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Natural Diamonds - New Campaign - Good timing or too little too late?

Spring Azure said:
Can someone explain the history of these “blue white” diamonds? The first time I heard this term was from my grandma. We have a family ring that she talked about being a perfect blue white. It’s an OEC D/IF and I think is over 100 years old at this point. I gathered it was popular from what she said but I wish I knew more.
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A Blue Jager OEC :) !!!

Once upon a time before the diamond industry standardized to GIA color grading terminology the term Blue White (Blauweiss) was used to describe the finest color white diamonds. The original Blue White diamonds came from South Africa’s Jagerfontein mine. The best Jager stones were highly transparent (clear and colorless) with a bluish tint due to fluorescence.

Ironically, during the early part of the 20th century fluorescence was seen as something that had a very positive impact on top colors. The extra sparkle fluorescence provided when the diamond was seen face up in sunlight was accepted as verification of the diamonds high color. Blue White diamonds were avidly sought out by the trade and consumers who paid higher prices for diamonds with fluorescence.

rapaport.com

The Hidden Market Power of Fluorescent Diamonds

Rapaport | The Hidden Market Power of Fluorescent Diamonds - From the archives of Rapaport Magazine.
rapaport.com rapaport.com
 
Spring Azure said:
Can someone explain the history of these “blue white” diamonds? The first time I heard this term was from my grandma. We have a family ring that she talked about being a perfect blue white. It’s an OEC D/IF and I think is over 100 years old at this point. I gathered it was popular from what she said but I wish I knew more.
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Once upon a time there was a belief by diamontaires that certain colorless diamonds from a certain mine in South Africa that exhibited strong blue fluorescence were exceptionally white and bright. These rare stones were referred to as "Blue White". (At the time there was also a term for blue fluorescent diamonds that were milky - "overblues".)
Later, diamond dealers and jewelers started selling any blue fluorescent diamond as "blue white" and the term lost its once exclusive meaning. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission eventually had to restrict use of the term, requiring any stone labeled as "blue" to have actual blue body color.
 
And now this.....

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — a move it hopes will reaffirm its role as an international hub for natural stones and create a clear distinction between the two.
Barring certificates for synthetics will allow the Belgian-based grading lab to focus exclusively on natural diamonds and help strengthen consumer trust, HRD said Wednesday.

rapaport.com

Belgian Lab Puts Kibosh on Certificates for Loose Synthetic Diamonds

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — hoping to reaffirm its role as a hub for natural stones.
rapaport.com rapaport.com
 

freddyboston said:
And now this.....

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — a move it hopes will reaffirm its role as an international hub for natural stones and create a clear distinction between the two.
Barring certificates for synthetics will allow the Belgian-based grading lab to focus exclusively on natural diamonds and help strengthen consumer trust, HRD said Wednesday.

rapaport.com

Belgian Lab Puts Kibosh on Certificates for Loose Synthetic Diamonds

HRD Antwerp will no longer issue certificates for loose lab-grown diamonds — hoping to reaffirm its role as a hub for natural stones.
rapaport.com rapaport.com
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I know this is something else that has been beaten to death, but it always irks me when folks that I assume are professionals refer to grading reports as “certificates”.
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
I know this is something else that has been beaten to death, but it always irks me when folks that I assume are professionals refer to grading reports as “certificates”.
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Some labs make a distinction that they in fact do certify stones (example GCAL - certification is actually in their company name), or caveates that their reports are not certificates ( example GIA). The term certificate or "cert" has been used almost universally for decades in the diamond trade in reference to any laboratory diamond report.

It's a distinction without a difference for the most part, though it could potentially matter in some legal sense.
 
Texas Leaguer said:
Some labs make a distinction that they in fact do certify stones (example GCAL - certification is actually in their company name), or caveates that their reports are not certificates ( example GIA). The term certificate or "cert" has been used almost universally for decades in the diamond trade in reference to any laboratory diamond report.

It's a distinction without a difference for the most part, though it could potentially matter in some legal sense.
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I think a certification simply means that something is what it says it is. A gemstone that has been certified to be a diamond, I guess. I do know GIA specifically prohibits the use of the term certification, but maybe the other labs do certify that diamonds are, in fact, diamonds, and that’s the end of what they do.
 
Signet has added Real. Rare. Natural. Taglines to the "Diamonds" on BN and JA....

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freddyboston said:
it is....

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For a very long time the natural diamond industry relied on DeBeers to fund and create a top level advertising campaign to support consumer demand. When DeBeers lost dominance and ceased to be able to do that on their own, there was a void that went unfilled. Arguably, the lab grown diamond industry stepped into that void, but there were other problems too that worked against the natural diamond industry.

Now seems to be a good time for the natural diamond industry to get on the same page and work together.
 
Texas Leaguer said:
For a very long time the natural diamond industry relied on DeBeers to fund and create a top level advertising campaign to support consumer demand. When DeBeers lost dominance and ceased to be able to do that on their own, there was a void that went unfilled. Arguably, the lab grown diamond industry stepped into that void, but there were other problems too that worked against the natural diamond industry.

Now seems to be a good time for the natural diamond industry to get on the same page and work together.
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Will be interesting to see how they might parlay their message to the public at large. I still think that the natural market has its own allure. Everything in life is not just about dollars and cents. Just ask a Porsche dealership!
 
Dreamer_D said:
Real Rare Natural seems like the right message. Let the flame war begin lol
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Based on the G-color, I1-clarity oncrutchesrightnow sent earlier, maybe that’s what the natural diamond industry will mean by “rare”. Heavily-included diamonds will now be “rare” in a sea of lab-grown diamond perfection, I suppose, and therefore, perversely, more desirable. There’s no competition for Porsches just yet, so those dealers are safe.
 
jjca said:
I really do like that tag line!
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It’s a clever tagline. I think it definitely has the ability to sway people. Do they still also use the “ a diamond is forever” tagline? Because that’s now ambiguous as far as “diamond”. Maybe they should combine the two into “A real, rare, natural diamond is forever”. Although an LGD is also forever so I guess that wouldn’t work after all.
 
"Real Love cannot be grown in a Lab....." Duma Boko

 
Chelsea Palmer said:
He is the president of Botswana, yes? Can “real love” be grown in Kay’s Jewelers?
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Yes Natural diamond 2.0 business will be an Africa Story told by Africans....

Kay's sure... as long as it's real... here's a decent 1ct F vs2 for $5k that's not cray money for an E-ring...15 years ago a 1 ct diamond was a very nice size for young couples...

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Eughhhh, the campaign is not a good look.
It's selling the quantifying love as elitist commodity.
Will it backfire? Likely.
 
freddyboston said:
Yes Natural diamond 2.0 business will be an Africa Story told by Africans....

Kay's sure... as long as it's real... here's a decent 1ct F vs2 for $5k that's not cray money for an E-ring...15 years ago a 1 ct diamond was a very nice size for young couples...

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As long as what’s real?
 
The emphasis on "love that can't be grown in a factory" does not sit particularly well with me. But it is undeniable that the connection between love and diamonds has been strong for way longer than lab grown diamonds have been around, so it is understandable that this would be an element of the campaign.

What I do like in this speech is the connection between natural diamonds and economic and community development. I think this is one of the under-emphasized selling points of the natural diamond industry. And he articulated the real life benefits that natural diamonds have brought to his people extremely well.
 
freddyboston said:
Yes Natural diamond 2.0 business will be an Africa Story told by Africans....

Kay's sure... as long as it's real... here's a decent 1ct F vs2 for $5k that's not cray money for an E-ring...15 years ago a 1 ct diamond was a very nice size for young couples...

1750376100637.png

1750375881338.png
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I think “Not crazy money” is subjective. And I just feel like $4780 a LOT of money to spend for a “decent” diamonds when there’s so many prettier diamonds available for so much less.
 
Chelsea Palmer said:
I think “Not crazy money” is subjective. And I just feel like $4780 a LOT of money to spend for a “decent” diamonds when there’s so many prettier diamonds available for so much less.
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it's "Decent" by PScope cut standards... most people would not notice any deficiencies. Would just be a sparkly white F vs2

Round Cut | Kay

Round 1.00 Carat F VS2 Ideal Diamond
diamonds.kay.com diamonds.kay.com
one could buy same #one for less online.... $ 3,717 for a 1 ct F Vs2 is generational low price....

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Chelsea Palmer said:
I think “Not crazy money” is subjective. And I just feel like $4780 a LOT of money to spend for a “decent” diamonds when there’s so many prettier diamonds available for so much less.
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It’s the “prettier” factor that IMHO is not being weighted enough in the industry. That one carat natural G color I1 clarity oval versus that one carat lab grown oval… how many young people are really going to sacrifice quality for origin? Beauty sells.

I love my collection of little natural diamonds in all the different traditional diamond shapes and would not trade them for a lab grown collection just to get better quality lab grown versions. Most people aren’t diamond geeks though and since beauty sells, more consumers might prefer quality over origin.
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
It’s the “prettier” factor that IMHO is not being weighted enough in the industry. That one carat natural G color I1 clarity oval versus that one carat lab grown oval… how many young people are really going to sacrifice quality for origin? Beauty sells.

I love my collection of little natural diamonds in all the different traditional diamond shapes and would not trade them for a lab grown collection just to get better quality lab grown versions. Most people aren’t diamond geeks though and since beauty sells, more consumers might prefer quality over origin.
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Maybe some. But have you seen the rise of “salt and pepper” and other objectively “ugly” diamonds on IG and especially among smaller designers? Beauty is not and has never been objective or universally defined. Signaling “natural” (ie expensive) could be more important for some than “beauty”.
 
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