CONSUMERS

Libert’aime by Forevermark Offers Millennials a New Way to Shop for Diamonds

by

Lydianne Yap

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit: This is the featured image credit
Diamonds may be forever, but consumers are constantly changing. How can diamond brands continue to attract millennials and stimulate their desire to purchase? Libert’aime by Forevermark seems to have found…

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

Diamonds may be forever, but consumers are constantly changing. How can diamond brands continue to attract millennials and stimulate their desire to purchase? Libert’aime by Forevermark seems to have found the answer.

According to a recent study published by diamond manufacturer De Beers, purchases by millennials (aged between 18 to 34) in the United States, China, Japan and India made up 45% of the total diamond jewellery retail sales in 2015 – worth about US $26 billion. Of that number, Chinese millennials form a significant consumer group, accounting for 68% of the diamond sales in China. Noting this shift in consumer buying patterns, jeweller Forevermark has since launched a brand new jewellery range catering to the tastes and preferences of these shoppers: Libert’aime by Forevermark.

"We realised that consumers are constantly changing and are happy to offer a different kind of diamond option through Libert'aime by Forevermark for the younger, more stylish consumers. And this might be the journey and experience of the first diamond purchase for most of them,” said CEO Stephen Lussier.

Image: Stephen Lussier Introducing the Magic Mirror

The trendier and more affordable fine jewellery line made its debut in Shanghai last weekend, opening its doors at TaiKoo Hui. In line with the brand’s concept of engaging with millennials, the boutique does away with traditional display counters and instead presents a Diamond Bar that allows customers to interact with the pieces both virtually and physically. Displaying a faceted aesthetic, the Diamond Bar encourages guests to either browse physical showcases or scroll through the entire store’s offerings on an iPad. Should they choose the latter option, store personnel will be notified of the pieces he or she has expressed interest in, and retrieve them from the showcases. Customers can also take selfies with their favourite jewellery pieces using the store’s Magic Mirrors (which come in-built with filters) and send them to friends or post them on social media.

[We wanted to] introduce an exciting new retail concept through Libert’aime by Forevermark in China,” explains Lussier. “It integrates the innovative physical store, online platform and social channels, providing consumers with a highly engaging and personalised shopping experience.” He also goes on to emphasise that the brand is less concerned about driving traffic from specific sales channels (eg, online versus offline), as it is about giving consumers what they really want: A holistic shopping experience. And being able to do so stems from being present on all the relevant digital channels in China – something that the brand does with the help of its appointed digital agency, DLG China. Besides being active on social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo, Libert’aime by Forevermark also operates a WeChat store and offers a customer loyalty programme on WeChat.

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To mark its global debut, Libert’aime by Forevermark also worked with Chinese actor and singer Timmy Xu on a special collection named Le Light. Despite it being the rising star’s very first jewellery design collection, Xu worked closely with the brand and came up with a series of very well-received necklaces, bracelets and earrings inspired by the concept of light.

As millennials continue to take on wider roles and functions in society, they have stronger voices and higher shares of global consumption than ever before. Diamonds may have been associated mainly with marriage and commitment in the past, but they are now also symbols of strength and independence. And as the generation that craves instant gratification, millennials do not passively wait to receive such diamonds – they go out and purchase them. Libert’aime by Forevermark might just be on to something after all.

Cover image: Libert’aime by Forevermark, Le Light

Lydianne Yap
Lydianne Yap

Editor, China, Luxury Society

Previously based in Singapore at luxury lifestyle publication Prestige, Lydianne now creates China-related content across a broad range of topics. Experienced in dealing with both brands and consumers in the luxury industry, Lydianne is also Marketing & Communications Director at DLG China.

CONSUMERS

Libert’aime by Forevermark Offers Millennials a New Way to Shop for Diamonds

by

Lydianne Yap

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit : This is the featured image credit
Diamonds may be forever, but consumers are constantly changing. How can diamond brands continue to attract millennials and stimulate their desire to purchase? Libert’aime by Forevermark seems to have found…

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

Diamonds may be forever, but consumers are constantly changing. How can diamond brands continue to attract millennials and stimulate their desire to purchase? Libert’aime by Forevermark seems to have found the answer.

According to a recent study published by diamond manufacturer De Beers, purchases by millennials (aged between 18 to 34) in the United States, China, Japan and India made up 45% of the total diamond jewellery retail sales in 2015 – worth about US $26 billion. Of that number, Chinese millennials form a significant consumer group, accounting for 68% of the diamond sales in China. Noting this shift in consumer buying patterns, jeweller Forevermark has since launched a brand new jewellery range catering to the tastes and preferences of these shoppers: Libert’aime by Forevermark.

"We realised that consumers are constantly changing and are happy to offer a different kind of diamond option through Libert'aime by Forevermark for the younger, more stylish consumers. And this might be the journey and experience of the first diamond purchase for most of them,” said CEO Stephen Lussier.

Image: Stephen Lussier Introducing the Magic Mirror

The trendier and more affordable fine jewellery line made its debut in Shanghai last weekend, opening its doors at TaiKoo Hui. In line with the brand’s concept of engaging with millennials, the boutique does away with traditional display counters and instead presents a Diamond Bar that allows customers to interact with the pieces both virtually and physically. Displaying a faceted aesthetic, the Diamond Bar encourages guests to either browse physical showcases or scroll through the entire store’s offerings on an iPad. Should they choose the latter option, store personnel will be notified of the pieces he or she has expressed interest in, and retrieve them from the showcases. Customers can also take selfies with their favourite jewellery pieces using the store’s Magic Mirrors (which come in-built with filters) and send them to friends or post them on social media.

[We wanted to] introduce an exciting new retail concept through Libert’aime by Forevermark in China,” explains Lussier. “It integrates the innovative physical store, online platform and social channels, providing consumers with a highly engaging and personalised shopping experience.” He also goes on to emphasise that the brand is less concerned about driving traffic from specific sales channels (eg, online versus offline), as it is about giving consumers what they really want: A holistic shopping experience. And being able to do so stems from being present on all the relevant digital channels in China – something that the brand does with the help of its appointed digital agency, DLG China. Besides being active on social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo, Libert’aime by Forevermark also operates a WeChat store and offers a customer loyalty programme on WeChat.

Join Luxury Society to have more articles like this delivered directly to your inbox

To mark its global debut, Libert’aime by Forevermark also worked with Chinese actor and singer Timmy Xu on a special collection named Le Light. Despite it being the rising star’s very first jewellery design collection, Xu worked closely with the brand and came up with a series of very well-received necklaces, bracelets and earrings inspired by the concept of light.

As millennials continue to take on wider roles and functions in society, they have stronger voices and higher shares of global consumption than ever before. Diamonds may have been associated mainly with marriage and commitment in the past, but they are now also symbols of strength and independence. And as the generation that craves instant gratification, millennials do not passively wait to receive such diamonds – they go out and purchase them. Libert’aime by Forevermark might just be on to something after all.

Cover image: Libert’aime by Forevermark, Le Light

Lydianne Yap
Lydianne Yap

Editor, China, Luxury Society

Previously based in Singapore at luxury lifestyle publication Prestige, Lydianne now creates China-related content across a broad range of topics. Experienced in dealing with both brands and consumers in the luxury industry, Lydianne is also Marketing & Communications Director at DLG China.

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