Diamonds and Pearls – two of the most popular jewels on the market. Historically when consumers were looking for a diamond or pearl set jewelry piece, they automatically assumed they had a choice of white, white or white. But strong marketing campaigns, a greater awareness of color trends and emphasis on individuality has, and is, changing perceptions. Today, a colorless diamond is an option – not a given. A strand of beautiful white pearls, also an option not a given. This month we’re looking at the market trends, dictates and selling tips when it comes to these uber-on trend jewels – color diamonds and color pearls.

This week we focus on diamonds:

Selling Natural Color Diamonds

Most consumers think that a natural color diamond is inordinately expensive. Some can be. A beautiful natural red diamond can go for as much as a million dollars per carat or greens, blues and intense pinks selling at headlining auctions for hundreds of thousands of dollars – but those are the extremes. Grays, browns and blacks can be extremely affordable for many consumers.

Romancing the stone has never been more important when it comes to selling these jewels. A color is not just a color – it’s a state of mind. A brown diamond or a ‘champagne’ diamond – the same, but which do you think a customer would be more interested in? A gray diamond or a ‘silver’ diamond? Nomenclature goes a long way in whetting the appetite for these natural colorful treasures.

With only one out of every 10,000 naturally produced diamonds classified as a ‘fancy color diamond’ – their rarity, especially those colors on the lower-price end of the color spectrum is another strong selling point.

Trend-wise – this fall/winter season – there’s nothing more on trend than ‘nature’, which ties in perfectly with the browns, grays and less intense yellows on the fancy scale.

Color Diamond Dream Psychology

When it comes to the mid-to-higher end price spectrum of fancy color diamonds, it’s all about information and emotion. A customer needs a reason to buy a jewel that may be more than he or she budgeted for. Your client needs to be able to justify their purchase whether it’s for themselves or a gift, and without an emotional attachment to the piece, closing the sale is much, much harder.

Remember, there is no price list for fancy color diamonds as there is for colorless diamonds. It’s almost impossible to accurately compare two fancy color diamonds price against price. The purchaser’s perceived monetary value is just part of the package. Image, emotion and ‘having something no-one else has’ goes a long way in selling the color diamond dream.

Next week we look at pearls in all their gorgeous colors from pastel pinks to bold browns and discover just what are the colors, setting and trends that are making the 2012/13 season a pearly one?