Written by Paula Grineri - Thursday, October 22, 2020
After the launch of the brand "Only Natural Diamond", producers of the diamond industry have taken the upper hand in the communication battle that has been on going since the arrival of synthetic diamonds. Over-production, lack of demand, technological revolutions; this industry has lived several upheavals over the past few years and was not spared by the post covid-19 crisis. The industry also has to face the changing expectations of consumers, their search for meaning and in particular the new generations who question the traditional values of the luxury industry. The stakes are high, so: what does the future hold for the natural diamond industry? Mina El Hadraoui, Director for the Natural Diamond Council in France, will give us an insight.
The NDC was created in 2017 by a consortium of miners, ALROSA, De Beers Group, Dominion Diamond Mines, Lucara Diamond, RZM, Murowa, Petra Diamond and Rio Tinto, who represent 70% of the diamond mining industry. For the past 15 years, these main actors have been considering the impact mining has on society and it's environment, adapting their industrial processes. The industry suffers from a great number of clichés and has realized that the greater public was unaware of all the efforts that have been made adapting their processes. This is why the association wishes to be more transparent and make the public more aware of the conditions in which diamonds are extracted now a days.
The producers share the same vision of the market; it's process and the same vision on ethics. They all wish to implement a certain level of requirements throughout the industry.
Our mission is to work on the promotion and the integrity of diamonds. We wish to inform the consumers, accompany the new generations in their purchasing decisions and to support the entire chain of actors in this industry.
At the time of the movie, the diamond industry had already started changing their practices. Even though there will always be bad apples in any domain of activity, the association works closely with the World Diamond Council and respect the
In the ALROSA mines for example, 86% of the energy resources are natural and 90% of the water used is recycled. In Canada, they have built wind turbine farms to power the mines.
No industry is 100% green, but it is important to realise that the diamond industry has made huge efforts to diminish their carbon print. In fact, if we are to discuss ecological print, when we extract the equivalent of 1 carat from a mine, this is equivalent to the production of 2.5 iPhones.
Furthermore, all the processes are certified and the social and environment impacts are measured in the
I also invite you to watch the documentary by Lyvia Firth, specialist in sustainable development, who was authorised to film in Botswana mine workers.
She talks about the various positive impacts the diamond industry has had in the country. For every 100USD carat worth of diamonds extracted, 82USD go to the government of Botswana. With this budget, the country has completely transformed in a period of 15 years; building schools, hospitals and the country's infrastructures. Women empowerment has been very prominent enabling women to access job roles from exploitation to the direction. There is a real virtuous chain that has been implement and is preparing the country by anticipation thanks to the mining industry.
When we discover a mine deposit, it takes decades before exploiting it. In fact, you need the authorisation of local authorities and delimit millions of surrounding hectares to create a natural reserve to protect the flora and fauna. Meaning that before you even begin extracting from the mine, we are already anticipating the end of the exploitation and the means necessary to rehabilitate the site. Everything that is removed is kept aside in order to re-create the natural environment. Furthermore, the grounds are not injected with chemical products, the only element used to separate the kimberlite from diamond, is water.
For 15 years, we have made considerable efforts to reduce or carbon print and we will pursue in our endeavours.
Indeed, there is no difference at a glance. Today, there exist a number of machines that detect synthetic diamonds. In France, by definition, the law is very strict on this denomination. A diamond is necessarily natural, but the denomination is only enforced and implemented in France, demonstrating how our culture aims at protecting it's consumers. It is important to be able to make purchases wittingly.
In France, it is strictly forbidden to give other denominations such as "cultured diamonds" or "lab-grown diamonds". A diamond that is created by the hand of man is a synthetic diamond. The tags in store have to clearly indicate the exact nature of what you are buying, in case of doubt, I invite you to ask advice at your local jeweller.
Diamonds have always been associated to festivities, emotion and the celebrations that mark the milestones of our lives. The emotional attachment is very strong and crystalizes a rapport with one's self, a personal story.
Buying a diamond, is experiencing luxury, appreciating life, and cherishing it. The diamond has a strong symbolic force and remains the most beautiful stone to express an engagement.
According to recent surveys, the younger generations remain attached to tradition and associate "diamonds" to "union". The diamond has not disappeared and has not become "tacky". On the contrary, diamonds are part of the luxury products that we want to consume but which we question more it's sense and purpose, with the conviction to stay truthful to our own values and commitments.
Diamonds respond to all of these questions but it also knows how to associate itself to innovative and audacious designs.
Under the impulse of David Kellie, CEO of the NDC, we have decided to communicate more to the end consumer. The industry still suffers from these old clichés and counter truths. It was important de gain back a voice amongst the younger generations that are very sensible to environmental implications but also to commercial and marketing discourses.
The OND website was designed to be a pedagogic platform for trust building, providing all the necessary information for diamond purchasing. The topics of interest consist of accessing durable practices, understanding the ethics of the producers as well as a purchasing guide; all presented in an engaging and dynamic tone.
You will also discover extraordinary diamond stories from the Mazarin to the Tiffany diamond of Lady Gaga;
Diamonds are also very modern in the manner in which they are worn. The website proposes a trend book, inspirational boards and news updates.
We work with the jewellery retailers, who are an integral part of the industry, by proposing an editorial content to feed their social networks and/or their shops, but also online training. In France, we have created the Diamond Collective as a link with the global actors of the
We are also here to meet the needs of the French market: diamonds represent 44% of the sales of 750/1000 gold jewellery. It caters to a good part of the market and our communication strategy has to cater to it consequentially.
In accordance with the Diamond Collective, we would like to create events and conference around the topic of natural diamonds. Diamonds have to keep us dreaming. Our patrimony here in France is very rich in stories and we would like to share these with the rest of the world and put forth the level of expertise of the French Maisons and our arts-and-crafts.
With Only Natural Diamonds, the National Diamond Council regains a voice in France and Internationally.