Rebranding Diamonds, Chicken-Wing Style
June 11, 25
Nobody used to eat chicken wings.
They were used for soup or stock, but it was invariably the breast or thigh that made it onto the dinner table.
Then in March 1964, Teressa Bellissimo hit on an idea.
Her son and his pals had arrived at the bar she ran in Buffalo, USA. It was late at night and they were hungry.
She'd been preparing chicken for the next day and all she had left were wings.
She deep fried them, served them with her own sauces, and "Buffalo wings" were born.
Today they represent a massive $8.5bn-a-year sector of the food industry.
As a result, in the US and elsewhere wings now cost more than the breasts and thighs that were once so highly prized.
What's this got to do with diamonds?
Nobody used to buy brown or yellow diamonds.
Then in March 1964, Teressa Bellissimo hit on an idea.
Her son and his pals had arrived at the bar she ran in Buffalo, USA. It was late at night and they were hungry.
She'd been preparing chicken for the next day and all she had left were wings.
She deep fried them, served them with her own sauces, and "Buffalo wings" were born.
Today they represent a massive $8.5bn-a-year sector of the food industry.
As a result, in the US and elsewhere wings now cost more than the breasts and thighs that were once so highly prized.
What's this got to do with diamonds?
Nobody used to buy brown or yellow diamonds.
OK, that's not quite true, but it's fair to say that diamonds nearer to Z end of the color range than D have never commanded the highest prices.
Then in June 2025, De Beers announced its latest idea - a rebranding of the colorless diamond's poor, off-color, relations.
Step forward please the warm white, champagne tones and amber hues, now presented with pride as part of the Ombre Desert Diamonds initiative, launched at JCK Las Vegas last week.
Their warmer tints, long regarded as an impairment, are now being marketed as an attribute.
These are, just to be clear, not fancy color diamonds, which can fetch sky-high prices.
Rather, they are likely to be J-N color or beyond — low down on the color scale, but not saturated enough to qualify as fancy.
The mighty marketing machine that drives De Beers doesn't do things on the spur of the moment, like Mrs Bellissimo (1900 to 1985).
But it is, like her, driven by necessity, especially at a time when natural diamonds in general, and De Beers in particular, are not exactly thriving.
And it does know a thing or two about marketing. It shaped the modern diamond industry, virtually invented the diamond engagement ring, then convinced young men to spend a month's wages on one for their beloved.
It's now presenting its Ombre Desert Diamonds as a beacon product, a potential game-changer for the entire industry, just like the eternity rings of the 1960s.
They proved to be a profitable way to offload small diamonds, which might otherwise have been difficult to sell at scale.
The challenge now is to shift poorer colors, especially now that the vast majority of lab growns are D, E or F.
And especially as De Beers finds itself with a rough stockpile it can't sell, worth an estimated at $2bn.
The market couldn't get enough of Mrs Bellissimo's chicken wings.
But will it be as enthusiastic about De Beers' off-color diamonds?
That's the question.
Then in June 2025, De Beers announced its latest idea - a rebranding of the colorless diamond's poor, off-color, relations.
Step forward please the warm white, champagne tones and amber hues, now presented with pride as part of the Ombre Desert Diamonds initiative, launched at JCK Las Vegas last week.
Their warmer tints, long regarded as an impairment, are now being marketed as an attribute.
These are, just to be clear, not fancy color diamonds, which can fetch sky-high prices.
Rather, they are likely to be J-N color or beyond — low down on the color scale, but not saturated enough to qualify as fancy.
The mighty marketing machine that drives De Beers doesn't do things on the spur of the moment, like Mrs Bellissimo (1900 to 1985).
But it is, like her, driven by necessity, especially at a time when natural diamonds in general, and De Beers in particular, are not exactly thriving.
And it does know a thing or two about marketing. It shaped the modern diamond industry, virtually invented the diamond engagement ring, then convinced young men to spend a month's wages on one for their beloved.
It's now presenting its Ombre Desert Diamonds as a beacon product, a potential game-changer for the entire industry, just like the eternity rings of the 1960s.
They proved to be a profitable way to offload small diamonds, which might otherwise have been difficult to sell at scale.
The challenge now is to shift poorer colors, especially now that the vast majority of lab growns are D, E or F.
And especially as De Beers finds itself with a rough stockpile it can't sell, worth an estimated at $2bn.
The market couldn't get enough of Mrs Bellissimo's chicken wings.
But will it be as enthusiastic about De Beers' off-color diamonds?
That's the question.
Have a great weekend!