Natural-Diamond Trade Hits Back at Pandora

Leading trade organizations have lashed out at Pandora’s recent statements about lab-grown stones, claiming the retailer misrepresented natural diamonds and caused harm to the industry.

Pandora announced it would no longer sell mined diamonds and would instead stock synthetics, linking the decision to its environmental goals. The launch of a lab-grown line will help “transform the market for diamond jewelry with affordable, sustainably created products,” the Danish jeweler asserted last week.

Pandora’s proclamation wrongly positioned lab-grown as an “ethical choice versus natural diamonds,” five jewelry groups said in a joint statement Friday. The signatories were the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

The diamond industry employs tens of millions of people around the world, the organizations pointed out. The communities that benefit from the sector need its support “more than ever” given the hardship resulting from Covid-19, they added.

“The misleading narrative created by the Pandora announcement implying the natural-diamond industry is…less ethical and the impetus behind Pandora’s move to lab-grown diamonds, particularly given the inconsequential [quantity] of diamonds Pandora features in its collections, can have unintended but substantial consequences on communities in developing nations,” the groups said. “The industry organizations have called upon Pandora to support communities by correcting the record.”

Pandora used mined diamonds in about 50,000 of the 85 million pieces it created in 2020, it said.

Pandora was not immediately available for comment.

Source: DCLA

Natural-Diamond Trade Hits Back at Pandora

Leading trade organizations have lashed out at Pandora’s recent statements about lab-grown stones, claiming the retailer misrepresented natural diamonds and caused harm to the industry.

Pandora announced it would no longer sell mined diamonds and would instead stock synthetics, linking the decision to its environmental goals. The launch of a lab-grown line will help “transform the market for diamond jewelry with affordable, sustainably created products,” the Danish jeweler asserted last week.

Pandora’s proclamation wrongly positioned lab-grown as an “ethical choice versus natural diamonds,” five jewelry groups said in a joint statement Friday. The signatories were the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

The diamond industry employs tens of millions of people around the world, the organizations pointed out. The communities that benefit from the sector need its support “more than ever” given the hardship resulting from Covid-19, they added.

“The misleading narrative created by the Pandora announcement implying the natural-diamond industry is…less ethical and the impetus behind Pandora’s move to lab-grown diamonds, particularly given the inconsequential [quantity] of diamonds Pandora features in its collections, can have unintended but substantial consequences on communities in developing nations,” the groups said. “The industry organizations have called upon Pandora to support communities by correcting the record.”

Pandora used mined diamonds in about 50,000 of the 85 million pieces it created in 2020, it said.

Pandora was not immediately available for comment.

Source: DCLA

More Retailers Selling Lab-Grown Diamonds

 

About 38% of independent jewelers are now carrying lab-grown diamonds, according to a new survey by MVI Marketing for the International Grown Diamond Association and InStore magazine.

Consumer awareness of man-made gems is also rising: The company’s MVEye survey of more than 1,000 jewelry consumers found that 80% were aware of lab-grown diamonds. By contrast, in 2018, 58% had heard of the category. A decade ago, less than 10% had.

Some 8% said they owned jewelry with lab-grown diamonds, up from 6% in 2018.

Nearly one-third of jewelry consumers said they learned about lab-grown diamonds from retail jewelers, while another 21% found out about them through social media, specifically the Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms.

The survey found that 22% of jewelry consumers were skeptical at first when they heard about lab-grown diamonds, but 44% wanted to know more, and 17% said their initial reaction was positive.

Over one-third (34%) said they were offered lab-grown diamonds while shopping for an engagement ring, up from 25% in 2018.

While the Federal Trade Commission has specifically warned companies not to use “general environmental benefit claims” like “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” to describe lab-grown (or any) products, the poll found that many consumers had heard that message and retained it, and often used those phrases to describe the category.

Most consumers, however, were simply motivated by the chance to save a little money and get a bigger piece for less, with 31% citing that is the main reason for their purchase.

“At the end of the day, the price-to-size equation is what gets them to open their wallets,” says MVI Marketing CEO Marty Hurwitz. The “eco” message is “the icing on the cake for younger consumers, but it’s not the primary value driver.”

The survey found the most recognized brands in the lab-grown space were e-tailer Brilliant Earth (35%); Diama by Swarovski (34%); Pure Grown Diamonds (27%); Diamond Foundry (24%); Lightbox (24%); Diamond Nexus, which primarily sells simulants but sells lab-growns through another division (22%); and Renaissance (21%).

Hurwitz notes that many retailers said there was a need for “greater unification of marketing presentation” for lab-grown diamonds, so there was a greater clarity about what terminology and sales techniques were allowed and most effective.

Overall, retailers reported mixed results for how their jewelry business was faring in 2020, with 39% saying business was up, 33% finding it down, and 19% reporting it was equal to pre–COVID-19.

As for where consumers wanted to shop this year, 48% said a jewelry chain, 42% said a high-end jeweler, 36% said a local independent, and 15% said online.

As for how they intended to shop during the COVID-19 pandemic, 36% said they wanted to only buy online, 28% said they were looking to visit a store, 17% said they preferred an in-store private appointment, and 11% said they wanted to visit the store and buy online later.

Source: DCLA

More Retailers Selling Lab-Grown Diamonds

 

About 38% of independent jewelers are now carrying lab-grown diamonds, according to a new survey by MVI Marketing for the International Grown Diamond Association and InStore magazine.

Consumer awareness of man-made gems is also rising: The company’s MVEye survey of more than 1,000 jewelry consumers found that 80% were aware of lab-grown diamonds. By contrast, in 2018, 58% had heard of the category. A decade ago, less than 10% had.

Some 8% said they owned jewelry with lab-grown diamonds, up from 6% in 2018.

Nearly one-third of jewelry consumers said they learned about lab-grown diamonds from retail jewelers, while another 21% found out about them through social media, specifically the Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms.

The survey found that 22% of jewelry consumers were skeptical at first when they heard about lab-grown diamonds, but 44% wanted to know more, and 17% said their initial reaction was positive.

Over one-third (34%) said they were offered lab-grown diamonds while shopping for an engagement ring, up from 25% in 2018.

While the Federal Trade Commission has specifically warned companies not to use “general environmental benefit claims” like “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” to describe lab-grown (or any) products, the poll found that many consumers had heard that message and retained it, and often used those phrases to describe the category.

Most consumers, however, were simply motivated by the chance to save a little money and get a bigger piece for less, with 31% citing that is the main reason for their purchase.

“At the end of the day, the price-to-size equation is what gets them to open their wallets,” says MVI Marketing CEO Marty Hurwitz. The “eco” message is “the icing on the cake for younger consumers, but it’s not the primary value driver.”

The survey found the most recognized brands in the lab-grown space were e-tailer Brilliant Earth (35%); Diama by Swarovski (34%); Pure Grown Diamonds (27%); Diamond Foundry (24%); Lightbox (24%); Diamond Nexus, which primarily sells simulants but sells lab-growns through another division (22%); and Renaissance (21%).

Hurwitz notes that many retailers said there was a need for “greater unification of marketing presentation” for lab-grown diamonds, so there was a greater clarity about what terminology and sales techniques were allowed and most effective.

Overall, retailers reported mixed results for how their jewelry business was faring in 2020, with 39% saying business was up, 33% finding it down, and 19% reporting it was equal to pre–COVID-19.

As for where consumers wanted to shop this year, 48% said a jewelry chain, 42% said a high-end jeweler, 36% said a local independent, and 15% said online.

As for how they intended to shop during the COVID-19 pandemic, 36% said they wanted to only buy online, 28% said they were looking to visit a store, 17% said they preferred an in-store private appointment, and 11% said they wanted to visit the store and buy online later.

Source: DCLA

New Guidelines Clarify: ‘Diamond’ Means ‘Natural’

Leading groups in the diamond and jewelry sectors have collaborated to publish a universal standard to use when referring to natural diamonds and synthetics.

The Diamond Terminology Guideline is a reference on diamond vocabulary for all sector organizations, traders and retailers to use, nine industry bodies said in a joint statement Tuesday.
The document stipulates that the words “diamond” and “gemstone” imply natural origin. The industry should use “synthetic,” “laboratory-grown” or “laboratory-created,” and should avoid the terms “real,” “genuine” and “authentic,” when describing such man-made products.

“Protecting consumer confidence is of paramount importance to the long-term success of our industry,” World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) president Gaetano Cavalieri said. “The Diamond Terminology Guideline is an important tool in achieving this, by helping standardize the terminology used to clearly distinguish between diamonds and synthetic diamonds, in all communications, among ourselves and with our customers.”

The guidelines are based on the ISO Standard 18323 for jewelry and on CIBJO’s diamond Blue Book, which are internationally accepted benchmarks in the field.

The parties that created the document, in addition to CIBJO, are: the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the Israel Diamond Industry (IDI), the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), the US Jewelry Council (USJC), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFBD).
Source: diamonds.net


DCLA provides reports for natural origin Diamonds only.

New Guidelines Clarify: ‘Diamond’ Means ‘Natural’

Leading groups in the diamond and jewelry sectors have collaborated to publish a universal standard to use when referring to natural diamonds and synthetics.

The Diamond Terminology Guideline is a reference on diamond vocabulary for all sector organizations, traders and retailers to use, nine industry bodies said in a joint statement Tuesday.
The document stipulates that the words “diamond” and “gemstone” imply natural origin. The industry should use “synthetic,” “laboratory-grown” or “laboratory-created,” and should avoid the terms “real,” “genuine” and “authentic,” when describing such man-made products.

“Protecting consumer confidence is of paramount importance to the long-term success of our industry,” World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) president Gaetano Cavalieri said. “The Diamond Terminology Guideline is an important tool in achieving this, by helping standardize the terminology used to clearly distinguish between diamonds and synthetic diamonds, in all communications, among ourselves and with our customers.”

The guidelines are based on the ISO Standard 18323 for jewelry and on CIBJO’s diamond Blue Book, which are internationally accepted benchmarks in the field.

The parties that created the document, in addition to CIBJO, are: the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the Israel Diamond Industry (IDI), the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), the US Jewelry Council (USJC), the World Diamond Council (WDC) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFBD).
Source: diamonds.net


DCLA provides reports for natural origin Diamonds only.