- Tsaone Segaetsho
Expert analysis gathered by this publication portrays De Beers as aiming to amplify its marketing efforts towards the US holiday season. The US is one of the largest consumers of De Beers diamonds, and during the festive period—Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s—jewellery is a popular gift, and many young couples become engaged.
A review of De Beers’ website reveals that while the company is facing challenging times due to falling diamond prices and shifting market priorities driven by global economic impacts, it is simultaneously waging a determined campaign against synthetic diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds (LGDs), as synthetic diamonds are often called, have emerged as a significant threat to De Beers’ natural diamond production, contributing to market shifts and affecting the value of natural diamonds.
Experts have maintained that De Beers made a major misstep by introducing synthetics into the engagement ring market. However, the company has responded with a bold counter-campaign, urging new couples to choose natural diamonds. The “Our New Natural Diamonds Campaign Celebrating Modern Love” is designed to combat the growing appeal of synthetic diamonds, particularly among millennials.
On Wednesday, De Beers, in collaboration with Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamonds, launched a new natural diamond marketing campaign, ‘Worth the Wait’. The campaign, focusing on modern love and evolving relationship dynamics, targets soon-to-be-engaged ‘Zillennials’. According to De Beers, the campaign employs emotional and authentic storytelling featuring diverse real-world couples. The collaboration between Signet and De Beers aims to reintroduce the unique qualities of natural diamonds to a new generation of US couples.
The primarily visual campaign includes a 90-second feature, along with two 30-second and two 15-second spots, to be distributed across social media, online platforms, and Signet’s Jared, KAY, and Zales stores, as well as their digital channels.
Jamie Singleton, President and Chief Consumer Officer of Signet Jewelers Group, said, “Across Signet’s banners, we are working to educate customers on their options and provide transparency as a leader in responsible sourcing.”
Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands, stated this week that the ongoing campaign is part of a refreshed approach to natural diamond marketing, aimed at connecting a new generation of consumers with the allure of natural diamonds. While acknowledging past criticism of De Beers for introducing synthetics into the engagement ring market—a move experts believe intensified the threat from LGDs—Conseiller emphasised the company’s strong history of iconic natural diamond advertising.
“The premise of the campaign is to celebrate the unique and often challenging journeys couples take before deciding to get engaged, mirroring the formation of natural diamonds deep within the Earth. True love, like a true diamond, is forged by fire. Just as each couple’s journey to find ‘the one’ is unique, a natural diamond is worth the wait,” Conseiller said.
Diamond journalist and expert Avi Krawitz, writing earlier this week, noted a “sense of urgency” to promote natural diamonds this holiday season. He highlighted weak market sentiment at the start of the fourth quarter and stressed the need to boost demand for diamond jewellery at the retail level to stimulate activity across the distribution chain, which has seen sharp declines. Krawitz, whose expertise is widely cited in international media, added, “Natural diamonds have lost market share to synthetics, while the industry faces additional challenges from the slowdown in China and US consumer caution driven by rising living costs.”
He further stressed that the improvement in marketing efforts must be substantial, not incremental, in order to make the industry viable again after the losses experienced over the past two years. “Without a significant increase in demand, the industry risks continuing along the downward path that has seen diamonds lose considerable value over the past decade,” Krawitz concluded.
James Campbell, Managing Director of Botswana Diamonds Plc, a company listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and experienced in diamond exploration and mining, commented in a brief interview that while the new marketing campaigns seem promising, it will take time for natural diamonds to regain their long-dominant market position. He acknowledged that De Beers’ decision to introduce synthetics into the engagement ring market was a grave error, and it will take years of concerted effort to restore the sentimental value of natural diamonds.
