Graff Relaunches ‘Hair & Jewel’ Campaign

October 15th, 2013 by Noam Flint

Those who pay attention to the happenings in the world of gems have undoubtedly heard of Graff Diamonds. As one of the best-known luxury brands across the globe, the company has been a staple of the jewelry industry for six decades. Now, to celebrate Graff’s 60th anniversary, the brand is harkening back to its roots with an ad campaign that shines a light on the brilliance of white and color diamonds.

Graff Hair and Jewel Campaign
Graff relaunches ‘Hair & Jewel’ campaign
spectacular demonstration of amazing diamonds and designs like no other

Blast from the past

In 1970, Graff Diamonds shocked the public with an unconventional ad campaign. The iconic effort, known as “Hair & Jewel,” featured a model wearing more than $1 million worth of diamonds and other precious stones in her hair and on her person. The main photo of the campaign become instantly recognizable and helped to propel Graff to a higher status – a large feat for a company that was only 10 years old.

“At that time, this was a highly original concept, which captured the attention of the world’s media and was seen in newspapers and magazines around the globe,” said founder Laurence Graff, as quoted by Price Scope. “Until this time, images showing fine jewelry were typically modeled in a more conservative style. This image broke the mold by using a younger model and created the idea of diamonds being aspirational to younger women.”

The new campaign

Much like the original campaign, the new advertising efforts will focus on younger models wearing fantastic diamonds. This time around, however, Graff Diamonds is outfitting the wearer with more than $500 million in precious gems. Some of the most eye-catching stones include a butterfly brooch with a 33.11-carat D Flawless diamond, which was cut from the famous Letseng Star diamond – a stone weighing in at a whopping 550 carats. Other large diamonds include a 10.47-carat fancy vivid blue diamond briolette pendant and a 52.73-carat yellow diamond ring.

All of these amazing pieces were used to set Graff apart from its competitors, much like the original campaign in 1970.

“I recognize the importance of establishing the Graff Diamonds brand globally,” founder Laurence Graff told Forbes. “The creation of the $1 million Hair & Jewel provided the perfect opportunity to do this.”

This new version of the campaign was unveiled Oct. 8, 2013, and will begin appearing in major publications across the world in the near future.

A history of stunning gems

Graff Diamonds has made a name for itself throughout the years as one of the most predominant buyers of precious gems in the world. In late 2012, the company spent $10.86 million on a 10.48-carat fancy deep blue diamond. Purchased at a Sotheby’s auction, the gem sold for more than $1 million per carat and will likely be recut and polished by Graff for the purpose of setting and reselling it.

Less than one month later, Graff Diamonds bought an intense pink diamond from another Sotheby’s auction. The diamond, which is set in a ring, is 6.54 carats and internally flawless – facts that drove the price up to $8.59 million. At the same auction, Laurence Graff purchased a 52.73-carat yellow diamond for $3.9 million, among a few other items. That yellow diamond is just one of the recent purchases used in the “Hair & Jewel” campaign.

Perhaps the biggest buy Graff Diamonds has made in the past year was a 1965 Bulgari Blue Diamond Ring, which was sold at a Bonhams auction in April. The 5.30-carat fancy deep blue diamond features a cushion cut and is surrounded by several smaller white diamonds embedded in the ring setting. It sold for $9.6 million, setting a world record with a price per carat of $1.8 million.

1965 Bulgari Blue Diamond Ring Sold by Bonhams1965 Bulgari Blue Diamond Ring Sold by Bonhams (picture Bonhams)