There is a very blunt question that is often raised by diamantaires: do consumers care enough about the origin of diamonds to ask the question when they are in a store and considering purchasing an item of diamond jewelry.
Do they care if the diamonds were mined in Africa – and are therefore helping people in that continent to make a living? Do they ask if the diamond comes from Botswana which is known to use its diamonds responsibly to build roads, schools and clinics?
Does the stone come from Zimbabwe which was the center of a big scandal in the past decade where illicit mining was taking place, and where security officers are claimed to have shot and killed 200 people who they did not want taking away diamonds since senior armed forces officers were making personal fortunes from the sale of the diamonds on the black market?
Will consumers pay a premium for diamonds that have no association with conflict diamonds – for example from Canada or Russia?
Civil society groups, or non-governmental organizations, involved in the diamond business claim that buyers want to know these facts, however the situation in the shops is much less clear.
Millennials – younger people in the 22-35 age group – are believed to want to know the origin of diamonds. And that has been confirmed by the Diamond Producers Association, a grouping of the world's seven largest diamond producers. The DPA's CEO, Jean-Marc Lieberherr, said: "While consumers are increasingly interested in the origin of the diamonds they are buying, it is really more about ensuring it is responsibly sourced than about the origin story per se. However, origin marketing can be effective. It has been in the case with Canadian diamonds that they often command a premium of around 3 percent to regular goods, or at least show a faster rotation."
The big jewelry retailers, such as Signet Jewelers, which has stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and Chow Tai Fook, a giant in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets, say consumers are interested in origin and they are working hard to be able to provide them with accurate information, according to a report on Rough & Polished.
"Customers today, especially the younger generation, are more sophisticated in jewelry and diamond selection. Rather than focusing only on the 4Cs (i.e. carat, color, clarity and cut), product design and brand story, we see a trend of customers increasingly valuing the origin and authenticity of diamonds," said Chow Tai Fook. "To capitalize on the escalating demand for authenticity and transparency, we launched Chow Tai Fook T Mark diamond brand, taking the lead to revolutionize the current industry practice by enabling customers to witness the life journey of a diamond from its source, assuring customers that our diamonds are natural and ethically sourced."
As for Signet Jewelers, its vice-president of Corporate Affairs, David Bouffard, says: “For most people, a diamond purchase is emotional, deeply personal, and very individualized. We know some customers want to own a diamond from a particular country (e.g., Canada/Arctic Brilliance®), and we believe interest in provenance is growing, especially with younger consumers who are more likely to expect that information about the sources of products and the standards under which they were made will be available."
However, the issue is not entirely clear-cut. "Frankly, there is not a great deal of interest relating to 'ethical' diamonds," said one small US retailer. "I consider myself well acquainted with diamonds and where they are from and so on. But if a customer does not ask then I don't really feel the need to go into all that. I am quite satisfied that the diamonds are of good origin and not tainted by any hint of conflict diamonds because I know my suppliers. I am more interested in making the sale than getting into an issue that a consumer is not bringing up, especially in difficult times such as these."
Meanwhile, another small jewelry retailer said there was an "astonishing lack of interest" among buyers regarding origin of diamonds. "If I go according to the comments made by industry figures I would assume that there would be a lot of interest from shoppers. But what I see, here on the ground, is that people are more concerned about how to determine a diamond's value and whether it is more worthwhile buying a lab-grown," she said.
