Jewelers out to protect cachet; High-end marketers can't cut prices, need to hammer exclusivity.

Advertising Age, March, 2002 by Fitzgerald, Kate

Purveyors of expensive jewelry, averse to discounting, are refocusing their attention on those best able to whip out their platinum card to buy diamonds.

Upscale jewelry retailers widened their marketing target to reach free-spending consumers during the bygone economic boom, but the reversal of fortunes have caused many consumers to postpone such purchases.

``The masses have gone class by making diamonds more affordable to people at all levels of the income spectrum, and the classy jewelers have reached down to the masses a bit,'' says Don Ziccardi, CEO of New York agency Ziccardi Partners Frierson Mee.

But in tough times, high-end jewelers usually don't slash prices, unlike other luxury retailers that have responded to the recession with...

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