Generation Jewelry

When Ellen Fruchtman, president and CEO of Fruchtman Marketing in Toledo, OH, founded her jewelry-focused retail strategy firm in 1981, jewelry buyers fell into one of two buckets: bridal shoppers and “other.” 

“There wasn’t a huge amount of talk of so many generations and the way they think and the way they buy,” Fruchtman, 71, said on a recent call from her home in Rancho Mirage, CA, where she and her husband recently relocated. “When we started, it was ‘everyone loves fine jewelry’ and we just have to find the right message for this younger demographic looking for bridal.” 

Back then, the Baby Boomers — Fruchtman’s own generation, born between 1946 and 1964 — were just beginning to flex their economic muscle. They would, over the next few decades, give rise to a whole industry of consultants specializing in generational marketing. Among them was Brent Green, founder of Brent Green & Associates in Denver, who has been focused on Boomer behavior since the early ’80s. “We looked at what I call ‘collective mentalities,’” Green said. “Ways of looking at the world through a similar filter.” 

Despite the backlash against generational labels today, the notion that birth era influences consumer behavior — at least when it comes to jewelry collecting — remains relevant. Jewelry, after all, has always been more than adornment; it is a cultural artifact, a marker of status, a tangible piece of memory, and a totem of identity. To understand how different generations approach collecting is to understand not just their taste, but their worldview.

The Silent Generation: Scarcity and Symbolism 

Born before 1945, the Silent Generation came of age during the Great Depression and World War II. “They were shaped by scarcity and making prudent, practical choices so they chose jewelry to symbolize,” said Maddy Dychtwald, co-founder of AgeWave, a firm that tracks demographic and aging trends. 

Today, for the generation whose earliest experiences with jewelry were limited to engagement rings, lockets and simple gold wedding bands, the idea of jewelry as an investment — both financial and emotional — is ingrained.  

Which isn’t to say that members of this cohort don’t care about personal style. Consider Iris Apfel, the geriatric fashion influencer who died in 2024 at the age of 102. A maximalist who favored oversized glasses, colorful patterns and piles of accessories, Apfel embodied a personal philosophy — “More is more and less is a bore” — that continues to resonate with many women of her generation. 

“What I’ve noticed with older women is that they like wearing one powerful piece of jewelry that makes a statement,” Dychtwald said. “It really is an identity shaper. Maybe it’s a big diamond, or a big piece of turquoise jewelry, but each of those things is about self-expression.  

“Unless people are very young, the idea that jewelry tells a story is meaningful for all generations,” Dychtwald added. 

Boomers: Jewelry as Legacy 

Having come of age during the postwar economic boom, Boomers, who number some 69 million people today, developed an appetite for luxury as reward, as well as a symbol of permanence. They were also shaped by the birth of the environmental movement, which made them acutely aware of “health, sustainability and making a statement that is socially conscious,” Green said. 

Understanding Boomers today, he added, comes down to a single word: legacy. “As people grow older, they spend a lot of time thinking about how they can leave a legacy to their children,” Green said. “That rings very true with Baby Boomers. They can buy a piece of jewelry for themselves, whether it’s a bracelet or a watch, then hand it to their daughter or granddaughter. That way, it takes on much more meaning. It becomes a symbol of the family and family connections.” 

Classic pieces such as diamond tennis bracelets, Picchiotti sapphire rings and Mikimoto pearls appeal to Boomers’ sense of permanence. “For many families, our creations become treasured heirlooms, passed down as symbols of love, accomplishment and personal history,” Kentaro Nishimura, president & CEO of Mikimoto America, said. “In this way, Mikimoto doesn’t just create jewelry. We create keepsakes that connect families across time.” 

With Boomers controlling 50% of the nation’s household wealth, they can certainly afford to shop the heritage maisons — Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels — where prestige is built into the brand story. “People properly inspired will spend a lot of money,” Green said. He recalled a trip to Geneva, where a college roommate asked him to shop for a Patek Philippe timepiece for his son’s graduation from Stanford’s MBA program. “My roommate felt his son had earned that kind of a gift, and that it was something he would cherish when dad had left this mortal plane.” (Apparently, the brand’s famous “Generations” campaign — “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” — had done its job.) 

Gen X: Understated Success 

Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X is, at 66 million people, smaller than the Boomers, but wields significant economic power. “X is at the top of the corporate pyramid everywhere you turn,” Green said. In 2023, Gen Xers were responsible for 33.9% of the country’s spending, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet their approach to jewelry is subtler than their predecessors. 

For Gen X, jewelry often functions as status with restraint. Think Spinelli Kilcollin rings, minimalist David Yurman cuffs, or timepieces that whisper rather than shout. A Gen Xer may self-purchase a piece as a reward for hard work, but the piece will likely be versatile.  

Their signature quality? Practicality. Gen Xers tend to prefer investment pieces that align with their lifestyles as multitasking professionals and parents. They seek adornments that fit into their day-to-day lives without demanding too much attention. 

It is perhaps no coincidence that Gen Xers were raised on both the economic uncertainty of the 1970s and the go-go capitalism of the 1980s. The result is a generation that values security but avoids excess. Their jewelry reflects this balance. 

Millennials: Meaning and Mindfulness 

If Gen X leaned toward subtlety, Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, have embraced jewelry as both self-expression and ethical statement. Not only are they, at 74 million, the largest generation, they’re also the most likely to ask about sourcing, sustainability and the story behind a jewel’s creation. They may mix Van Cleef & Arpels bracelets with indie designers discovered on Instagram, or save for a custom-designed engagement ring set with an antique diamond (Swifties, we’re looking at you!). 

“My generation gathered china and sterling and entertained—we had crystal,” Fruchtman said. “My kids could care less about any of that. They do not live like that and they do not entertain like that. It’s unbelievable the differences. My daughters are like, ‘I’m in yoga pants all day. Where would I wear this?’” 

For Millennials, jewelry must fit seamlessly into everyday life. That is why pieces in the $1,000 to $3,500 range perform so well at retail. These jewels are wearable, versatile, often personalized and imbued with meaning. As Laryssa Wirstiuk, founder of Joy Joya Marketing, observed, Millennials often buy “to commemorate meaningful events or places or memories.” 

The COVID-19 crisis only deepened that tendency. “After the pandemic, people are getting pretty intentional with their spending,” Wirstiuk said.  

This focus on meaning dovetails with the generation’s values around experiences. A trip, a milestone, a memory — all can be crystallized in a jewel. That desire for uniqueness has fueled the custom jewelry market, where Millennials are eager to tweak designs to reflect their personalities without reinventing the wheel. “They want something uniquely their own, but they don’t actually want too much choice,” said Madeline Fraser, founder of Gemist, a digital custom jewelry platform. 

Gen Z: Content and Consumption 

Gen Z, the group born between 1997 and 2012, has never known a world without the internet, and for them, consumption and content are inextricably linked. 

“We’re a generation that, by and large, has an addiction to external validation,” said Ziad Ahmed, the 26-year-old head of next-gen at United Talent Agency. “We’re much more likely to watch a viral movie or a TikTok that we can participate in social conversation about. We’re showing that we’re in on the joke. In so many ways, Gen Z has really embodied this notion that we ourselves are brands. That we move through the world with a sense of consciousness as to, ‘What am I wearing? What does it say about me? How will this look on my Instagram stories?’” 

“There is no question that the content we are consuming has a profound impact on the way we live and the way we buy,” he added. 

That helps explain why TikTok-driven aesthetics — #coastalgrandmother, #Barbiecore, #mobwifeaesthetic, #sardinegirlsummer — have turned viral memes into jewelry trends. The platform is also filled with videos contrasting Millennial jewelry staples (halo engagement rings!) with Gen Z’s preference for thrifting, vintage and all things #grandmachic. 

Ahmed contextualized this mindset in history: “From an American context, we often think of Gen Z’s defining moments — the bookmarks of our adolescence — as 9/11 and COVID-19. You’re looking at a financial crisis in 2008. You’re looking at America engaging in almost continuous warfare. You’re looking at tremendous amounts of domestic and international turmoil. Every major institution that was meant to show up for us has failed us, lied to us or misguided us. And you’re looking at more awareness of that than ever before.” 

In such a time, jewelry becomes both indulgence and rebellion. “In an era where the world feels like it’s on fire, there is a sense that you might as well indulge,” Ahmed said. “You might as well get the thing and live the aspirational life that you’ve always wanted to because if tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, what’s the point of saving?” 

Thus, extremes coexist, often in the same outfit. “A person might wear something they got for $2 at a thrift store and something they got for $10,000 that they saved up for years to buy, and it all exists in tandem,” Ahmed said. “And that’s part of the story we’re telling about ourselves: that we are existing at these poles and navigating them all concurrently.” 

Shared Currents 

For all the focus on generational divides, however, the reality is more nuanced. “We’re all a lot more than just our generational identity,” Dychtwald said. “Decades ago it was equated with our brand choices but today it’s a lot more complex.” 

Ahmed echoed that sentiment. “I don’t take the position that Gen Z all wants to tell the same story. For some people, the story they want to tell is about status. For some people, it’s about nonconformity. For others, it’s about the emotions they’re feeling on that day, their ethnic roots or their regard for craftsmanship. For some people, it might be sustainability.” 

The collapse of the monoculture has only expedited that shift. “Historically, it was easier to say that people had a similar story they wanted to tell about themselves because they were all watching the same three channels on TV,” Ahmed said. “We are in a million different echo chambers and microcosms within social media such that we have different standards of excellence within the different contexts that we operate.” 

The rise of digital customization has further blurred generational lines. As Fraser noted, “Let’s give everyone credit here. We’re tech-savvy humans. We live in the 21st century.” 

From Silent Generation symbolism to Gen Z’s TikTok-fueled eclecticism, what ties all the cohorts together is a desire for jewelry to reflect their lives. Whether as heirloom, reward or identity statement, jewels have become extensions of personal narrative. And while the marketing language shifts with each generation, the impulse endures: to collect beauty, to anchor memory and to find meaning in tangible form.