Lust for coloured gems proves that diamonds are not forever
DIAMONDS, in the words of one of the world’s most famous marketing slogans, are supposed to be forever.
But a growing fashion for engagement rings with coloured stones, such as rubies and emeralds, is threatening their pre-eminence.
When Frances Gerety, a young advertising copywriter, coined the “forever” slogan in 1947, she helped establish diamonds as a must-have accessory. That, coupled with the De Beers diamond company’s marketing campaign which invented the “rule” that a man ought to spend at least two months’ pay on his fiancée’s engagement ring, reinforced the cachet of diamonds as a gift of rare and eternal beauty.
But experts say that the rise of the Millennials, with their more cost-conscious and individualistic shopping habits, and their demands for ethical products, has led to diamonds losing their sparkle.
Research by insurance company Allianz shows that most men now fork out far less than two to three months’ pay on a stone, the average spend now being £573.
With cheaper emeralds and rubies growing in popularity, just one in five women can expect to receive a ring costing between £750 and £3,000, the study found.
Anusha Couttigane, a senior analyst at Kantar Retail, said: “A generation of marital-age people are now prioritising other things such as weddings, housing and the cost of having children, rather than splashing out on a really expensive ring.
“There is still a lot of demand for solitaire diamond rings, but there has been growth in non-traditional designs which use a range of cheaper, coloured stones too.”
At the same time tastes have changed, and coloured stones are seen as a more individualistic and distinctive alternative. Joanna Hardy, a jewellery expert for the BBC’s said: “The great thing about coloured stones is that you can buy something really fabulous looking, and most people will have no idea how much it cost. This is a big selling point for people who perhaps don’t have as much to spend.” Young people, says Ms Hardy, have a tendency to choose unique or unusual rings, which they see as reflecting their personality. Ethical shopping has also dented the market for the traditional rock, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s film alerting consumers to the human cost of diamond-mining and the conflicts that the trade fuels. Jewellers, including the highend designer Chopard, are now promoting “traceable” emeralds. In 2013 Chopard launched its “Green Carpet Collection”, the first highend jewellery range made with Fairmined gold and ethically sourced diamonds. More recently it has partnered with Gemfields, whose Zambian emeralds were worn by Julianne Moore at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Meanwhile, the growing number of second marriages has led to a boom in secondhand and antique rings, which tend to be around half the price of new.
The number of marriages has been rising since 2013, partly due to a growing number of couples in their late fifties and sixties getting hitched for a second or third time.
A spokesman for John Lewis said: “Second-hand engagement rings are increasing in popularity, particularly with people getting married later in life, or for the second time. They are often looking for a simple design having chosen a large stone, or statement ring the first time.”
Sloane Square-based jewellery designer Kiki McDonough, added: “There is a huge trend to choose coloured stones for an engagement ring, particularly for second-time marriages as people are looking for something totally different.”
Perhaps it’s just as well. The supply of new diamonds – formed more than a billion years ago by huge geological forces beneath the earth’s surface – is expected to peak in the next few years, before it starts to decline. Diamonds, it seems, really aren’t forever.