Van Cleef & Arpels’ missing puppy
Despite waning interest in fine jewelry and watches, brands in this categories strived to engage consumers through digital tactics and new points of sale.
The global slowdown has impacted jewelers and watchmakers, but many have responded by embracing other categories, such as accessories, and increase the retail network where their goods can be purchased. Also, the first half of 2016 saw the sector embrace digital advertising as a means to engage and educate consumers on expertise, brand DNA and product.
Here are the top 10 jewelry and watch efforts of the first half of 2016, in alphabetical order:
Bulgari Serpenti Forever handbag
Bulgari planted roots at Barneys New York
Italian jewelry brand Bulgari invited consumers to slither into its garden installation at retailer Barneys New York’s Madison Avenue flagship.
After Barneys’ creative team was invited to visit Bulgari’s recently renovated flagship in Rome, the pair planned out a collaborative pop-up exploring the jeweler’s DNA through its Serpenti Collection, known for its signature serpent motif. The pop-up opened June 8 and marked the first time Barneys is carrying Bulgari’s designs.
The collaboration was site-specific to Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship department store and featured a large visual display to bring the Bulgari brand to life for the retailer’s discerning consumers (see story).
Chopard earrings with Gemfields emeralds
Chopard goes green
Swiss jeweler Chopard turned the Cannes Film Festival red carpet green with its ongoing sustainability pledge.
For nearly two decades, Chopard has served as Cannes Film Festival’s official partner, using the event to promote its high-jewelry collections as well as its efforts in sustainable mining. At this year’s festival, Chopard announced its latest eco-conscious partnership with colored-gemstone miner Gemfields to further the jeweler’s “Journey to Sustainable Luxury.”
Going forward, the emeralds used in Chopard’s jewelry, and sourced by Gemfields, will be validated by Eco-Age’s Green Carpet Challenge (GCC) Principles of Sustainable Excellence (see story).
De Grisogono’s 404-carat diamond
De Grisogono’s 404-carat diamond reveal
Swiss jeweler de Grisogono highlighted the potential of its latest acquisition, one of the 30 largest rough-cut diamonds ever found.
The 404-carat stone holds with it a rare opportunity, since de Grisogono will be able to be a part of the decision process for the cutting of the precious gem, whereas traditional jewelry making relies on precut, already polished stones. While this diamond will be fashioned into only one piece, the brand is taking the stone out of the vault for its entire audience, allowing its message of craftsmanship to extend beyond the diamond’s eventual owner.
De Grisogono revealed the diamond during the Cannes Film Festival. The announcement came as the brand mingled with celebrities and the film industry at its event co-hosted by de Grisogono founder Fawaz Gruosi and Kim Kardashian West (see story).
Still from Gemfields’ “Ruby Inspired Stories”
Gemfields uncovers rubies’ emotional significance
Colored-gemstone miner Gemfields is portraying the mystical properties believed to exist in rubies by weaving a trio of short female-centric narratives.
The purveyor’s “Ruby Inspired Stories” explore rubies’ believed symbolism of passion, protection and prosperity through tales of a single moment in three women’s lives. Rather than focusing on the physical appeal of the rubies pictured, Gemfields insteads highlights their emotional appeal, as the stones bring back memories or help to celebrate a milestone.
Gemfields’ films were released first on its YouTube account. Each was edited to 15-, 30- and 60-second formats, enabling the brand to use the clips in a social media campaign.
The videos, directed by Leonora Lonsdale and produced by London-based B-Reel films, will also be supported by a global print campaign. Reflecting Gemfields’ international expansion, the videos feature a global cast (see story).
Graff Vendôme diamond
Graff celebrates Place Vendôme
British jeweler Graff Diamonds is showing its capabilities to unleash the natural beauty in a diamond with the reveal of a 105.07-carat stone.
Graff’s gemologists carefully analyze the diamond in the rough, mapping which cuts would work best for the stone. The result is the Graff Vendôme, a D Flawless pear shaped diamond commemorating the brand’s new store on the Parisian street.
The first step when Graff acquired the stone was to use a computer program to map the proportions and internal flaws in the diamond.
After an analysis from the brand’s gemologists, the stone was passed to Graff’s master cutters. From laser cutting the stone to the right shape and polishing, the process took a number of months (see story).
IWC Pilot’s Watch
IWC writes in the sky
Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen took communication to new heights as it promoted its pilot’s watches.
The Skywriter campaign allowed users to write a message in the sky and share it with third parties. An interactive and social campaign will help attract a younger consumer segment to the brand while subtly offering an introduction to the brand’s latest watches.
The Skywriter campaign is the latest promotional step for IWC’s pilot’s Watches collection, launched at SIHH in Geneva earlier this year (see story).
Swarovski has signed Karlie Kloss as brand ambassador
Swarovski’s SEO effort
Precision-cut crystal maker Swarovski has signed digital-savvy model Karlie Kloss as its latest brand ambassador.
Ms. Kloss will replace fellow Victoria’s Secret Angel Miranda Kerr as the face of the Swarovski brand. Acknowledging her “signature sparkle,” Swarovski was attracted to Ms. Kloss’ inspiring facets including her modernity, freshness, self-confidence and elegance, qualities shared by the brand’s collections.
Keeping Ms. Kloss’ digital prowess in mind, Swarovski drew inspiration from Google search insights for her first effort as ambassador. Through Google search insights, Swarovski found that its pronunciation is the top three global search topics for its brand (see story).
Promotional image for Tag Heuer content on NYT VR
Tag Heuer goes for a VR drive
Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is crafting a legend with the help of the New York Times’ virtual reality mobile application.
The NYT VR app puts readers at the center of New York Times’ content, including what is produced by its brand partners, through immersive 360-degree video experiences that allow for an interactive narrative. LVMH-owned Tag Heuer is using the NYT VR app’s storytelling capabilities to share the heritage of its Carrera timepiece with New York Times’ audience, showing both its placement within the overall watch industry and its modernity.
The NYT VR app brings virtual reality to the everyday consumer through the use of their smartphone or Google Cardboard, a virtual reality viewer.
When the app is downloaded, consumers can select from journalistic content provided by the New York Times or choose content created by the newspaper’s brand partners (see story).
Tiffany T collection bracelets
Tiffany’s ecommerce push
U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co. selected Net-A-Porter as its exclusive ecommerce partner, allowing its jewelry to be sold on the retailer’s site for a limited time.
As of April 27, consumers had the opportunity to purchase select Tiffany designs from Net-A-Porter. The partnership is unprecedented for Tiffany, as Net-A-Porter will become the only authorized online seller beyond the jeweler’s monobrand Web site.
Collaborating on ecommerce with Net-A-Porter has exposed Tiffany jewelry to new and prospective audiences from more than 170 countries. The ecommerce alliance also furthered the reach of Tiffany’s ecommerce presence, currently limited to 13 countries (see story).
Van Cleef & Arpels’ missing puppy
French jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels enlisted consumers’ help on a search for a brand’s best friend.
Together with online lifestyle publication Yatzer, Van Cleef & Arpels launched a search for the brand’s missing puppy brooch that dates back to the 1960s. Beyond potentially leading to the recovery of a piece of the brand’s heritage, the novelty of the initiative helped expose the brand.
The #MissingPreciousPuppy project originated in a conversation between Yatzer founder Costa Voyatzis and Van Cleef & Arpels heritage director Catherine Cariou. Among the animal brooches of the brand’s La Boutique line is a puppy dating back to 1966 that the brand has sought for the past two decades.
Although Van Cleef & Arpels could in theory create another puppy brooch from the existing original mold, the brand instead hopes to locate an original to use in a reproduction of a 1966 ad and to include in its “The Art & Science of Gems” exhibition at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore (see story).