U.S. Consumers Unaware of Conflict Diamonds

150 150 Rapaport News

(Rapaport…October 24, 2000) MVI Pulse ™, MVI Marketing Ltd.’s new internet based data collection and analysis service, has completed a research report on conflict diamonds.

Data was collected between October 20 and 23 using email responses to an online questionnaire about conflict diamonds. An estimated 300 consumers of all ages, household incomes and varying geographic locations were questioned.

The research showed that a majority of U.S. consumers have not heard of the term “conflict diamonds.” A majority of them indicated, though, that if they were aware that a particular diamond came from a conflict area, they would not buy it.

Key findings showed that:

 93 percent of respondents had never heard the term “conflict diamonds;

 76 percent would not buy a diamond or diamond jewelry if they knew it came from a country where social injustice was occurring as a consequence of its production;

 The five most significant factors in a consumer purchasing decision included price, authenticity, quality, setting and durability;

 Country of origin is not a significant factor in purchase decision;

 Only 9 percent of consumers surveyed recognized Angola as a source of diamonds found in U.S. retail outlets.