THE NATURAL DIAMOND COUNCIL on Tuesday released its Holiday Trend Report, which will be supported with social media and advertising efforts beginning in late October in an effort to drive consumer holiday spending on diamonds.
The four trends to be promoted include high-octane color, precious and personal, statement earrings, and organic and earthy commitment rings.
The organization, formerly known as the Diamond Producers Association and rebranded in June, represents seven of the world’s leading diamond producers.
The impetus behind the trend reports is to offer the consumer a reason to update her jewelry collection with every season, just as she is accustomed to doing with her wardrobe and accessories, says Kristina Buckley Kayel, managing director of the NDC. The target audience for natural diamond jewelry is 21 to 45-year-olds with a minimum household income of $75,000.
The report’s emphasis is on incorporating everyday diamonds into the consumer’s daily wardrobe, to illustrate versatility in price points and to appeal to multiple customer segments as the holidays approach.
“It’s about finding those fun pieces and mixing it up with what you already have,” says Jill Newman, editor at large for the NDC’s Style Collective.
Advertisement
Newman says the holiday trends identified in the report will resonate with people because they exemplify energy and joy during a time when both are so important. “Gifts and pieces people bought during this time will be even more meaningful over time,” she says. “They will remember those moments.”
Here is a description of the four trends:
Neon ring top left: EF Collection; neon rings bottom and right: Melissa Kaye
High-octane color. These designs pair diamonds with bright (or even neon) ceramic or enamel for an unexpected look that is playful and contemporary and a departure from pairing diamonds with colored gemstones. A very fresh and informal look, it is available in a wide range of price points, depending on the size of diamonds used in the design.
“J” signet ring: Jennifer Zeuner; layered pendants: Single Stone
Precious and personal. This is a fresh take on initial jewelry and empowering words like “love” “hope” and “laugh” rendered in diamonds. Diamond initials have evolved to be big and bold in pendants, but are also available in subtler, traditional forms, such as reimagined signet rings.
Advertisement
Lorraine Schwartz
The statement earring. Trend forecasters expect women to pair high-watt diamond earrings with T-shirts or luxurious knit turtlenecks this holiday season, when accessories take center stage at Zoom get-togethers and diamonds light up the face like nothing else. Styles range from chandelier styles with a lot of graceful movement to edgier ear cuffs.
Sylva & Cie
Organic and earthy commitment rings. This trend covers organic cuts, as well as darker, included diamonds and rough-cut diamonds, and is described as a beautifully non-traditional take on a diamond ring. It appeals to individualists who like a less sparkly, understated look, or who want a larger diamond that is both unusual and more affordable. It can also be accented with a halo of white diamonds. In addition, it might be an option for women in search of a second, alternative ring.
The report was compiled by NDC’s Style Collective, a team that includes Newman as well as Will Kahn, stylis of the report; Paul Schneider, founder of TWIST; Cristina Ehrlich, celebrity stylist and Rachel Garrahan, British Vogue’s jewelry and watch director.
During the Emmy Awards broadcast on Sept. 20, the NDC launched a global campaign featuring Ana de Armas called Moments Like No Other with a 30-second commercial. Some of the looks presented in that campaign revolve around the themes: symbolic and sentimental, layered necklaces, mismatched earrings, casual Gypsy-set rings, and a movement in commitment rings toward diamonds set in an east-west orientation.
Advertisement
Currently, the consumer-facing website naturaldiamonds.com is receiving tens of thousands of visitors daily, says Buckley Kayel. But as the advertising campaign evolves between now and spring 2021, the NDC is confident that the number of visitors will increase to hundreds of thousands daily.
By the end of the year, she says, the Council will begin working on a trend report for spring/summer 2021, which will be coordinated with the industry to provide ample time to prepare merchandise, to buy it, and to stand behind those trends with marketing. “We will use the spring/summer trend report as inspiration for our global campaign next year,” Buckley Kayel says.
For more information about the holiday trend report, visit naturaldiamonds.com/council.
