Diamond miner De Beers Group and diamond jewellery retailer Signet Jewelers have launched ‘Worth the Wait’, a new natural diamond campaign focused on the themes of modern love and evolving relationship dynamics, targeted at soon-to-be-engaged ‘Zillennials’.

Zillennials are classified as the microgeneration born between 1993 and 1998.

The campaign is the first major activation of the recently announced collaboration between Signet and De Beers to reintroduce natural diamonds to a new generation of US couples.

It follows months of training for Signet’s 20 000 sales associates, providing them with knowledge of the features of natural diamonds.

The campaign, which encompasses a 90-second long-form feature, as well as two 30-second and two 15-second spots, will run nationally across integrated consumer touchpoints, including social media, online platforms and across Signet’s Jared, KAY and Zales banners via online video, social media and storefronts.

The campaign draws on Signet’s data-driven consumer insights and digital capabilities.

It aims to highlight the priorities of modern couples and the trajectories their relationships often take, with this posited to be prioritising of personal growth and self-investment before building a relationship.

The campaign showcases real-world couples, and aims to illustrate the pressures and joys of love as couples grow as individuals and in their relationships, mirrored against the journey of natural diamonds from mine to polished.

With Signet’s proprietary data showing an expected uptick in engagements over the coming years following a post-pandemic lull, the insights that informed the campaign also reflect the key milestones that Signet tracks as a couple progresses along relationship milestones, such as moving in together, merging finances or even breaking up and then getting back together.

KAY’s recently launched ‘Milestones Natural Diamond Collection’ is one of the beacon lines representing the underlying ethos of the Worth the Wait campaign. The collection of rings, pendants and earrings features designs that aim to symbolise the moments and milestones that strengthen love throughout a relationship.

Additionally, Jared’s flagship bridal brand, Chosen, allows customers to choose from a range of high-quality natural diamonds, centre stone shapes and personalised settings.

Later this month, Jared is also launching ‘UNSPOKEN’, a collection of natural diamond pendants, earrings, rings and bracelets set in high-polish yellow gold, as well as white gold.

“Across Signet’s banners, we are working to educate customers on their choices and provide transparency as an industry leader in responsible sourcing efforts. Every natural diamond was formed in a different part of the earth, under different conditions, following its own special path to emerge as a tangible piece of timeless beauty.

“The Worth the Wait campaign tells the intertwined story between that journey and the rare and unique path each couple’s individual love story takes. It’s a celebration of the hard work and struggles, along with the magic and joy, that contribute to a couple’s lasting, meaningful commitment,” says Signet Jewelers group president and chief consumer officer Jamie Singleton.

“We’re excited to launch this campaign as part of our refreshed approach to natural diamond category marketing to connect a new generation of consumers to the wonder of natural diamonds. While the campaign draws on our track record of iconic natural diamond advertising, it brings an entirely fresh approach grounded in deep insights about the relationships of today’s diverse couples,” says De Beers brand CEO Sandrine Conseiller.

“The premise of the campaign is to celebrate the individual, challenging and rewarding journeys that couples go on before making the momentous decision to get engaged, which is perfectly mirrored by the journey of a natural diamond formed deep within the Earth’s surface. True love, like a true diamond, is forged by fire. Just like each couple’s unique journey to find ‘the one’, a natural diamond is worth the wait,” she says.