In early February, we ran a story about a new program called Sustainable in Style. Created by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based diamond company Avilan, the program pairs independents designers–Sofia Kaman, Toby Pomeroy and Megan Thorne among them–with Avilan’s “eco ethical” Storied Diamonds, which are recycled, or previously owned, stones.
Recycled diamonds are a topic that have always interested me, and they have been in the news quite a bit lately.
Marianne Riou writes on the website for French diamond company Rubel & Ménashé that recycled diamonds are “increasingly on the agenda” in the U.S. market. National Jeweler’s own Brecken Branstrator reports on a new website that focuses on pre-owned engagement rings while IDEX Online’s Edahn Golan thinks the recycled diamond “party” is winding down at least “until the next major economic crash” (so ominous, Mr. Golan).
In the midst of all this, I received a call from a reporter for a major newspaper who informed me she was working on an article on the “trend” of more young people proposing with their great-aunts’ and grandparents’ engagement rings. The reasoning, she informed me, was because, basically, they were concerned about conflict diamonds and the “marketing tricks” associated with the stones.
[two_third]Now, this is not a blog about all the misconceptions about diamonds, how the industry should be doing more to promote its positive aspects, or how ridiculous the insinuation is that diamonds are the only products on earth sold via marketing. My colleagues have done a fine job of that lately, as pointed out by JCK’s Rob Bates in this recent blog. All the stories he links to are worthy of a read as well.[/two_third][one_third_last]
“[T]he insinuation that diamonds are the only products on earth sold via marketing [is ridiculous].”
[/one_third_last]
