Diamond Directions

RAPAPORT…

What is the next hot trend? Everyone in business always
wants to know what that will be and how to make money from it. Paola De Luca,
creative director and forecaster of TrendVision  Jewellery + Forecasting has some answers to those questions.
Her firm, which is an independent division of the Viceneza Fair, looks at the
social, political, economic and environmental events that are going on globally
and then predicts how these events will influence the perception of consumers
and the market.

Heading out of 2012 and into 2013, De Luca sees this as the
beginning of the “Era of Human Creative Energy,” replacing a time that had been
marked by cultural standardizations. Entering into this new era, De Luca
foresees a time of “ecomagination,” where energy and creativity merge. 

Diamonds, De Luca believes, are entering into a phase of
“seismic shift.” The new reality, she says, is brought about by a variety of
changing roles. De Beers has left behind its generic diamond advertising in
favor of promoting its own Forevermark brand. The role of the Kimberley Process
(KP), which came into existence to safeguard the integrity of diamonds, is now
being re-evaluated in light of new human rights violations. And retailers need
to figure out how to compete for engagement ring sales with etailers.

De Luca notes that all of these issues lead to the ultimate
search for transparency as consumers strive to find out more about their
diamonds — where they come from and the internal secrets that are revealed on a
cert. Today, like never before, consumers can log on, do a little research and
become diamond “experts,” points out De Luca. The counterpoint to that
transparency is the rarified world of colored diamonds, where the stones must
be seen to fully understand their subtle nuances. With that comes a barrage of
brown, gray and black diamonds  —
the anti-bling that have no need for a cert, but create beautiful effects of
their own. This is what reminds people that a diamond should be bought on a feeling,
not by what is written on a piece of paper, says De Luca, who forecasts the
following Diamond Directions now and going forward in her “TrendBook Forecast
2013+.”

BLACK

Black accents have suddenly become the “must-have” of the
mainstream, says De Luca.  She
finds that blackened metals are the ideal backdrop to “amp” up white diamonds,
creating the perfect sparkle. While De Luca notes that black and white
combinations are nothing new, what is exceptional is the meteoric rise of black
diamonds’ acceptance by consumers. Black diamonds are even being used as the
center stone in engagement rings — an unexpected development that De Luca says
is something to celebrate.

While De Luca admits that trends are cyclical, she also
observes that some trends never leave. She believes that Art Deco is still a
major influence in jewelry design today and cites architectural forms and the
ever-popular halo diamond engagement rings as prime examples of this trend. She
also sees Art Nouveau, with its sinuous forms and plant life inspirations,
continuing strongly. She reminds us that both motifs are strong examples of why
good design never goes out of style.

INTRICATE JOYAUX

Openwork, points out De Luca, used to be all about the
metal, which was used to create intricate patterns. Now, openwork is
embellished with diamonds, evoking the spirit of ornamental threadwork.
Diamonds are added today, says De Luca, to highlight patterns and add depth to the
pieces. She calls these pieces another way to use 1-pointers, elevating them to
a luxury status. It is a look with roots in Indian and Asian cultures and one
that is growing in global appeal and popularity, comments De Luca.

   • lace

   • patterns

   • ornamental threadwork

   • stencils

   • quatrefoil

   • 1-pointers

   • global design

   • oversized earrings

   • florals

ROUGH ELEGANCE

The organic mind-set, a phenomenon in full swing in food,
beauty and fashion, has made its way into jewelry in the form of rough and
uncut diamonds, De Luca says, which continue to rise in prominence. She points
out that these diamonds are now considered trendsetters rather than the
radicals they were perceived to be a few years ago. It is these diamonds, De
Luca says, that have spawned a new market for diamonds and changed the way
consumers see the value of a diamond. Now customers can choose stones that
speak to them, rather than being bound by a grading certificate, basing their
decisions on beauty rather than bottom-line value, De Luca notes.

MICRO/MACRO PAVÉ

De Luca compares the sparkle of micropavé to the thousands
of tiny points of light created by a stadium of photo flashes that come alive
in the night sky. She goes on to say that these pieces reflect and refract
light at many angles, allowing for some serious shimmer. What’s new in
micropavé, says De Luca, is that instead of the uniformity of pavé in years
past, which used stones of the same carat weight, there is now a move toward variation,
with different size stones grouped together to create a mosaic-like
feeling.