbers of young, fashionable -- and wealthy -- consumers are helping to fuel demand. China was one of the few countries last year where gold demand was largely undented by a rise in prices to a 25-year peak.

The Shanghai fair showcased upwards of 400 million yuan ($50 million) worth of jewellery.

Many pieces were encrusted with diamonds, and retailers said they hoped to make the stones outshine traditional yellow gold and jade jewellery, which is favored by older Chinese consumers as gifts for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations.

Diamond sales are mainly driven by young Chinese and got an added boost from a reduction in value-added tax on imported diamonds last year, jewelers said.

Song Hong, operations director of Shenzhen Gem Jewelry Co., said her company planned to expand across China to cash in on the rising income of young professionals.

"The development of the diamond jewellery industry has been going on for the last decade," she said.

"Now, everyone has developed a broadened view of what they see as beautiful. So as incomes rise, it is enough to support the consumption of such luxury items."

($1=7.7 yuan)