 Key points
• The point of difference for natural diamonds is that they are rare and unique, with real value • Marketing initiatives and promotion of natural diamonds to consumers should be industry-wide and collaborative • Governments and international bodies must more strictly regulate the trade of synthetic diamonds |
This year, the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) launched a global awareness campaign to highlight the unique and extraordinary features of natural diamonds. Only natural diamonds symbolise eternity, commitment and love.
The message of the campaign is, ‘In a fake world, real things are rare,’ and it emphasises the traits of natural diamonds: astounding beauty, natural creation, geological age and immeasurable value.
The online marketing campaign consists of several short videos. Three videos have already released to date, and all conclude with the tag line, ‘I love natural diamonds.’
We are the first global diamond centre to release an international campaign aimed at differentiating natural diamonds from lab-grown and other synthetic stones.
We presented the campaign at the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) EXCO Conference in July and it was immediately endorsed by the WFDB.
In addition, the IDE videos are available to the 29 WFDB member diamond exchanges around the world for distribution through their own social media channels.
At a time when counterfeit products and fake reproductions flood almost every market, we believe that few commodities remain as rare and unique as natural diamonds.
Our marketing campaign highlights the exceptional qualities of natural diamonds as symbols of love and timelessness over the generations.
We aim to make consumers aware of the real value of the gems they buy and the unmatched attributes of natural diamonds. Our goal is to create a notable differentiation between natural and synthetic diamonds.
The two are not the same, even though they may share the same chemical composition.
We want this message to be made clear to consumers so that they are fully aware of what they are buying. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where synthetics were passed-off as natural.
We are convinced, and research confirms, that consumers want only natural diamonds for their important jewellery.
They may be willing to buy lab-grown diamonds for what De Beers calls “affordable fashion jewellery,” just as they bought jewellery set with cubic zirconia before that.
Proactive initiatives
In addition to launching the awareness campaign, we have taken several steps to ensure that this distinction will be clear to all:
- Trading in synthetic diamonds has long been banned on the IDE trading floor.
- We favour the use of technology that can detect synthetics and we are promoting the use of this technology throughout the diamond pipeline.
- We have called on the leading gemmological laboratories, most notably the GIA, to create distinct certificates for synthetics that do not resemble those for natural diamonds.
- We are also calling on the authorities in all countries to issue guidelines and regulations for the synthetic diamond industry. For example, in Israel, one needs to be licensed to trade in natural diamonds and there are regulations concerning VAT (value-added tax). On the other hand, the synthetic trade is not regulated and no licenses exist. We are asking the Israeli government to issue regulations applicable to the synthetic diamond trade.
We are also calling upon the US Federal Trade Commission to issue stringent guidelines and regulations concerning the synthetic diamond industry and to apply sanctions when synthetics are passed-off as natural.
Key players in the industry are supporting our efforts in favour of natural diamonds; the WFDB has adopted our campaign, and the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) has recently launched its own high-profile campaign ‘The Diamond Journey’ ahead of the holiday season, targeting 21–39 year old consumers.
The DPA’s central themes – love, connection and heirloom – depict the journey of a diamond as it is transformed from rough to jewellery and carries the tag line ‘3 Billion Years in the Making.’
We are collaborating with both the WFDB and the DPA in planning additional measures to promote natural diamonds over synthetics.
The Israel Diamond Exchange has taken a strong position in favour of natural diamonds. We have chosen to lead the industry in this regard and we are optimistic that the global diamond industry will join us in these efforts.
We are certain that consumers will continue to prefer natural diamonds as an expression of everlasting love.
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