Maple Audience
Kristin Hanson is on a mission to make natural color diamonds a retail staple. She’s unveiled a more robust mix of wholesale pieces as well as couture styles in the past year, and has also taken a page from the Le Vian marketing playbook by trademarking her own favorite color of brown diamonds: Maple. Hanson knows that the nomenclature is useful for educating shoppers. “The names are romantic, but also help to understand what the color is, so it’s a tool for the consumer as well,” she explains.
Kristin Hanson’s Beam Bridge ring in platinum with 0.65 ct. fancy pink Argyle diamonds; $39,900
Thanks to the jewelry school she runs in Manhattan’s Tribeca, Hanson already possesses a thriving private-customer base; now, she’s hoping to beef up her wholesale business.
Expect to see yellow, green, gray, and Maple stones, among others, set in platinum and Saffron and Steel gold (her trademarked terms for yellow and white). These are evident in her Skyline collection of Art Deco–inspired bridal jewelry made in collaboration with Rio Tinto, starting at $600 retail.
“These are to wear on the wedding day and beyond,” she says.