While compiling the top 20 most popular articles on JCKonline in 2011, I not only noticed a story on yellow diamonds was the most trafficked story on our website for the year, but that all our stories on colored diamonds tended to generate impressive traffic and commentary.
I reached out to JCK readers to better understand the popularity of colorful diamond bling.
Mike Derby of Focus Business Management Institute believes the focus on celebrity culture is a factor in the popularity of colored diamonds. “I think that the fascination that people currently have with the yellow diamonds is because of the fact that several noted celebrities have been spotted wearing them at award ceremonies and events,” he says. “It seems that, just as with the craze that followed the Princess Diana ring, the same is happening with yellow diamonds.”
Jim Matero, FocusBMI’s recently hired consultant, really enjoyed selling yellow diamonds at his store Jaymark Jewelers in Cold Springs, N.Y. “I found that the yellow diamond is an unique product, which gave me the flexibility to gain an increased margin on the product, because it was far more difficult for a consumer to shop around,” he says.
“People are fascinated with the rare and exotic,” says Jim Sweaney, owner and master jeweler/designer of Mardon Jewelers in Riverside, Calif. “Colored diamonds are a favorite vehicle for celebrities and super wealthy folks to invest capital and to show off—humans like to have the one thing no one else has.”
Sweaney also says that yellow and brown diamonds are popular because many are within the reach of everyday consumers, while pink and blue diamonds are “astronomically expensive.”
“I think the celebrity trends made [colored diamonds] more popular to the public, but I’m fascinated by the rarity of them,” said Rachel Graff, one of JCK’s Facebook followers. “They are beautiful, with colors that are hypnotizing.”
“I learned about pink diamonds in the colored gemstone class I took for GIA and have wanted one ever since,” commented Bead Lovers Korner on Facebook. “Plus commercials for chocolate diamonds make that seem like a must have!”
Jonathan Green of AAA Gold & Jewelry in Plant City, Fla., tells me that yellow diamonds are making a big impact on diamond sales. “It’s something different. People like different,” he says.
After talking to me, Green called up his diamond supplier and ordered a couple of blue and green diamonds and made plans to experiment mounting them in different settings. He says he thinks the blues will do well, but that the greens mounted on 14k white gold might be a tougher sell. “It’s like peridot, it’s hit or miss on whether people like it or not,” he says. “People like the blues. I’ve done well with them in the past.”
Here’s what some of my Twitter followers had to say:
@danielfford I think that’s been building for years but still relatively novel for most people. So there’s a sense of rarity and newness
— WendyBrandes (@WendyBrandes) Jan. 13, 2012
@danielfford @OpenStudioCoach Because Tiffany & Co. made a major investment in them, and is promoting them heavily.
— Peggy Jo Donahue (@peggyjodonahue) Jan. 13, 2012
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