10x

Forevermark ‘pops up’ in NYC

This week in New York, De Beers held a “pop-up” sale for its Forevermark diamond brand in conjunction with GiltCity and Long Island couture retailer London Jewelers.

For those of you who don’t know, pop-up events are a trendy new type of sale held by a specific brand that take place in a random space (not the brand’s store) for a short period of time (in Forevermark’s case, one day) and then disappear as quickly as they popped up.

Members of GiltCity, a private sale site that focuses on selling tickets to events and experiences in 10 major metropolitan areas worldwide, purchased tickets to the Forevermark pop-up party for $35. Once there, GiltCity members took the Forevermark Diamond Masterclass, which I took in London, and then had the chance to browse and shop the brand. 

So, just who is De Beers reaching by going through GiltCity? The young, upwardly mobile, potential self-purchasers every retailer should be trying to get into their store.

According to Gilt demographics provided to National Jeweler, the average age of their customer is 20 to 39 and the gender breakdown is 70 percent female/30 percent male. A whopping 70 percent of those using the site have a household income of $100,000 a year or more.

It’s the perfect group to introduce to diamond jewelry and the perfect way to engage them: through a private sale site offering a limited-time event, both of which are extremely popular right now.

De Beers may no longer be the biggest diamond company in the world anymore but the firm that came up with “A Diamond Is Forever” still knows a thing or two about marketing.

Keeping it real

A number of creative advertising campaigns have emerged in the jewelry industry lately that share a similar theme: companies eschewing the use of models and orchestrated photo shoots in favor of using their customers to represent their product.

Bridal brand Ritani has its “Real Moments” campaign, in which it asks its customers to submit photos of themselves wearing Ritani jewelry for a chance to be featured in the brand’s national advertising campaign.

The campaign also has a smart social marketing twist. The contest is held through Ritani’s Facebook page. Anybody that wants to enter must first “like” Ritani; in this way, the contest serves as a driver of Facebook traffic and “fans” for the brand on the social networking site.

Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier also went the real route for its 2011-2012 advertising campaign. It is centered around the theme “seaside living in the Hamptons” and is intended to convey the Baume motto, “Life is about moments.”

For the ads, Baume & Mercier skipped models and opted instead to hire a professional photographer to shoot real families interacting on the beach in East Hampton, N.Y. A movie of the campaign and a “making of” video are available on Baume & Mercier’s Web site. (I don’t think the song used in the videos really fits the theme or the setting but the making of video is a nice peek behind the scenes.)

Most recently, retailer Robbins Brothers announced the launch of its “Share the Love” campaign. They’re asking people to submit fantastic proposal videos for the chance to win $1,000 and be featured in the next Robbins Brothers’ commercial.

This is not the first time Robbins Brothers has reached out its customer base to cast its commercials. Back in 2009, they did a video-submission marketing campaign called “Welcome to the Rest of Your Life” and eventually made TV commercials out of a montage of video submissions strung together. You can see the commercials--and all the online chatter they generated--here on YouTube.

Tracey Lyles, media services manager for the Azusa, Calif.-based chain, said the reason the retailer is asking people to Share and then giving them a starring role in their commercial: “The advantages of using customers in our commercials is that it’s more relatable for the viewing audience.”

It’s true that featuring “real” people -- people you might work alongside, ride the bus with or see everyday in your neighborhood Starbucks -- has wide appeal.

I remember one of my journalism school professors telling us what the most popular magazine in the world was: People. Why? The professor explained that it’s because people like seeing pictures of and reading about other people, period, and not just famous folks but regular, everyday people like themselves.

One also would have to assume that, in most cases, these companies are saving themselves money by forgoing paid models and elaborate photo shoots. It’s a smart way to go in an uncertain economy and a great example of how to utilize the advantages the Internet has to offer.

Tracking down the Taylor-Burton

The March death of screen stunner, fervent AIDS activist and jewelry collector Elizabeth Taylor turned my thoughts to one of the most astonishing stones to pass through this star’s hands--the 69.42-carat, pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond.

Before I even started working on this blog, I had an idea that this diamond no longer was in Taylor’s collection and thus wouldn’t be part of the December auction of her pieces, which is bound to include some incredible items given the Oscar winner’s well-documented love affair with jewelry.

Still, I was curious what happened to this headline-making stone and, while I didn’t get a definitive answer, the research was well worth it. The who’s who of who had their hands on this diamond reads like the guest list at a very posh, and very exclusive, industry party.

According to Famous Diamonds by Ian Balfour--one of the best books I inherited when I started at National Jeweler about four years ago--the stone that eventually came to be known as the Taylor-Burton diamond emerged from the Premier Mine in 1966. The famous diamantaire Harry Winston himself had it cleaved from 240.80-carat piece of rough.

Harriet Annenberg Ames, sister of media mogul Walter Annenberg, bought it from Winston. (Annenberg seemingly spent his life surrounded by jewelry-loving women who weren’t afraid of a little self purchase. His wife, Leonore “Lee” Annenberg, bought herself a 32.01-carat D-flawless diamond ring on her 90^th birthday in 2008. She died the following year at the age of 91, and Christie’s sold her stone, the “Annenberg Diamond” for an incredible $7.7 million.)

In 1967, Ames sent the pear-shaped stone to Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc. in New York for auction. Cartier paid $1.05 million for the diamond at that auction and sold it to Burton for $1.1 million four days later, Balfour notes in his book. Taylor, in turn, sold the stone 11 years later, in 1978, two years after the end of her second marriage to Burton.

In Famous Diamonds, the Taylor-Burton trail ends in 1979, with New York jeweler Henry Lambert buying the diamond for about $3 million and selling it by the end of the year, with the diamond “last reported to be in Saudi Arabia.”

Further research, though, revealed that it was Robert Mouawad who scooped up the stone in 1979, with a number of sources indicating that he had the stone re-cut to 68 carats. During his lifetime, the Lebanese diamond dealer has had his hands on many of the world’s most renowned diamonds, including the 69.68-carat pear-shaped Excelsior I, the 245.35-carat antique cushion-cut Jubilee and the Premier Rose, a 137.02-carat pear-shaped diamond.

Today, Mouawad no longer owns the Taylor-Burton, a spokesperson confirmed to National Jeweler. She said Mouawad sold the Taylor-Burton to a private collector, though the company declined to reveal when the stone was sold or give any specifics on the seller.

While I’m fairly certain this pear-shaped stunner won’t be making an appearance at the auction of Taylor’s jewelry slated for later this year, it’s likely to pop up again on the auction market at some point in time.

Famous diamonds always do.

Celebrity Jewelry Gawk™ - Red carpet rocks

Sleek and sophisticated, celebrities set the stage for style with their red carpet jewelry. Beyonce (below) sparkled in a platinum, diamond and ruby Lorraine Schwartz necklace and matching earrings while she performed during the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show in New York.



True Blood actress Brit Morgan wore a wide diamond and gold circular cuff (below, $16,000) by Neil Lane to the premiere of the show in Los Angeles this month.


Actress Katie Cassidy (below) wore Kabana’s 14-karat yellow gold earrings with bronze mother of pearl ($434) to a Los Angeles event.





First lady Michelle Obama (below) accessorized with Phillips Frankel for her visit with Queen Elizabeth II. The earrings are made in 14-karat gold with amazonite and ruby ($2,570).





Ashanti (below) donned M.C.L. by Matthew Campbell Laurenza to an event in California. The singer chose the moonstone bangle ($2,370, below, top), the black sapphire bangle ($4,940, below, center) and the multi-pearl pave black sapphire bangle ($2,695, below, bottom).








Actress Fran Drescher wore Marina B Vertigo white gold and sapphire earrings (below) during her appearance on Good Morning America.

Camila Alves (below) accessorized with assorted Arunashi gold bangles ($3,000 - $10,000) and a 14-karat yellow gold handmade citrine and diamond Adeler ring ($5,690, below, bottom) for a 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival opening night premiere.





True Blood actress Rutina Wesley (below) donned Amrapali black and white agate earrings with diamonds ($15,330) to a premiere of the show in Los Angeles.




A pregnant Jessica Alba (below) wore Isharya flower cluster white pearl earrings with turquoise ($125) and a Victor Velyan apatite 24-karat silver stackable bracelet ($4,550) to the Los Angeles launch of a new children’s book.