Are jewelers trying to capitalize on the growth of same-sex marriage?
Tiffany & Co. announced Friday a line of diamond engagement rings called the Charles Tiffany Setting. Named after the company’s founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, the line of rings is available at Tiffany’s flagship New York store starting this month. The rings will also be made available at select stores globally and are already for sale online. The line’s thickset design comes in either a titanium or platinum setting. Then placed in the center is a diamond of up to five carats in size.
To market the rings, Tiffany & Co. detailed in a press release that the line “honors the jeweler’s long-standing legacy in love and inclusivity, paving the way for new traditions.” They added the desire to encourage “paving the way for new traditions to celebrate our unique love stories and honor our most cherished commitments to one another.”
It seems that male diamond engagement rings are a growing trend in the fashion and jewelry worlds. According to CNN, jewelers like Stephen Einhorn and Tiffany & Co, are creating lines of gender-neutral or male-focused engagement rings to appeal to the rising number of same-sex couples getting married.
In addition, the public’s perspectives on fashion and gender expression are changing. Celebrities like Harry Styles and Billy Porter are appearing on magazine covers and red carpets with gender-fluid clothing and unisex accessories. And as pop culture moments in men’s fashion continue, the general public’s fashion tends to follow suit. What was once concerned a gendered accessory for women can now be viewed as something for all genders. The rise in women proposing to their male partners has also impacted this trend.
A 2019 study about the jewelry industry in Hong Kong found that there was a growing demand for fine jewelry among male shoppers. The study looked at a variety of data like jewelry shares and growth between 2018, 2019, and the first half of 2020; the rise of imitation jewelry; the sale of jewelry based on category, and more. In the end, it appears that there’s a consistent rise in the trend of men looking for jewelry.
“Demand for male jewelry is rising, as men become more fashion‑conscious. The concept that ‘jewelry is feminine’ is fading,” Researcher Charlotte Man wrote. “Men have realized that jewelry can be masculine, and that fine jewelry is essential to a complete look, and so jewelry is becoming an integrated part of male attire. They may buy stylish bracelets, rings and pendant necklaces, or choose a smarter look with cufflinks and tie pins. Articles of male jewelry are still quite limited, and so the market may have huge untapped potential.”
And now, it seems that jewelers are trying to tap at the potential with diamond engagement rings.
Nope. Diamonds are for women, give me a steele band instead. Im marrying a man, not a ring.
I used to work for a jewelry company. Prior to Prop 8 slamming the door on marriage equality in California (rescinded in 2013) we noticed a definite upswing in rings and sets sales that could be for same sex couple. When an order contains 2 rings of size 4.5 and 5 or 11 and 12 you can draw your conclusions pretty much from the sizes. As far as I can recall nobody so much as batted an eye at this.
Hell yeah, I would accept a diamond ring…it’s a diamond. Actually, forget these particular ones, I have my eye on something way better.