USA : Diamond sales up more than 75% at Amazon

Amazon.com Inc announced third-quarter 2007 diamond sales increased more than 75 percent year-over-year. Each quarter, an increasing number of Amazon.com's millions of customers are shopping the Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches store, especially for important gift-giving occasions such as the holidays and Valentine's Day.

"Buying diamonds online, whether it be a ring, a pair of studs, or a pendant is a very important purchase," said Peter Lai, director, Amazon.com Jewelry & Watches Store. "At Amazon.com we pride ourselves on offering our customers nothing but the highest-quality diamond products at the lowest prices with an easy and convenient experience."

Selection for Amazon.com's diamond jewelry collection expanded with 2,269 new styles launching in the third quarter, including an extensive number of styles of the black diamond collection. Top-sellers included a pair of 2-carat black diamond studs, the white gold Journey Curve 1/2-carat pendant and the yellow gold Journey Curve 2-carat pendant.

Gemstones were very popular with Amazon customers in the third quarter. Over 240 new styles launched, including the top-selling white gold ruby and 2-carat diamond ring, a 14k white gold pink sapphire and diamond bracelet and 14k yellow gold four-prong round peridot stud earrings.

Amazon.com's Jewelry & Watches Store currently offers over 100,000 diamond jewelry and watch items, including 5,000 diamond watches, 16,000 pairs of diamond earrings, 22,000 diamond necklaces and 7,000 bracelets, to name a few.

Every piece of jewelry sold by Amazon.com is inspected by jewelry professionals to verify quality attributes and ensure an excellent product. Customers can read detailed product specifications about each of the piece's components, including gemstones, settings and metal stamps. A Learning Center provides buying guides for pearls, diamonds, precious metals and watches. Loose stones are independently certified to be a specific cut, clarity, color, shape and weight. Finally, the store provides all of the tools and helpful information that Amazon.com customers know and love, such as Customer Reviews, Top Sellers lists, So You'd Like To guides and Listmania lists.

Amazon.com Inc