Engagement Rings for Men: Where's Tiffany's Pride?
May 20, 21
Tiffany & Co. was out and proud in January 2015 when it unveiled its first ever ad featuring a same-sex couple. My predecessor Danielle Max devoted a whole Memo to its headline-grabbing break with tradition.
"Kudos to Tiffany & Co. for its latest ad campaign, which features a range of "modern" couples on the path to matrimony," she wrote. "Among them is a same-sex couple who in Peter Lindbergh's photograph look as perfect as the steps of the New York brownstone on which they are sitting."
So I was a little surprised when the same jeweler unveiled its first ever range of engagement rings for men. And seemed to tone down, or almost overlook, the whole LGBT message. I scoured the press release Tiffany issued at the end of last month for mention of same-sex marriage.
"This spring, Tiffany & Co. debuts The Charles Tiffany Setting, its first men's engagement ring featuring a bold solitaire diamond," reads its introduction.
"Named after founder Charles Lewis . . . captivated lovers around the world . . . jeweler's long-standing legacy in love and inclusivity . . .paving the way for new traditions . . . cherished commitments to one another . . ." And so it goes on, with not so much as a word about who might be buying these rings, or for whom, and with just one word - "inclusivity" - that could be understood as a reference to same-sex marriage.
There are, I'm sure, a small number of women who buy engagement rings for a small number of men. But I'll wager that a good proportion of men's engagement rings will be bought by men, for men. Why so coy, all of a sudden, Tiffany & Co.?
In 2015 the company was pushing the boundaries with its "Will You?" print campaign featuring seven couples - one of them gay - who had just popped the question. It got a lot of street cred for that. Tiffany followed up with a super-stylish video, produced by Ogilvy and Mather, again with a same-sex couple celebrating their love with a Tiffany ring. But six years later it suddenly has nothing to say on the matter.
What has happened in the intervening years? Just a few months after the campaign launch the US Supreme Court ordered the remaining 14 US states to permit same-sex marriage. And a good number of countries including Ireland, Greenland, Colombia, Malta, Germany, Taiwan, UK, Taiwan, Switzerland have, during this time, legalized it. Global acceptance of same-sex marriage is growing, which makes Tiffany's silence on the matter all the more perplexing.
Earlier this year company was, finally, bought out by the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. Has that made any difference? I don't think so. LVMH has been at the forefront of workplace diversity and inclusivity and signed the UN's code of conduct against discrimination. So I approached Tiffany's press office, several times, in search of answers. And I was surprised by their response to what I thought were straightforward questions. Did they expect to sell rings primarily to men or women? What were their reasons for introducing the range? Why now? How were sales going so far?
Tiffany responded: "Thank you again for your inquiry, unfortunately we do not have any responses or spokesperson quotes to offer at this time."
I was stonewalled, stopped in my tracks by corporate silence. Funny that, given that it was the was the 1969 riot in, of all places, Stonewall, in Greenwich Village, New York, that was the pivotal moment in the formation of America's gay liberation movement.
Have a fabulous weekend.