Make Diamonds Sexy Again

Last week’s inaugural episode of Diamond Debates sparked a lively online discussion about the industry’s relationship with today’s consumer. As much as I tried to steer the conversation away from synthetics, the reality is unavoidable. Gen-Z, along with other consumer cohorts, is attracted to the more affordable alternative at its disposal.

Overshadowing the discussion, was the disclosure by Signet Jewelers in its recent earnings call, that lab-grown diamonds accounted for roughly 40% of its bridal sales this year and about 15% of its fashion segment. By my math, that puts Signet’s synthetic diamond sales above $1 billion in the nine months ended October 31.

That is a staggering figure, and a clear wake-up call for an industry that perhaps has underestimated just how deeply synthetics have cannibalized natural diamond demand.

Matt Gabel, my opponent in the debate, framed the issue around size. Synthetics make larger stones accessible at prices many consumers can afford. That left me questioning whether natural diamonds can realistically compete with the messaging they have leaned on lately, namely provenance and societal impact. The uncomfortable truth is that the empowerment and social validation of wearing a big rock more often than not outweighs any abstract search for meaning.

By the end of the debate, Gabel pushed me on what the right approach should be. My answer landed on one word: sex. Somewhere along the way, natural diamonds lost their sex appeal, despite having it in abundance. Size still matters, but the commoditization of synthetics also exposes their fundamental lack of cool. To my mind, the task ahead is clear. We need to make natural diamonds sexy again.

This blog first appeared in the December 15 Pressing Matters Executive Memo. Read the full memo here, Pressing Matters, featuring the following sections:

• Coming Up: Diamond Dealers Are Losing Relevance

• In Focus: Tough Love for Botswana

• Chart Check: Sluggish Rough Market

• The News That Matters

• The Week Ahead

• Pic of the Week: Blue in Breuer

Pear-shape, 3.48-carat, fancy intense blue, internally flawless diamond sold for $2.6 million ($733,046 per carat) at Sotheby's New York High Jewelry sale, the inaugural jewelry auction at the Breuer building - the auction house's new global headquarters. (Courtesy Sotheby's)