Millennial vs. Gen Z Jewelry Style & Shopping Habits
As a millennial, I remember growing up and telling my parents “gosh, you’re such a boomer.” Things have come full circle, with my kids telling me “ew, millennial style is so skibidi” (whatever that means?).
It’s inevitable that as time goes on, each generation has their own slang, style, and purchasing habits, and this certainly extends to jewelry. Millennials and Gen Z have some similarities, but the world that Gen Z is growing up in is so different that there are bound to be some stark differences as well. Jewelry style and purchasing habits have evolved over the past generation, so in order to keep up with the trends, let’s compare and contrast!
Before we dive in, let’s remind ourselves of the two groups we’re talking about. Millennials (also known as Generation Y) were born between 1981 and 1996 and grew up during the early rise of the digital age, specifically internet and cell phones. Many of them remember sharing a family computer, talking on landlines with the phone cord wrapped around their fingers, and waiting several minutes for dial-up internet to connect to AOL. These experiences shaped their shopping habits. While they enjoy the convenience of online shopping, many Millennials also feel nostalgic about traditional, in-person shopping experiences.
Generation Z was born between 1997 and 2012, which means it has only ever known a world filled with digital technology. This generation grew up with smartphones, iPads, and instant access to the internet. Social media has been a huge part of their lives from a young age, and they use platforms like TikTok and Instagram to communicate with each other as opposed to calling or texting. Gen Z prefers to shop almost exclusively online, where they can easily discover trends and make purchases directly through social media.
While it may seem that these generations are far apart in terms of style and habits, it’s not necessarily the case in all aspects. Let’s check out some similarities:
- Personalization: Millennials and Gen Z both prefer to purchase items–including jewelry–that are personal to them in order to showcase their personality. Examples of such items are name or initial necklaces, birthstone jewelry, engraved items, etc. This personalization trend all started with class rings, which you can customize with the stone of your choice, your name, clubs you’ve joined, your graduation year, and other endless possibilities. This type of customization led the way to these generations having the desire to create unique jewelry to represent their individual style.
- Ethical Jewelry: As time goes on and more information is available about how things are sourced and produced, it makes sense that people would consider these factors when making purchasing decisions. At the same time, anything that may affect the health of our planet is also called into question, so consumers in both Gen Z and Gen Y are becoming more eco-conscious, focusing on sustainability and ethics. For jewelry, this translates into several things: purchasing jewelry with ethically sourced materials, such as diamonds from sources that adhere to the Kimberley Process, or jewelers that recycle their gold. Lab grown diamonds have also increased in popularity due to the fact that they do not affect the climate like mining natural diamonds. Another trend is estate jewelry, where consumers are purchasing jewelry that has been previously owned, and which is also a way for trends to be recycled throughout the generations.
- Purchasing Habits: Both Millennials and Gen Z make a good majority of their purchases online. Influenced by social media ads and influencers on Instagram and TikTok, which both now have a shopping option, it’s easy to purchase directly from a social media post. Jewelry companies are following in the footsteps of clothing companies by having their jewelry easily accessible via these platforms, increasing the probability that people will make an impromptu purchase.
Despite their similarities, there are also inherent ways that Millennials and Gen Z differ in terms of style and purchasing habits.
- Style: Millennials grew up in a world of color and that translated into jewelry trends as well. Mood jewelry, best friend necklaces, and yin/yang symbols were all the rage in the early 90’s. This was also a time where yellow gold was very unpopular, so as Millennials aged, they tended to still lean towards white gold and silver style jewelry. The traditional style jewelry that Millennials saw their Boomer parents wearing bled into their style, so diamond engagement rings (a large proportion of which were halo designs) and eternity bands became a staple for Millennial style, with the hope that they could be passed down to future generations.
Gen Z, being younger and having less disposable income, tend to purchase lower value items that can be discarded if the trend changes too quickly. Since Gen Z is still fairly young, the majority of this generation hasn’t gone through marriage or other milestone events quite yet. As a result, it’s still unknown how their jewelry habits will translate into engagement rings and wedding bands. If things continue as they are currently trending, we can expect Gen Z to lean towards yellow gold engagement rings with colored gemstone or pearl center stones.
As we’ve known for some time, the world is changing at a fast rate. With those changes come differences between generations–differences in communication, slang, style, shopping habits, and more. While Millennials and Gen Z share some similarities in all of these aspects, they also have some very distinct differences. Soon it’ll be time to compare and contrast Gen Z and Generation Alpha (born 2010 - 2024), and I’m sure they’ll also have some similarities, but with the increasing rate at which technology is advancing, we can expect to notice some very discernable differences.