[masterslider id=”94″]
We were so excited to come across a fabulous new book, Brilliance and Fire, written by Brooklyn-based author Rachelle Bergstein. This self-proclaimed “biography of diamonds” is brilliant in its own right. A friend once told me, “Good non-fiction should read like fiction,” and this book certainly does. Rachelle artfully and evocatively narrates the creation and continuation of our obsession with diamonds. Without villainizing our industry, she crafts an accurate portrayal of diamonds’ history and their place in our culture and our collective consciousness, highlighting some of the world’s most famous diamonds, and some of our industry’s tallest tales along the way. We’re excited to present our VIP retailers with signed copies of Brilliance and Fire at our show next week, and I was lucky enough to get on a call to chat with Rachelle and get a little more insight into how she, as an “outsider” by industry standards, got access to such intimate information. It was also interesting to get her impression of “our world,” and the future of diamonds.
JA New York: I really enjoyed your book Rachelle! I was amazed at what a terrific job you did capturing both the history of diamonds, and the essence of the diamond industry, given that you don’t come from this world.
Rachelle Bergstein: Thank you so much! That’s what I was going for; I was writing for a lay audience, but in the back of my mind, it was my hope that someone from the jewelry world would read it and think, “she got it right!”
JA New York: So….why diamonds?
RB: I wrote my first book, Women from the Ankle Down, on shoes, and the question that motivated me for that was, “Why did this item that was meant to be functional, become such an object of obsession?” When I finished that, I started thinking about what I was going to work on next. I thought about engagement rings, and how they’d become such a loaded symbol and I wondered why that was. I came across some research about the N.W. Ayer campaign, and the idea just started growing. Nobody has written a book on diamonds for the 21st century that gives a balanced portrait of both the dark side of diamonds, and also why they are the object of such beauty. Diamonds have no real function (gems, anyway), but they’re highly valued for their symbolicalness, and that’s what got me started.
JA New York: So what was your first step? How did you first “break into” this industry?!
RB: I think ignorance is bliss in some ways; I just asked! I started doing research to figure out who I wanted to talk to, and then I made a wish list and started reaching out. Astonishingly, so many people said yes. I found people to be really inviting and willing to tell their stories. They were excited that someone wanted to hear about diamonds, and not just the bad stuff. And so many people wanted to tell me about the generations of family in the industry, and give their perspective on some of the negative press that diamonds have received in the past. Because I wanted to give a balanced view, people were much more open to speaking with me.
In speaking to everyone, I picked up on how much thought went into the business aspect of the industry, but there was also so much artistry that people wanted to talk about, and they were so passionate about it! I think when someone approaches you and wants to know about you and your artistry, it’s hard to resist. Because I’m an outsider, I was really eager, I really wanted to be educated.
JA New York: Your Ackownlgedgment chapter reads like a veritable who’s who in the industry….I bet you met some real characters?!
RB: Haha! Yes, I met a bunch of stand out characters….we’ll just leave it at that!
JA New York: It’s such a rare opportunity for us to get a perspective on our industry from someone from “the outside.” What struck you as unique about the diamond and jewelry industry in comparison to other industries?
RB: The Multi-generational aspect really piqued my interest and it continues to fascinate me. People have the most wonderful stories about their grandfathers and fathers and, as a historian, to follow that lineage is so tantalizing for me.
JA New York: Did you have any thoughts on why multi-generational businesses are so prominent in our industry as opposed to others?
RB: I get the sense that knowing about gemstones is sort of like knowing a secret language, and when you have that and you’re born with it, it might be difficult to walk away from such specialized knowledge. One person I spoke with told me stories about how he saw his father and grandfather go through jewelry on the kitchen table. Jewels are so beautiful that something like that is going to have an impact, and the combination of beauty and specialized knowledge has got to be very appealing.
JA New York: Your book takes us through the ebb and flow of consumer demand for diamonds, which is affected by so many variables–style, celebrity, economy, zeitgeist–but throughout, diamonds continue to entice. Do you have any predictions for the future of diamonds? Will they continue to entice?
RB: I do think they’ll continue to entice. I know millennials say they don’t want diamonds, but I personally feel that they will. There might be a momentary blip when the current generation expresses less interest than the previous one, but I think diamonds will continue to have a special place. In part I think this is because the diamond engagement ring is such an iconic piece of American, and now world, culture. The engagement ring is such a big part of the ritual, and in order for that to go away, the engagement ring would have to completely change, or people would have to stop getting married. I just don’t think it’s possible for the ritual to stay the same and the ring not be a part of it.
Throughout my book, we see that people love diamonds, in some cases almost in spite of themselves. So there’s more information out there and we’re going to see a more knowledgeable buyer, but they’ll still want to buy. I think the more transparency the better with this kind of customer. Millennials are savvier than previous generations, there’s no pulling the wool over their eyes. The best way to handle these customers is to be completely transparent and re-fresh the diamond’s image. And I will say that millennial customers don’t like to feel that they’re being tricked in any way, so straight forward advertising is better than smoke and mirrors.
JA New York: As you made abundantly clear in your book, there just is something so special and irresistible about diamonds!
RB: That’s right! That’s something that’s often missing when you talk about diamonds, they really are beautiful! They catch the light in this magical way, and as much as we know about them, there’s still something magical and mysterious about them. How did the earth make them? How did the cutter cut them to maximize their brilliance? How did the designer set them? They really are irresistible!
The JA New York Summer 2016 Event is taking place July 24-16 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Register here to attend!
