• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 15, 2024

Thanks to new approaches in marketing, Pandora’s fourth-quarter sales exceeded expectations, with organic sales growing 12% to $1.58 billion. Sales in the U.S. rose 10%.

The world’s largest jewelry brand says those gains will lift its full-year results by 8%. And despite a flat year for jewelry overall, it gained market share.

“We are very pleased with our results across the peak trading season and how we closed 2023,” said Alexander Lacik, president and CEO, in the company's announcement.

Sales of Pandora Lab Grown Diamonds soared 83%, driven by the success of “Diamonds for All,” the campaign it launched last fall. With the intention of “democratizing diamonds,” ads star a fresh-faced Pamela Anderson. Vogue stylist Grace Coddington and actor Amita Suman also appear in the ads.

The campaign aimed to shake new sparkle into consumer perceptions of lab-grown diamonds, introducing three new collections, with some items priced as low as $290. Many are made using recycled silver and gold.

“We want more people to experience the power and beauty of lab-grown diamonds for every day, in classic diamond settings and some that are unexpected,” said Pandora's creative director when it first announced the new campaign.

Shot by photographer Mario Sorrenti and director Gordon von Steiner, the company's goal was to help people reimagine diamond traditions. “Our diamonds are not for the few, for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, or only for giving. They represent personal meaning that each of us can create.” 

The company has 2,500 stores worldwide, with the U.S. its largest market.

Pandora’s results are awe-inspiring, given the poor results of the overall jewelry industry. Despite relatively robust overall spending, with Mastercard SpendingPulse reporting a 3.1% increase in holiday retail results, jewelry was a soft spot. It estimates that jewelry suffered the worst performance, with sales dipping 2%.

Last month, Signet Jewelers, owners of Zales, Kay and Jared, reported a 12% decline in its third-quarter sales to $1.4 billion, with sales in North America notching the most significant drop. And it predicted further declines in the current quarter.