Diamond Jewelry Gifts - More Is the New Less

I have to admit, I’ve been feeling a tad guilty lately. As you all know, my world, well, revolves around my favorite obsession: diamonds. I’m sure all you glitter hounds can relate.

But this darn recession has made me feel a tad cheeky about obsessing over a little rock when there are things like shrinking 401ks, a sinking DOW and the entire city of Detroit to worry about. But last Sunday, as I settled in with my New York Times, I saw three words in bold type that completely changed my tune.

“Here’s To Less!”

Less, you say? How can this sentiment put the damper on our jewelry jones in these troubled times?

It goes like this: Diamond miner and marketer, De Beers, launched their new “Here’s To Less” ad campaign to tell the world that buying less is a good idea - less frivolous items like ipods and Birkin Bags, that is. A Diamond – as their famous tag line informs us – Is Forever.

So, in other words, if there’s only one thing you can buy your loved one this holiday season, you better make it count. You better make it a diamond!

Eureka!

"Our lives are filled with things," runs the ad text. "We're overwhelmed by possessions we own but do not treasure. Stuff we buy but never love. To be thrown away in weeks rather than passed down for generations. Perhaps it will be different now. Perhaps now is an opportunity to reassess what really matters. After all, if everything you ever bought her disappeared overnight, what would she truly miss?"

Our diamonds! We would truly miss our diamonds!

Now, of course, this might seem like twisted logic to those nay-sayers out there. And yes, I am sure that buying a month’s supply of toilet paper and a carton of Ramen noodles is a more frugal choice to make this holiday season.

But c’mon! If you had only one box under the Christmas tree or only one gift to open throughout the eight days of Chanukah, wouldn’t you like it to make your face light up and your heart sing? That’s what I’m saying.

So go back to those gift lists and mark off the sensible sock sets and Hanes-for-her three packs and put those diamonds dreams back at the top where they belong!

And don’t worry. I will still obsess over the $15 million blue diamond that is being auctioned at Christie’s this week and will still spend my waking hours combing the red carpets for jewels we mere mortals can only dream about.

I'm just going to sleep a little better at night.

JCPenney Helps Guys Avoid The Doghouse!

Tired of getting yet another bathrobe and colored sock set for the holidays? JCPenney is launching a brilliant new campaign to help your significant other avoid the gift-giving doghouse by steering them towards the Jewelry Insider’s favorite present – diamonds!

The viral Beware Of The Dog House campaign enables women to retrain their leading men in the fine art of gifting by showing them a dazzling array of diamond jewelry styles – from three stone rings, to Journey pendants to jewelry box staples, like diamond studs. And frugalistas will be happy to know that price points leave plenty of room for more boxes under the tree.

“Women love gifts that are bright, shiny and beautiful,” said Beryl Raff, executive vice president, JCPenney Fine Jewelry. “And guys, that means diamond earrings or a pendant, not a vacuum cleaner.”

How to teach the old dog new tricks? Send him to http://www.bewareofthedoghouse.com/, where he can watch an amusing film showing what life in the doghouse is really like. The “Stay Out of the Doghouse” button will lead them to valuable information about how to stay in your good graces this season, including a glittering product offering and information about how to buy the right diamond jewelry style.

A partnership with Facebook® Connect will allow avenging females the opportunity to put offending friends in the doghouse for all to see. And if the gift-challenged guy is just in need of a “tap on the nose,” you can send him an e-mail warning, giving him one last chance to avoid the doghouse this holiday season.

So let JCPenney give your guy the perfect way to avoid spending a dog day afternoon in the return line this year.

Opening a box full of diamonds instead of another box full of scented candles and matching bath gel is enough good news to make any jewelry hound bark at the moon!