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‘A diamond is forever.” So read a 1940s ad for De Beers. It was part of the diamond company’s crusade to boost sales by convincing the American public that an engagement ring, by definition, featured a diamond, something that historically hadn’t been the case.
It “was an act of marketing genius,” says James B. Twitchell, an advertising professor and the author of “Twenty Ads That Shook the World.”
“As long as men are horny and clueless, the campaign is forever.”
Today, wedding jewelry is an $11 billion industry, and 93 percent of engagement rings have a diamond front and center, according to The Knot Market Intelligence 2011 Engagement & Jewelry Study.
But while De Beers may have succeeded in convincing much of the American public that diamond engagement rings are the thing, more distinctive rings — think colored stones, nontraditional metals, vintage details — are a growing trend, challenging the 1-carat, round-cut diamond standard.
“People like to be unique, nobody likes the old-fashioned anymore,” says Jelena Behrend, a jewelry designer with a Lower East Side studio.
Couples are also spending less. According to The Knot survey, the average price of an engagement ring in 2011 was $5,130, down from $5,861 in 2008.
But the move toward less traditional rings isn’t just economics, it’s also a matter of couples increasingly picking out the big ring together, freeing them to choose something that reflects their personal tastes. Nearly one-third of couples nationwide shopped together in 2011, according to The Knot, and some local jewelers say that number is closer to one-half for NYC couples.
“I think people are more willing to embrace that they may not fit typical standards,” says Jennie Fiske, manager of the ring department at the Clay Pot, a Park Slope jewelry store. “A lot of it has to do with the wealth of options out there.” Here are some of them.
heber@nypost.com
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