The Road to Happiness is Paved in Diamonds

For at least the past 5 years, jewelry designers have been sneaking small diamonds into unexpected places on engagement rings.  I think it started with the vintage-style designers like Jack Kelege and Michael Beaudry, who used accent diamonds and hand engraving to create new Estate-looking rings. 

In the past year or so, it has reached a peak of covering basically every metal surface with glittering diamonds.  Driving this trend is customer’s desire for maximum bang for the buck, coupled with recent technology that has allowed very small diamonds to be cut with relative precision, and then be set in tiny metal beads, called micro-pave, where the surface is literally “paved” in diamonds.  Done well, it’s a stunning look.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Hearts on Fire

Amden Design

Erica Courtney Design

Norman Silverman Design

Internet Jewelry Buying–Are We There Yet?

A new survey released from Ad-ology Research offers some interesting insight into consumer influences of jewelry and watch purchases.  According to their survey, nearly half of survey respondents said that a manufacturer’s or retailer’s website influenced their purchase of jewelry or watches.  Especially effective were online videos, which for some watchmakers (check out a Tag Heuer video here) resemble mini-movies, combining entertainment with information (similar to BMW’s “movie” approach to marketing).  Online marketing seems to be moving that direction, and since 1 in 5 men ages 18-24 cite that those ads impacted their watch decision, I wouldn’t be surprised if more branded jewelry and watch manufacturers utilize it.

So consumers are using the Internet to research jewelry and watches online, and some online media really resonates.  What really struck me is that after researching online—and this is significant—nearly 84% of respondents said that they prefer to purchase from an offline store versus online.  I’m not totally surprised: jewelry is an expensive, infrequent purchase that requires some amount of trust in the transaction.  Some people just really want to see the sparkle and deal face-to-face.  Another factor could be the shopping experience itself: 63.5% of those surveyed said that store reputation (and 65.9% said the sales staff itself) was an important factor in their jewelry or watch purchase. 

It’s tempting to say that online shoppers are mostly looking for a deal and sensitive to price, but I think this survey shows that entertainment, experience, reputation and knowledge are important across the board.  I love looking at jewelry online, but it’s much better trying something on in person!  In future posts, I plan to review online websites to see who is trustworthy, and I will also offer some guidance to select an offline jeweler near you so that no matter what your buying philosophy is, you can make a great jewelry decision.

 

 

 

 

 

Markets Down…Diamonds Glitter

With the economic crises at hand, I figured this would be a timely place to start with my blog.  I’m taking a break from burying cash in my back yard in coffee cans (just kidding, I don’t have coffee cans) and daydreaming about taking cash and buying precious metals or stones. 

I read yesterday that DeBeers is touting diamonds as an investment strategy, you can see the video here.  DeBeers is urging retailers and manufacturers to communicate the ideas of “things that last, which are not disposable and which hold their value” directly to consumers.  This sounds good, since investors are obviously fleeing the stock market and real estate, and looking for something safe to put their money into.  Historically, jewels are one way that people all over the globe have passed down and transported their wealth.  They are small and portable, and retain some intrinsic value as something rare that comes from the ground.  I am currently trying to tell my husband that it makes sense to go ahead and buy that big diamond ring he’s been promising (so honey, please don’t read the next paragraph).

But there are issues with this reasoning, namely that jewelry in it’s finished form is not so liquid.  While there are many ways to buy it new, there are fewer options for selling second-hand.  There are auctions (on- and off-line), estate sales, pawn shops and other avenues, but most of those require quite a bit of effort for the seller, and net them less than the purchase price.  Also, the value usually rests more in the intrinsics of the piece (how much gold or platinum, the quality of the gems) versus the labor to create it, so you may not recoup much of the workmanship costs. 

Still, I think that there is something comforting about putting some wealth into jewelry.  Buy it like you would art or wine: buy what you love, and get the highest quality you can afford.  You will enjoy looking at it for a lifetime, it will probably hold it’s value, and someone will inherit it someday.