By Edahn Golan

 

Battling the cold drizzle of winter in Europe, diamond players, bankers, analysts, politicians and brand builders gathered in Antwerp for the HRD’s annual Antwerp Diamond Conference. In the past two years the conferences have focused on the ‘hot’ diamond issue of the day. In 2002, participants dealt with the threat of conflict diamonds to the industry. In 2003 it was the turn of diamond branding and this year all thoughts focused on Consumer Confidence. 

 

Throughout 2004, the industry faced a barrage of hazards threatening to undermine the public’s confidence in and desire to buy a diamond - issues such as synthetic diamonds, product confusion, environmental issues related to mining practices and even human rights issues have all been linked, in many cases erroneously, to the diamond industry. It was these and many other topics that took center stage during the day and a half of debate, deliberation and decision-making.

 

Matthew A. Runci, President and CEO, Jewelers of America summed up the whole issue of just what is consumer confidence when he said in his speech, “the integrity, values and commercial worth of diamonds are all dependent upon the trust of consumers. This trust can only be achieved if consumers have confidence in the professional ethical standards and reputation of the diamond industry.”

 

As for building trust, according to branding expert Dan Ben-Ary, founder and chief executive of branding firm YYY it’s all down to reputation. “People like people who have a reputation,” he told the audience. Reputation grows out of a series of actions over time, specifically by repeating your message time and again. Then, he says, people trust you.

 

“Be entertaining, keep them on their toes,” was another recommendation. Adidas, Nokia, Virgin (a great example of a simple, focused brand), and Absolut vodka are all fun and entertaining. “In blind testing, drinkers cannot differentiate Absolut from other vodkas, but people always ask for Absolut in a bar,” he demonstrated, noting how an un-differentiated product, like diamonds, can stand out with the use of being entertaining.

 

It was by no means a speech of platitudes by the branding expert, when he turned his attention to the jewelry industry, Ben Ary argued that many industry brands do not build themselves on these principles, saying they are far from reaching their full potential because their communication is no more than product shots. Those that do stand out according to Ben Ary include Tiffany, Dior and David Yurman. “Tiffany is fun when it uses fish, Dior is relevant when it shows a fashionable woman, with David Yurman almost hiding his products in the hands of a model on a beach in a black and white ambiance ad,” he explained further.

 

“80 percent of jewelry companies do not communicate their business strategy, instead they show a product, in a very conservative manner, and that is not entertaining!” Ben-Ary argued.

 

Jewelry companies are sorely missing in a list of the world’s top 100 brands. In fact there’s only one jeweler making the top 100 and that’s Tiffany & Co. Echoing the thoughts of almost everyone in the room, Ben-Ary stressed, “There is room for more jewelry brands in there.”

 

During the lunch session, one of the few female participants at the Congress pointed out the dearth of women present. “Strange,” she mused “that here we are focused on how best to market our product, a product mainly consumed by women and look, there are so few women here.” She’s right, not only at this particular conference, but throughout the global diamond industry it is without a doubt a man’s world. This though isn’t a situation that has gone unnoticed, especially by the women of the industry. “Employ more women in top executive positions because they know how today's women are evolving, and what are her true needs and desires,” Ben-Ary pointed out in his presentation. Advice many need to take to heart. After all, who better than a woman really knows what a woman wants?

 

 

The perceived threat by many in the industry of synthetic diamonds negatively impacting the natural diamond trade is by no means a unanimous conviction.  Several speakers and many participants addressed the subject rather as a challenge. In fact, differentiating natural diamonds from synthetics was the backdrop of many presentations in the Antwerp conference center.

 

Rather than a call to arms, many of the speakers called for unity throughout the industry in an effort to ensure natural diamonds remain the icon of emotion. Pointing at the Kimberley Process as an example of how unity can work successfully, Penny called for the creation of industry wide standards to tackle the issue jointly.  ‘Unity’, he noted means:

 

Face The Challenge Together

The Need For An Industry Aligned Approach

Commercial imperative for everyone in the diamond pipeline to sign up to an industry-wide standard

 

He wasn’t alone, Ben-Ary also called for “the big names in the industry to join forces and create an international standard.”

 

A call the Jewelers of America answered some time ago. In an interesting twist, whilst this was a conference all about consumer confidence, the people at the front line of the issue, the jewelry retailers were nowhere in sight. It was down to Matt Runci to put forward the side of the retailers who were most notable by their absence, both as speakers and participants.  “Consumers ultimately hold the retailer fully accountable for managing the risk associated with diamond and diamond jewelry purchases,” he stressed. “The consumer places their trust squarely on the shoulders of the retailer.”

 

Although many companies strictly adhere to their own prescribed Best Practice Principles (BPP), there is yet to be any uniformity throughout the many initiatives introduced. The Jewelers of America wants to change all this with the implementation of ‘The Early Adopters Initiative’. The program will bring together the major diamond miners, bankers, jewelry retailers, including Signet, Cartier, Zale Corp, and Tiffany, as well as industry organizations both in the diamond and retailer sphere to explore the feasibility of promoting responsible business practices within all areas of the industry. “This initiative is understood by the parties to be the starting point for what must be an inclusive process to explore corporate responsibility for the industry,” Runci announced.

 

“Corporate responsibility is a critical new factor in the consumer confidence equation,” he concluded.

 

The answer in ensuring consumer confidence doesn’t rest just on one level of the diamond industry pipeline. Producers need to band together to promote their product, their natural product, or, as the DTC notes ‘one of the earth’s most extraordinary and precious creations’. Retailers need to be involved every step of the way, for they are the people dealing on a personal basis with diamond jewelry consumers.  According to a recent survey some 53% of jewelry consumers questioned noted that they are indeed more suspicious of buying diamond jewelry now that they are aware of stones such as lab-created diamonds. Retailers need the tools to help assure consumers that they are buying the real thing and for that, they need the industry behind them every step of the way in a unified and global program. And for now, that is missing. Diamonds hold a deep emotional meaning for their owners and, as Penny concluded “Consumer confidence is at the heart of realizing the diamond opportunity.” This is one opportunity that all will agree simply cannot afford to be ignored.