By Jean-Marc Lieberherr
Mumbai: The appeal of diamonds transcends ordinary concepts of worth. When you hold a diamond, you intuitively know that it’s valuable. Beauty and rarity make diamonds precious. Beauty, rarity and all the memories you connect to people you love and cherish.
There are two possessions that people reach for in the devastating throes of a fire: the family photo album and the jewellery box. Photographs and diamond jewellery are both symbols of the most important things in your life, your connection to other people and the celebration of the experiences you have together with them. Jewellery embodies your innermost feelings; diamonds make the intangible tangible.
We are privileged to work with a product that holds such a special place in people’s heart. We are fiercely protective of the value consumers attribute to their diamond – be it a reminder of a grandmother’s care, a promise for a better future, or the enduring quality of a partner’s love.
Consumer confidence is a paramount concern for the diamond industry. If consumers are confused about the authenticity of the diamond, or mislead by the marketing communications of a jeweler, they will feel deceived. Deception is a world away from the feelings instinctively evoked by a diamond – preciousness and warmth.
Words matter. Diamonds contribute to the life and livelihood of more ten million people worldwide. Diamonds have an emotional value to consumers and a societal value to producer countries and cutting centers. Words matter to each one of us participants in the diamond industry.
Some try to blur the line between diamonds and synthetic diamonds. That’s dishonest to consumers. Both products provide benefits to consumers, but of very different kind. It’s important that consumers can clearly distinguish between them.
The recent introduction of an industry wide agreed terminology for diamonds and synthetic diamonds is a significant step towards more clarity and transparency for the consumer. By calling synthetic diamonds ”synthetic diamonds’, ‘laboratory-created diamonds’ or ‘laboratory-grown diamonds’ – the only three descriptors supported by the ISO Standards and by the CIBJO Blue Book – we provide consumers with clarity and consistency that builds trust.
These seemingly small nuances of semantics are key to protecting the diamond dream. They are vital to consumer confidence in our product and in our industry, simply because, there is a unique feeling that comes from the being able to hold in the palm of your hand a treasure that is close to the age of the Earth itself. That connection is special, and it’s real.
The author is CEO of Diamond Producers’ Association
