In
December, Alrosa launched “She Said Yes,” a generic advertising campaign for
the domestic market that aims to promote diamond jewelry as a symbol of love
and lasting emotions — something the company has never done before. The
campaign’s main theme, a romantic proposal with a diamond engagement ring, is
novel for Russian consumers. While the tradition has been part of Western
culture for a long time, reinforced by decades of De Beers marketing efforts,
Russia only became familiar with it after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
“Our people have been exposed
to it for the past 25 years, through watching Western movies and TV shows,”
Alexander Kurgansky, founder and CEO of the Brilliant24.ru online diamond store
network, explained to
Rapaport Magazine. “And today, the younger generation is
beginning to try and make it part of their life.”
However, while classic
solitaire diamond rings constitute up to 90% of his company’s sales, it is
still hard to determine what proportion are for engagements, as rings with this
design are also a traditional gift for birthdays and anniversaries in Russia,
he pointed out.
Large
demand, small stonesEduard
Utkin, CEO of the Russian Jewelers Guild Association, confirmed that Russia had
no official statistics regarding the sale of engagement rings compared to other
types of rings, but he said the trend had become noticeable in the past three
or four years.
Smolensk
Diamonds, manufacturer Kristall Smolensk’s jewelry branch, estimated that
engagement rings made up 3% to 5% of its total sales, while Estet Jewelry
House, a major Moscow-based jeweler, said they accounted for up to 40% of its
sales. Estet offers more than 100 solitaire diamond ring designs suitable for
engagements, according to its marketing director, Elena Neretina.
Nikita Poklad, president of
the Russian Online Jewelry Association, said his organization had registered a
stable 20% year-on-year growth in online engagement ring sales over the past
few years. Meanwhile, premium diamond-jewelry label Gevorkyan has developed an
entire collection of engagement rings and strongly believes demand will grow,
reported brand director Laura Petrichenko.
However, all the jewelers who
spoke to
Rapaport Magazine said the main complication was the size of the most
sought-after gems. As the Russian population’s spending capacity shrinks, most
customers are settling on rings featuring a stone under 0.25 carats. This,
according to Utkin, presents a serious challenge to the Alrosa campaign.
“Diamonds of this weight are
not produced in Russia,” he explained. “They mostly come from India, so while
the campaign may boost the demand for diamond jewelry on the whole — which is a
good thing — it
may fail to promote Russian-cut diamonds on the domestic market.”
Competing
with technologyUtkin
believes the rapidly developing global synthetic-diamond industry might also
harm the campaign. “Time-wise, demand for engagement rings in Russia began to
grow just as lab-grown diamond jewelry started seriously competing on the
market. As a result, we also see many young people buying rings with synthetic
stones, tempted by lower prices,” he commented.
Alrosa said that after
finishing the initial stage of its campaign on February 14, it would process
the results and possibly determine further marketing strategies. The miner is
considering developing a sports theme in cooperation with its partner
organizations, which include the Russian Federation of Dance Sport and
Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll, the Russian Wrestling Federation and the Russian Martial
Arts Confederation.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2018. To subscribe click here.