Still from De Beers’ “Desert Diamonds: Unlike Anything” campaign
Courtesy of De Beers Group
De Beers is launching its largest industry-wide diamond campaign in over a decade. As lower-cost, mass-produced lab-grown diamonds gain share in the jewelry market and threaten the mystique of the “real thing,” the campaign, entitled “Unlike Anything,” is launched to remind consumers why natural diamonds – rare, unique and ultimately irreplaceable – stand apart with qualities no lab can reproduce.
Framed as a “beacon” to call consumers back to the allure of natural diamonds, Desert Diamonds feature a palette of desert-hued colors that challenge the ubiquity of white, colorless stones. According to De Beers, its research found that 90% of consumers expressed interest in purchasing a Desert Diamond as a way to create a distinct look and reflect a more direct connection with nature. The brand positioning highlights the natural spectrum of colors as a “marker of authenticity” to underscore the emotional resonance and natural beauty of the gemstones.
“With Desert diamonds, the ancient sands of time meet today’s zeitgeist for authentic beauty,” Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Brands, said in a statement. “Natural diamonds are unique and rare – no two are the same. Their colors have been forged by nature and perfected over billions of years.”
Further interest in warmer diamond shades has been sparked by Taylor Swift’s engagement ring featuring a vintage, old mine-cut diamond with what has been described as a “candlelight glow,” as well as Kim Kardashian and Doja Cat sporting desert-diamond looks.
“Desert Diamonds mark a shift from diamonds as objects to diamonds as identity,” says Chandler Mount, founder of Affluent Consumer Research Company. “De Beers isn’t just selling color — they’re selling character. This is white space strategy executed with emotional intelligence.”
Finding ‘White Space’ In An Otherwise White Diamond Market
It’s been only about a decade since lab-grown diamonds became commercially viable in the jewelry market. Since then, LGDs have captured about a 20% market share in the diamond jewelry market, with retail prices that are often a fraction of what a comparable natural stone would cost.
Even more troubling for natural diamond stakeholders has been LGDs incursion into the industry’s traditional sweet spot: the engagement ring market. According to The Knot, 52% of center stones were lab-grown in 2024, up from 12% in 2019.
With Desert Diamonds, De Beers has staked out a defensible “white space” in the diamond market that lab-grown diamonds can’t touch: diamonds not just created by nature, but also colored by it.
Desert Diamond three-stone ring
Courtesy of De Beers Group
Filling Different Needs
Besides LGDs significantly cheaper price, the narrative that diamonds made in the lab are the better environmental and ethically-responsible choice has also propelled them forward. That was supported in a recent ACRC survey among 938 consumers, including a representative sample of general population consumers and over 300 affluents (average income $360k).
For example, some 71% of affluent consumers said an engagement ring with a LGD center stone was appealing, specifically one described as: “Thanks to scientific and technological advances, a lab-grown diamond can be perfectly crafted, without environmental harm or labor concerns.” And affluents were even more interested in a LGD described above than the general population sample, where only 65% found it appealing.
On the other hand, a natural diamond, described as “a rare creation of the earth that connects me to heritage and tradition,” had greater appeal to both groups – 75% of the general population and 78% of affluents.
However, only one segment of those surveyed by ACRC really counts as active diamond jewelry buyers: the affluents. Half of affluents surveyed have made a diamond jewelry purchase in the past two years, compared with only 23% of the general population sample. Most interestingly, 25% of the affluents purchased natural diamonds and 17% purchased both natural and LGD stones. Only 8% of affluents bought only lab-growns.
When it comes to purchasing diamonds, nearly 40% of affluents say the choice between natural and LGD depends on the occasion, though even 33% of affluents said a larger, lab-grown stone at the same price as a comparable natural stone has an appeal.
Turning The Lab-Grown Tide
Smartly, the De Beers’ Desert Diamonds takes the cheaper price of a comparable LGD off the table and gives the most promising customers – active diamond customers with more money to spend – a compelling point of difference. Notably, nearly one-third of affluents in the ACRC survey said that white diamonds have begun to feel less unique because of the ready availability of lab-grown diamonds.
The Desert Diamond campaign comes at the ideal time. Besides the obvious gifting opportunity, the holiday season through Valentine’s Day is prime for engagements. The campaign will be fully integrated across television, outdoor, audio and social channels. Independent jewelers and Signet’s Jared Jewelers, as well as Kay Jewelers, will be actively involved in promoting this new beacon for natural diamonds.
“Over a century, from the eternity ring to the tennis bracelet, our beacons have not only shaped jewelry trends, but become powerful cultural icons,” De Beer’s Conseiller said. “I am delighted that the diamond industry is coming together and joining us in inspiring a renewed surge of love for natural diamond jewelry and all it represents.”
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