Zales Turns Sweethearts into Gold Diamond Charms, Sold Out in 27 Hours

Zales launched a limited-edition Valentine’s Day capsule called Zales x Sweethearts® for Valentine’s Day 2026, offering 10k yellow gold heart-shaped charms set with lab-grown diamonds and engraved with one of three Sweethearts® messages - OOO LA LA, AMORE, or XOXO - and the collection sold out on Zales.com within 27 hours. The campaign ran under the creative banner Forever Sweethearts and was presented as part of Zales’ “Own It” platform and its Valentine’s assortment “Sweetest Gifts.”

The charms were packaged in Sweethearts®-inspired boxes and sold in a blind-box mystery format that included a surprise message inside, replicating the candy’s element of chance. National Jeweler ran imagery captioned Zales x Sweethearts Mystery Box and Amore Heart Charm showing a charm worn, while campaign materials describe the pieces as collectible fine-jewelry keepsakes meant for everyday wear and self-gifting.

Zales’ marketing framing was explicit about self-affirmation. Amanda Rather, Senior Director of Marketing at Zales, said, “Growing up, Sweethearts were little affirmations you loved to give and hoped to get. With Zales x Sweethearts®, we wanted to flip that idea and create something fun and nostalgic that reminds customers the most powerful affirmations are the ones they give themselves. These charms are about joy, confidence, and celebrating who you are, whether you’re gifting one to someone you love or choosing it just for you.”

The campaign was developed with agency Anomaly, with creative leads Ida Gronblom and Fee Millist shaping the concept and rollout across owned channels, paid social, and influencer support. Ida Gronblom, Executive Creative Director at Anomaly, described the idea as “literally translating Sweethearts® candies into limited-edition charms” and noted the team expected the product “would sell out within a week. Little did we know it would happen within hours.” Creative Director Fee Millist framed the project as cultural translation, saying, “We saw an opportunity to turn a beloved nostalgic icon into a modern symbol of self-empowerment,” and added, “Candy may not be forever, but self-love should be.”

Materials and channel details are specific: the pieces are 10k yellow gold with lab-grown diamonds and were sold exclusively via Zales.com in the blind-box format. Multiple creative listings and trade posts documented the sell-out timing as 27 hours, while Anomaly’s quoted language uses the vaguer phrase within hours; both timeframes appear in campaign coverage.

Notably absent from the campaign copy and surrounding materials are several provenance and specification details that matter to collectors and ethically minded buyers. Sources did not disclose retail price, unit counts for the limited run, diamond carat weights, color or clarity grades, or whether the lab-grown diamonds carry specific certificates. The Sweethearts® collaboration is presented as an authorized brand partnership, but licensing terms were not published.

Zales and Anomaly positioned the capsule as a playful reframing of Valentine’s Day jewelry toward everyday self-expression, and the rapid sell-through on Zales.com underscored market appetite. At the same time, the campaign left key provenance and pricing details undisclosed, a gap that prospective buyers and collectors will likely want clarified in future drops or official statements.