Not for lovers only: Valentine's day this year has taken on new meaning. (Valentine's Day 2002).

Valentine's Day isn't just hearts and flowers. While traditionally associated with romance, it is also a time when people can show family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, and others that they care for them. According to a 2001 National Retail Federation (NRF) survey, "a substantial percentage" of consumers (42.2%) already see Feb. 14 as an opportunity to give a gift to someone for reasons other than romantic interest.

Such impulses are even more understandable in the wake of recent tragic events in the United States. "Certainly, jewelers can make this Valentine's Day more meaningful by stressing the eternal bond we have with each other, from which we draw strength," says designer Deborah Armstrong, who is known for her patterned sterling silver jewelry "Reaching out to those who mean something to us with a gesture this Valentine's Day is more important than ever.

Here are 14 tips that can help give a special meaning to this year's Feb. 14 marketing:

1. Get personal. Promote symbolic, patriotic, and "personal" jewelry for Valentine's Day. Examples of the latter include rings, pendants, charms, lockets, and timepieces that can be engraved with a loving message or allow the user to insert a photo of friends or loved ones, suggests Elizabeth Florence, executive director of the Jewelry Information Center. A variation, notes retail consultant Janice Mack, is "the increased use of laser inscription to memorialize diamond gifts, with short messages engraved on the girdles of diamonds. It's reasonably inexpensive and widely available. A new twist on a mother's ring, for example, is a band of diamonds with each child's name engraved on a diamond."

Symbolic jewelry includes cameos, religious jewelry, "infinity" jewelry (which …