Diamonds & Engagement Rings News

For women, jewelry has always been a go to present for Valentine’s Day, among the most memorable and widely appreciated gift to receive.

As they do every year, this Valentine’s Day men all over the world will storm into stores searching for the best jewelry that will help show they love significant other.

As Valentin’s day has become one of the biggest buying days of the year most jewelers in the area are having sales or markdowns.

During weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, heart shaped pendants, rings and bracelets are some of the most popular items for the special females in most men’s lives. Many engagement rings are also bough on this day for people looking to make their relationships permanent.

Although every person’s reason for buying jewelry is different this is Valentine’s Day.

The diamond industry is no dummy. For the past 60 years, they have been coming up with ways to get men into thinking that women are addicted to these “hard rocks,” diamond rocks of course.

The saying ” A Diamond Is Forever” was created by De Beers in 1947 and within 3 years of that 80% of engagement rings included a precious diamond. Since than, campaigns to increase sparkle sales have included the “eternity” ring and ” the right hand” ring.

Spotted yesterday morning in the front section of the New York Times, an add that reads as followed: ” Valentine’s Day is a made up holiday. But it’s her number one, all-time, don’t screw it up, favorite made up holiday.” Pictured above this message was a pair of princess cut stud earrings at least one carat each.

Clearly, the diamond community knows that guys feel pressure when it comes to Valentine’s Day, so why do we give into them; when we know all they are really saying is ” we know your women are crazy and all, but if you buy her a diamond, she might just stop nagging and make you some food.

So how do you want to spend your Valentine’s Day?

Seeking the biggest diamond your money can buy?

Or perhaps, for some the same money, you would prefer a smaller diamond but a better quality stone.

Since no two diamonds are the same, buying one you will be happy with will take a little education. For those who plan to purchase a diamond for Valenitine’s Day of for another special occasion. We have put together a little something to help you get started.

Though some guys plan to shop for an engagement rings, Valentines Day inspires more of a spontaneous purchase. More typically, Valentine’s gift givers seek stud or hoop earrings, tennis bracelets, necklaces and right hang rings. Heart shaped diamonds are always popular around this time to; but a journey diamond piece feature several loose diamonds in a “S” shape representing a path.

Three “past, present and future” diamonds in a row on earrings or a necklace is another nice option.

Many rings today including engagement rings are designed with smaller diamond surrounding a primary diamond in a look that appears to be more vintage; however solitaire mountings appear to be making a come in style.

Although earring studs have always been welcome, women also like one or more diamond “huggies,” which are small hoop earrings that hug the pierced ear in front and back.

The selection of diamond jewelry is unlimited, so it seems, it is the variety of diamond grade of quality, Known as the ” four C’s” cut, clarity, color and carat.

When diamonds have the same carat size or weigh, it is the quality of the color, cut and clarity that will determine its price.

In the end choosing the right diamond comes down to compromise depending on which quality is most important to you within your budget.

Jewelry is always a big seller for Valentine’s day, but for some some “diamonds” are not on there budget.

Now there is a new kind of colored diamond not found in a mine but can be grown in a lab. It’s got all the brilliance of a ‘natural’ stone, with a lot less of the cost.

If diamonds really are a girl’s best friend, a discounted diamond could earn a spot in their family. So for those of you who are looking for a fancy colored diamond, cultured diamond may just be the best way to go.

A cultured diamond has the same characteristics as a natural diamond. Same hardness, same refractive, same brilliance; but cost about two-thirds less than a real stone.

They are grown in a lab. It’s created under the same conditions that diamonds are underneath the ground. The cultured diamonds are made in a lab in Sarasota Florida.

The process starts with a tiny diamond seed that is placed in a growth chamber. The chamber is capable of generating 850,000 pounds per square inch of pressure and 2,700 degrees of heat is necessary to make one diamond every four days.

It is just crystals that grow upon crystals to create a larger piece of a rough lose diamond. The diamond is than sent to the cutter to be polished into what you see in finished jewelery.

When you put the cultured diamond on a diamond tester, it registered as if it is a real diamond and when held under a blue light, you can see the seed the diamond grew from.

Right now you can get these cultured diamonds in yellow and orange, other colors hopefully will be available soon.

Industries don’t expect to replace the white diamonds that everyone loves. However these cultured color stones will most likely serve more as a right hand cocktail ring vs. and engagement ring, but they are certified by the Gemological Institute of America.

The key to know when you are buying is to make sure you are dealing with a knowledgeable jeweler who offers full disclosure about where the diamonds came from.

Valentine’s Day, The second most important day of the year for jewelry retailers, is approaching fast, and both men and women will be shopping around to buy gifts for their loved ones.

When asked “what is your idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day gift” the reply was diamond jewelry. However, even if they haven’t received it, almost 30 percent of women stated that in the past they have bought themselves jewelry gifts for Valentine’s Day.

Discover Card’s third annual Valentine’s Day shopping survey revealed that people planning to buy gifts this year will spend an average of $76.60 on gifts, with men spending almost double that.

In this survey, 34 percent said they plan to get their loved ones jewelry. While only 22 percent said they would like to receive jewelry. The most popular gift on the list was a very special dinner; 68 percent saying they they would buy dinner for their partner, and 57 percent saying they wanted to have dinner bought for them.

Men who are planning on purchasing a Valentine’s Day gift indicated that they would intend on spending an average of $92.80 down form last year, while women said they plan to spend on average 54.20 up from last.

Single people will on average spend more than a married couple; however every girl dreams of getting an engagement ring on Valentine’s Day. Eight-five percent said they would prefer to shop for a Valentine’s Day gift in the store, while only 22 percent said they would shop online.

According to the results if a national survey conducted online via Harris Interactive by Teleflora, the world’s #1 leading floral service offering the greatest choices in floral arrangements, men and women both agree about the best gift to be given on Valentine’s Day. 84 percent of women ages 18-34 chose diamond jewelry or roses as there number one best gift that comes to mind when thinking of this romantic holiday and surprisingly, 77 percent of men in the same age grope agreed. No matter what age the is, diamonds and roses never go out of style, being that 72 percent of men and 76 percent of women ages 45-54 selected diamond jewelry or roses as there number one gift that comes to mind when they think of Valentine’s Day.

So how do we decide what is the best way to show how we feel about that special someone in our life? The Teleflora survey found that:

• 46 percent of men consider roses as the best gift to give on Valentines Day.
• When given a list of the best Valentines Day gifts to receive, women selected roses as the best gift (32%); diamond jewelry as the second (29%); jewelry other than diamonds as there third chose (26%); and flowers other than roses as there fourth choice (24%).
• When men where given a list of what they would give there significant other on Valentine’s Day 53% choice roses, followed by flowers other than roses 39%; 34% of men said they would buy jewelry and 26% said they would give diamond jewelry to the ones they loved

The florist at Teleflora offer men what women want to make this year’s Valentine’s Day even more special than the past. Teleflora has be designing keepsake flower arrangements for the past 70 year, so they provide exactly what their customer’s desire. this year they are upping the stakes with an unexpected sweepstakes of Diamonds and Roses. The contest began on January 14 and will continue through February 29.

Every time an order is placed with Teleflora florist for either the Diamonds, Rose Bouquet, or the Diamond cut Bouquet on Teleflora.com, a game piece with an entry code will be included. Customers will than be able to see if they have instantly won one of 1,000 diamond pendant necklaces, valued at $149 from Zales Jewelers. Once registered you are than automatically entered into the grand prize drawing for a gorges pair of white gold, round-cut diamond earrings, with a retail value of $50,000. The lucky winner will be contacted via phone on or around March 15. �

Retail jewelry Web sites trailed only cosmetics and consumer goods in category growth from unique visitors during the month of December, an analysis by ComScore Inc. reveals.

As consumers rushed to complete their holiday gift lists online, the analysis showed that fragrance and cosmetics sites experienced a 30 percent increase in the number of unique visitors between November and December, followed by consumer-goods sites with a 23 percent increase, and jewelry, diamonds, luxury goods and accessories sites with a 22 percent increase, to 24 million unique visitors.

     There was a survey set up called December online buying survey, here are some of the questions from the survey. Why do people shop online? How do they find items, and what factors are important to them in making purchasing decisions?           

     Ninety-six percent of respondents reside in North America, and it’s important to note that they have a unique perspective: 83% of them sell online.          

      A small percentage of respondents said they shopped online primarily for price (6%). Forty-five said that its better to shop online then going to the mall or traditional retailer was the ability to shop at their convenience. Twenty-seven said it was easier to find what they wanted.          

      Forty percent said that the biggest disadvantage by shopping online was that they couldn’t closely look at the item before purchasing.-Shipping costs (17%)-Risk of non-delivery of item (11%) 

What method they employed most frequently to find items?

-44% said they used search engines

-39% said they went directly to a retail website

-7% used comparison-shopping sites most frequently. 

Which services they used to help them find products?

-90% said they used Google

-20% said they used yahoo 

How satisfied respondents are with their purchase? 

-61% said they were “very satisfied”

-36% said they were “satisfied” 

Holiday Spending          

     Thirteen percent of respondents said they did not shop online this holiday season. Fifty-six percent said they did not have a need, Ten percent said that they could closely inspect then before purchasing. Eight percent  said that its “hard to find what I want online.”

+ 7% shipping costs

+ 5% payment methods accepted

+ 4% risk of non-delivery item

+ 3% slow delivery of item

+ 2% difficulty of returns

+ 2% price

     Eighty-seven percent of respondents did shop inline this holiday season.  

What percentage of shopping they did online this year compared to last year?

-35% said the same

-46% said they did a larger percentage of online shopping this year compared to last year

-19% said that they did a smaller percentage this year compared to last year.

 NOTE: Jewelry & Watches: 16% Shopping Decision- Making 

How often do you use consumer reviews (such as Amazon Buyer Reviews and ebay Reviews and Guide) to help you make your buying decision?

Never: 14%

Rarely: 250%

Sometimes: 32%

Frequently: 33%

 What’s one factory most important when deciding where to shop online?

-Price 20%

-Security 17%

-Well known branded site 11%

-Ease of Transaction 8%

-“I’ve been shopped there before” 8% 

Wrap-up

     Price was not cited as the biggest advantage to shopping online rather, it was the ability to shop at their convenience. Price was an important factor on where to shop online, as was reasonable shipping costs. Getting exposure on search engine would seem critical, whether by natural search (having products and websites show up in search results).

     A whopping 90 percent of respondents used Google to help them find products this holiday shopping season, with Yahoo coming in second place at 22% and comparison shopping sites lagging behind.

          During the first 57 days of the 2007 holiday season (Nov.1-Dec.27), nearly $28 billon has spent online. There was a 19 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to ComScore Inc.          

     As the holiday season slowing down, online sales are still relatively strong. According to ComScore, Chairman Greg Fulgoni had saw online sales of  $545 million more then double the sales of the same day last year.          

      Online sales increased 21 percent in 2007 versus a year ago, and a full 2 percentage points higher then the overall holiday season growth rate.            

     It is to show that Customers were willing and able to take of the attractive late-season promotions and price discounts offered by retailers this year.  

     ‘’Warm weather during the early part of November took its toll on online retail sales and played a role in holding down the growth in spending over the entire holiday season to a 19 percent rate, which is below last year’s level of 26 percent.