Jared is introducing a collection called Storied Diamond Desert Sands of Eternity, which offers consumers extensive information about the production of their diamond.
All Storied gemstones come from Botswana and are sold with QR codes that will unlock “about 40 data points about the diamond,” Claudia Cividino, president of Signet-owned Jared, tells JCK.
“They map the journey of the guest’s natural diamond—not just a natural diamond but their diamond—from the mine in Botswana to their finger,” she says. “[Buyers will] see the diamond in its rough state, they’ll see its mapping within the rough, they’ll see it transformed from rough into polished.
“They’ll be taken through how the diamond changes both in terms of its weight and size. They’ll see its country of origin, the design of the diamond, all the way through the setting, the GIA certification on color and clarity, and they will learn about the socioeconomic impact that it has had in Botswana.”
To tout the new line, Jared is releasing a 20-minute documentary, A Diamond Is Born, from Luc Jacquet, the Oscar-winning director of March of the Penguins. The film will be posted on Jared’s social channels and will have its world premiere in New York City on Wednesday night. (You can see an excerpt here.)
“We wanted to bring something to market that was part educational, part art,” Cividino says. “You learn about the Okavango Delta in the film, you see pictures of Botswana. We didn’t tell Luc what to do, but he really interpreted the subject in such a beautiful way.
“We talk a lot about natural diamonds in the film and the journey that a diamond goes through,” she says. “We have found that consumers are not so well-versed about natural diamonds. The ‘blood diamond’ narrative is still in their subconscious mind.”
Storied Diamond will be touted in by actress Antonia “Toni” Gentry, star of the Netflix series Ginny & Georgia.
“She is the face of this collection and this film,” Cividino says. “She’s very passionate about natural diamonds. She’s also passionate about doing good, and when she understood the impact natural diamonds have on the ground, specifically in Botswana, she was very interested in engaging with us. We’ve created a beautiful campaign with her.”
While there’s long been debate over whether customers care about diamond origin, initial reaction has been strong, according to Cividino.
“What we know about Jared consumers is that they over-index in their care for the environment and sustainability,” she says. “Now, of course, not every customer cares, and motivations for making purchasing decisions are very different from one customer to the next. We have 237 stores across the country, and we sell tons of customers annually. We’re blessed to serve a very diverse customer base. Nothing is true for everybody, but for those who care about sustainability we wanted to say, ‘You can count on us.’”
Cividino adds: “What we’re doing with Storied Diamond is really the starting point. My vision is that in the future every natural diamond at Jared will be completely traceable from its origin.”
Storied sounds similar to the Origin brand De Beers is introducing this fall, but Cividino says that “it was important to us to do our proprietary version,” which uses a digital tracking program developed by Jared, rather than De Beers’ Tracr.
The Storied collection will predominantly feature engagement rings but will also include semi-mounts, anniversary bands, loose stones, and select fashion pieces. Prices range from $1,700 to $22,999.
Jared is considered Signet’s “affordable luxury” brand, and therefore it is “natural-leaning,” Cividino says, but she notes Jared will still continue to stock lab-grown diamonds, including in engagement rings.
“We see lab-growns as a category expander,” she says. “It’s not the story we’re telling right now. We’re telling a natural story, and we think that has particular resonance in an engagement journey. But we still have customers that request [lab-grown engagement rings] and we want to serve you whatever your needs are.”
Top: Actress Antonia Gentry in advertising for Jared’s Storied Diamond Diamond Desert Sands of Eternity (photos courtesy of Jared)
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