A new survey has shown that the number of women buying jewellery for themselves is increasing.

According to the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council (JCOC), over 70 per cent of consumers surveyed have bought jewellery for themselves, with 80 per cent of the responses coming from women.

Platinum jewellers could seek out new opportunities from the growing trend, with experts recommending companies use advertising to specifically target self-buyers, according to Professional Jeweler.

Additional figures in the survey of 3,391 people showed that 15 per cent plan to buy themselves fine jewellery within the next six months.

Findings also indicated that people often purchase jewellery for themselves just because they see something they like or because they are already out shopping for jewellery as a gift for others.

Destini Gillham, JCOC market research manager, said: "The self-purchase is a prime marketing target for retailers. Ads need to appeal to consumers who are shopping for themselves for no special reason other than they love beautiful jewellery."

According to Ms Gillham self-purchasers want the finer items, so precious metals such as platinum are likely to be a popular choice.

The results follow recent findings that the amount people are now spending on jewellery is on the increase, with consumers in the US spending $57.4 billion on watch and jewellery purchases last year.

With platinum becoming an increasingly popular metal for bridal jewellery and women also seen to be the ones who pick their own rings, jewellers now have a number of key self-purchasing opportunities to run with.