As economy loses lustre, Japanese swap gems for yen

New York

DIAMONDS are not necessarily forever. At least not in Japan, where jewellery owners are unloading unwanted jewels for cash at a record pace and shipping them off to buyers in China and India.

The appeal of gem-encrusted rings and earrings that were part of the luxury fashions of the 1980s and 1990s has faded as the population ages and the economy languishes. In a country that does not have any mines and was the second largest buyer less than a decade ago, exports of used diamonds are up 77 per cent this year, Ministry of Finance data show.