The Mark: Natural diamonds need to be more easily identifiable

It could benefit the natural diamond industry to physically mark its diamonds as a form of authentication. If done right, a universal identifier could become synonymous with the authenticity and associated luxury of natural diamonds.

Ideally, the ‘mark’ would be simple and easily identifiable without distracting from the diamond’s eye clarity – perhaps only visible with a 10x loupe.

It’s important that consumers can relatively easily identify the authenticity of a diamond on their own.
Despite the moderate success of proprietary diamond brands in recent decades, the general marketing and branding of diamonds as a category remains imperative to the product’s relevance.

At the end of the day, diamonds are still competing with other colour gemstones – and these days, especially with lab-created diamonds.

The key would be for every natural diamond to have the same mark, including all branded jewellery that features natural diamonds.

Any diamond bearing this mark that is not a natural diamond would be considered a counterfeit, much like sparkling wine, which, in order to be marketed as champagne, must originate from the appropriate region in France.

Another way to achieve universal marking could be through a proprietary microscopic chip embedded in all natural diamonds.

The key here would be a network of verification machines that could theoretically be scaled economically and made widely available to consumers.

However, a mark that consumers could visually see for themselves would arguably resonate the best.
In a similar vein, the Natural Diamond Council released a line of proprietary jewellery designs in 2021, which were made publicly available to manufacturers and retailers, provided the jewellery was set with natural diamonds.

The idea was to associate specific and identifiable designs with natural diamonds. Theoretically, if you are wearing one of these designs, people would know it is natural diamond jewellery.

The campaign didn’t really gain traction; however, it was conceptually well-founded.

More recently, the De Beers Group debuted its first new ‘beacon’ in years, Desert Diamonds. The collection includes diamonds ranging in colour from off-white to semi-nudes, yellows, and browns.

The idea behind the initiative is to presumably highlight natural diamonds that can easily be visually differentiated from lab-created diamonds, which all seem to be headed towards colourless VVS or better.

At the end of the day, it seems quite clear, at least, all-else-equal (price), that most consumers would prefer a natural diamond to a lab-created diamond – or even another colour gemstone alternative.

The perception of a natural diamond still holds currency in the minds of consumers around the world.

Current challenges highlight the need to give consumers confidence that what they are paying a premium for is, in fact, a natural diamond.

Easily distinguishing a natural diamond from other lesser alternatives elevates the favourable legacy perception of just a ‘diamond’ to ‘natural diamond.’ Luxury consumers like logos and authenticity; it could serve the natural diamond industry and the category as a whole if the standard practice of shopping for a diamond included “looking for the mark.”

Despite the volatility over the past decade and a half, diamonds remain an incredibly relevant consumer product. This is true even with cultural shifts and the emergence of new generations that were never exposed to the industry when it was at the ‘top of its game’.

This is a testament to the power and resonance of marketing and product positioning efforts when they are successfully executed over a sufficiently long period of time. It also helps that diamonds are one of the most interesting and naturally beautiful geological souvenirs.

Diamonds have the fundamental underpinnings to keep them in vogue perennially; however, as with any discretionary product, especially a luxury product, strategy around marketing and merchandising needs to not only remain active but also evolve.

THE GREAT DIAMOND DEBATE III

Table of Contents

The Big Picture
	What becomes of the broken-hearted? Publisher, Publisher of Jeweller
	Diamonds: A small piece of a large puzzle Samuel Ord, Editor of Jeweller
In-Depth
	Will diamonds shine forever? Eight steps to securing a brighter future Robert Bouquet, Independen Analyst
	Lab-created diamonds are in fashion Joshua Freedman, Senior Analyst, Rapaport
	The Mark: Natural diamonds need to be more easily identifiable Paul Zimnisky, Independent Diamond Industry Analyst, Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics
The Debate
	Natural diamonds: Clean your house first! Garry Holloway, Owner, Holloway Diamonds
	Diamonds & Ice: Nobody likes change Tom Chatham, Owner, Chatham Created Gems
	Consumers hold an enduring love for natural diamonds David Kellie, CEO, Natural Diamond Council
	Seismic shifts to shape jewellery retail for the next 40 years Marty Hurwitz, Executive Director, Grown Diamond Trade Organization
	Trust and transparency remain critical in an evolving diamond industry Sally Morrison, Natural Diamonds Market Lead (US), De Beers Group
	Consumers wisely opt for the superior product: Lab-created diamonds Martin Roscheisen, CEO, Diamond Foundry
	Natural Diamonds: Nature’s Mic Drop Feriel Zerouki, President, World Diamond Council
The Science
	Strictly speaking, about synthetics Dr Gaetano Cavalieri, President, World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO)
	Natural or Synthetic Diamonds: Education is more important than ever Ian Dun, Federal President, Gemmological Association of Australia
	Beauty & Flaw: Nothing lasts forever Daniel Nyfeler, Managing Director, Gübelin Gem Lab.
	Diamonds from Earth and Lab: Facts, Opportunities, & Transparency Tehmasp Printer, CEO, International Gemological Institute
	Legacy of Clarity: GIA updates diamond reports to reflect market Gemological Institute of America (GIA)

The Great Diamond Debate Collection