Tiffany & Co. is telling consumers where its diamonds come from as the jeweler tries to become more transparent in a notoriously opaque industry. Its top executive says the change was imperative.
“This is a topic that has become more and more relevant for new generations,” Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “This is our duty, as a leader in diamonds, to provide customers with this information.”
Tiffany is undergoing a revitalization effort under Bogliolo, seeking out younger shoppers with a refreshed image. It has enlisted celebrities like Zoe Kravitz, Elle Fanning and Maddie Ziegler and is undertaking a massive renovation of its New York flagship store. The comeback hit a snag last quarter, however, as tourist spending waned, even as Tiffany made inroads with the younger crowd.
Bogliolo said that revealing the provenance of Tiffany diamonds isn’t a marketing gimmick, but a real effort to attract more customers who value transparency. He said while Tiffany was for years seen as a more conservative label, management has recently taken major strides to appeal to a broader clientele.
“What we did in the past couple of years has been to really embrace change, with the objective of being culturally relevant for the people — for society today,” Bogliolo said.
Effective Wednesday, shoppers will be able to see the region or country of origin displayed alongside a selection of diamond rings, and they can ask store employees for geographic information for all newly sourced, individually registered diamonds.
Full Journey
Going forward, Tiffany plans to share a diamond’s full journey through the supply chain — from where it was mined to where it was cut and polished — by 2020. The retailer said this would be...