Forevermark Sales Spike During Holiday Season

RAPAPORT... Sales of Forevermark diamonds soared this holiday as DeBeers ramped up marketing of its retail brand, the miner said. Jewelers sold 38% more Forevermark stones during the 2017season versus last year, with sales for the whole year rising 25%, De Beers CEOBruce Cleaver said in a speech to the brand's stockists last week. The Forevermark Tribute campaign, which targeted femaleself-purchasers, launched in November, resulting in a billion mediaimpressions, while an advertising campaign drove a significant jump in internetsearches for Forevermark and visits to the brand's website. More than 60% ofjewelers that carry Forevermark diamonds reported that consumers entered theirstore asking for the brand, and almost two thirds said the Tributecampaign had helped their business, Cleaver noted. "All in all, 2017 represented a year of strong progress fordiamonds and Forevermark," Cleaver said in his speech in New York. "We areputting the building blocks in place to ensure that the diamond messageresonates as strongly as possible with the evolving US consumer, as we approacha year that is ripe with potential for those that position themselveseffectively to realize it."Image: Andrew Werner