The Knot Drops a Hint

New York--TheKnot.com has launched a new service to help couples find the perfect ring, just in time for the many proposals that will pop up during the holiday season.

The bridal marketplace has launched a new service called “Hint,” which provides a one-stop shop for users to browse and “like” rings, send a hint about their favorites to their partners, and have The Knot translate their favorite styles to real rings and designers to start the buying process with a local jeweler.

Hint is designed to help people better figure out exactly which styles of rings they like and translate that to real product.

After choosing six engagement ring images, The Knot uses those selections to create a description of what they like, including style, shape, metal and designers, plus additional information on each category if they want to learn more.

These recommendations also can be sent to the user’s partner, friends or family, and the proposer can use the information and the site to connect with local jewelers and share favorites taken directly from TheKnot.com to create the perfect ring.

Any jeweler that has a “storefront,” a mini website of their own, on TheKnot.com will be included in the recommendation from Hint. Users click through to the retailer’s “storefront” from that recommendation to learn more about the jeweler, read reviews, browse images and connect with them.

The Knot said it has both paying and non-paying vendors listed on TheKnot.com. The unpaid vendor listings don’t have any photos, reviews, etc., but business can claim their isting to create a “storefront.” For the monthly paying vendors, The Knot provides a space for this on the website featuring images video, a bio, details on the store, links to their website and social media channels, and more.

Paying retailers also can link back to the designer lines they carry in The Knot’s engagement ring gallery, a spokesperson for the Knot said, and show up first in search results on both sites.

To celebrate the launch of Hint, The Knot is hosting a sweepstakes where three winners will get an engagement ring from Karl Lagerfeld’s new bridal collection and an American Express gift card from Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. to help with wedding planning purchases.

“Eighty percent of grooms said they got a little input from their fiancées or one of her friends or family members before purchasing the ring,” said Kellie Gould, editor-in-chief