De Beers and Signet have unveiled their joint campaign to promote natural diamonds this holiday—“Worth the Wait.”

The campaign is not built around a singular product—a “beacon,” in trade-speak—as was originally announced. Instead, “Worth the Wait” will tout natural diamonds generally, as well as particular Signet product lines, such as Kay’s new Milestones collection and Jared’s Chosen bridal brand and Unspoken jewelry line.

“This campaign is bigger than a beacon,” Jamie Singleton, Signet’s president and chief consumer officer, tells JCK. “We are putting beacon-type programs behind it in our stores. But it’s bigger than any single product line. It’s attitudinal about natural diamonds.”

Singleton says the effort is “steeped in insights and data. It’s very targeted to multicultural consumers. Our data shows that 50% of the customers who will get engaged in the next 12 months will be multicultural, either African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or LGBTQ. That will reach 60% within the next five years. So it’s very encompassing and broad-based.”

A 90-second “Worth the Wait” commercial—which can be viewed here and below—compares young people’s journey in forging their identities and finding love to the way a diamond is created under the earth.

“Fifty years ago, my generation was focused on everlasting love,” De Beers Brands CEO Sandrine Conseiller tells JCK. “This generation is focused on building their own identity. And after they build their identity, they want to engage with ‘the one’ for the rest of their life.

“It’s a very different dynamic, and that dynamic is quite comparable to the journey of a natural diamond, going through a lot of pressure, a lot of milestones, before coming to the earth’s surface.”

 

The ad, created by Arnold Worldwide, opens by stating that love “starts with self-worth. Because to find someone worthy of us, we must first be worthy ourselves.

“So, we put in the work.… Until one day, one special person walks through that door, who has also done the work,” it continues.

“The diamond you choose,” the ad’s voice-over says, “should match your journey, match the patience you took to find each other, and match the resilience that formed the essence of your cores. And that is a natural diamond.”

The spot concludes: “Just like your journey, a natural diamond is worth the wait.”

It does not use De Beers’ classic tagline, “A Diamond Is Forever” (though some in the industry might expect that after hearing the words “a natural diamond is…”). When asked why, Conseiller explains that this is “a combined campaign with Signet.

“What we liked about ‘Worth the Wait’ is it’s true for the couples, and true for the diamond,” she says.

Singleton says the new campaign is “much more targeted to younger couples and their beliefs and what they see as important in themselves and in their relationships…. These couples are very focused on self-care, self-improvement, and self-help, hitting financial milestones and getting themselves as individuals to a healthy place before they get engaged.”

The ads will run on TV and digital platforms and in Signet stores. De Beers and Signet declined to give a budget for the new campaign but said it’s “substantial.”

“It’s the first time in 15 years [De Beers has] put this kind of campaign out,” says Conseiller. “It’s classic category marketing, re-interpreted for modern, diverse couples.”

(Photo: Arnold Worldwide/courtesy of Signet and De Beers)

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