Jeweler Ron Samuelson wasn’t expecting much when he started a diamond fanpage on Facebook. Now 200,000+ fans later, Ron and his business are now pioneers in the new way the jewelry industry likes to market online. Thanks to social networks like Twitter and Facebook, the breech between jewelry businesses and consumers are closer than ever, and luckily, both parties benefit.

“The way we use social media, Facebook, Twitter — there’s a personal side,” Ron told Engagement 101. “There’s a personal side with my profile. People see that I like to play guitar, go to football games — they see you as a real person instead of a company saying, ‘Hey, this is what I sell.'”

The personable side of online media has changed the face of the jewelry industry. Ron’s diamond fanpage on Facebook doesn’t just promote his business, Samuelson’s Diamonds, but hosts a whole diamond community. Fans post pictures of their engagement rings, share proposal stories (and sometimes divorce stories) and participate in discussions.

“I just put up on Twitter this morning about a three carat stone I wanted to sell and already got three emails back,” he said.

But the easy access to customers is also good for couples in the market for a new ring. Now couples can chase down jewelry businesses looking for that perfect ring, using Facebook as their arsenal of choice. “They [the customer] want to see that the executives, the CEO are people just like them.”

Read more about Ron Samuelson on his blog, and also look for more of him on Engagement 101 in the upcoming months.