(NEW YORK) May 23, 2012 — Ultra-wealthy U.S. shoppers with at least $200,000 per year in household income and minimum net worth of $5 million rank U.K.-based Graff Diamonds highest among 22 luxury jewelers in the 2012 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey by the independent and objective New York-based Luxury Institute. LBSI scores comprise respondents’ evaluations of each brand’s products, customer service experience and reputation.
With the top overall LBSI score of 7.98 out of 10, Graff ranks first on brand reputation and product quality considerations, scoring highest in evaluations of materials and craftsmanship.
Graff is also the brand that pentamillionaires are most likely to deem worthy of charging premium prices, followed by fellow U.K. jeweler, Asprey, and Japanese pearl specialist, Mikimoto. Asprey (7.82) and Mikimoto (7.77) also rank second and third, respectively, in overall LBSI scores.
Top luxury jewelers serve an exclusive clientele. Just 1% of pentamillionaires have purchased one of Graff’s diamonds in the past 12 months, 3% have shopped Asprey and 4% have purchased from Mikimoto. Tiffany & Co. is the most popular luxury jeweler: 13% of ultra-wealthy shoppers made a blue box purchase in the past year; 75% plan to buy Tiffany goods in the coming year.
“Quality in craftsmanship and materials are primary considerations for any luxury goods brand, but especially so in jewelry,” says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. “The top-ranked jewelers also pay attention to delivering an outstanding customer experience to create true brand value and a competitive advantage.”
Survey participants reported average income of $682,000 and average net worth of $14.6 million.
About Luxury Institute (www.LuxuryInstitute.com)
The Luxury Institute is the objective and independent global voice of the high net-worth consumer. The Institute conducts extensive and actionable research with wealthy consumers about their behaviors and attitudes on customer experience best practices. In addition, we work closely with top-tier luxury brands to successfully transform their organizational cultures into more profitable customer-centric enterprises. Our Luxury CRM Culture consulting process leverages our fact-based research and enables luxury brands to dramatically Outbehave as well as Outperform their competition. The Luxury Institute also operates LuxuryBoard.com, a membership-based online research portal, and the Luxury CRM Association, a membership organization dedicated to building customer-centric luxury enterprises.