Botswana headlines Vegas as industry eyes rebound
Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday June 17, 2025 13:23
“You can’t grow love in a lab,” was President Duma Boko’s rallying call in Las Vegas and New York last week, as he marshalled the natural diamond world to partner for a recovery.
Natural diamonds have been in a slump since late 2023 due to a number of factors, including economic uncertainties in key markets and the blowout from sanctions on Russian production. One of the more long-lasting of these factors has been the explosion of cheaper lab-grown or synthetic diamonds which, catapulting off the economic uncertainties and powered by claims of being more ethically sourced, have captured greater segments of the natural diamond industry.
At the last count, it was estimated that synthetics had captured at least 25% of the retail diamond market, making strong inroads into the engagement and bridal space which is the traditional stomping ground of natural stones.
For Boko, facing either zero growth or another contraction in the economy this year, a record deficit, a ballooning debt pile and a cash-flow crisis, the trips to Las Vegas and New York for high-level diamond industry engagements were pivotal.
The strategy for Team Botswana was as simple as it was monumentally consequential: craft a compelling narrative, garner positive attention, rally cooperating partners and disseminate a clear message to revive demand for natural diamonds.
Diamonds for life
Boko and his team chose to anchor their efforts on the human face of diamonds, to highlight the developmental “real world good” that diamonds have done and do in Botswana, while answering the key question of “so what.” The United States is the world’s largest market for diamonds and a significant portion of jewellers have migrated to the cheaper synthetics, finding that these fly off the shelves faster than naturals which clog up sales and gather costly insurance costs while gathering dust on the shelves waiting for the discerning buyer.
The “so what” was being asked more prominently in Las Vegas where the JCK Show featured plenty of lab grown operators and jewellers, than in New York where the World Federation of Diamond Bourses is a pro-natural diamonds group.
Boko needed to have the right answers as he engaged both industry participants and the U.S and global media.
“We need to understand that natural diamonds are anchored in love and represent the tangible expression and manifestation of something that cannot be grown in a lab,” Boko said in one engagement in Vegas. “Natural diamonds are the natural expression of love, achievement and heritage and stand on a different footing in relation to lab growns. “It’s a story of schools built, health facilities support and lives built; a country anchored. “Can anyone find anything comparable in relation to lab growns? The answer is a resounding no!”
The President added that natural diamonds in places such as Botswana are associated with helping countries thrive, a theme picked up by other partners who said the revival of demand needs to be anchored on the good that diamonds have done and are doing globally.
In New York, Boko doubled-down on the message that Botswana and the industry at large were committed to transparency and ethics, as seen in the tech-driven initiatives to enhance the provenance of diamonds.
The industry acknowledges that before telling the “real-world good” story of diamonds to the market, there must have immutable, certifiable proof of origin. Before asking jewellers to convince buyers to opt for naturals over the cheaper synthetics, there must be technology and systems that show that the stones emanate from centres of high ethics, sustainability, responsibility and developmental good such as Botswana.
De Beers’ Tracr system, a blockchain-based traceability system launched in 2018 and subsequently opened to the industry, was hailed in Vegas, as the Okavango Diamond Company announced that it had begun loading its own production onto the platform. Tracr can track individual diamonds from mine to shelf.
De Beers is also widening the rollout of devices that jewellers and their customers can use to instantly distinguish between synthetics and naturals in-store, a significant step in the pushback against unethical retailers who market their lab growns as naturals.
“We must double down on confidence, scaling traceability, strengthening certification, harmonising customs codes, and pushing back against greenwashing and misleading marketing,” Boko said in New York. “Beyond protecting confidence, we must also create demand, actively, intentionally, and together. “Younger generations are not simply buying luxury, they are buying meaning. They want to know where their diamond came from, what it stands for, who it supported. We must be the ones to tell that story.”
Partnering for stories
For De Beers CEO, Al Cook, there can never be enough storytelling around the magic of diamonds.
Since its establishment 137 years ago, the global giant has almost single-handedly built the story and related marketing that sells the precious stones. De Beers has also found about 40% of the 8,000 kimberlites or diamond-bearing soils ever discovered on Earth.
The group, which is 15% owned by Botswana, has more than a century of experience in crafting the right stories to best describe the almost indescribable treasure that is natural diamonds.
“People struggle to imagine just how old diamonds are,” said Cook. “The first humans emerged from the ground around 300,000 years ago, but diamonds are 3,000 times older than humans. “Now compare that with something created in a laboratory three weeks ago. “You want something rare, unique and special for that rare moment in your life. “It’s about diamonds being responsible, sustainable and ethical, diamonds that do good in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Canada.”
Cook added: “I find it incredible that we have such an amazing story to tell and we don’t.”
Where cynical jewellers ask “so what” De Beers, Botswana and other partners say through traceability, the human impact stories behind natural diamonds can and are placing a premium for retailers. In other words, there is a real dollar benefit for jewellers to push naturals.
“People put a value on ethically sourced, sustainable and responsible diamonds and we need to put a premium on that,” said Cook. “We need to be able to tell the story and show the customer that their diamond is from an ethical country. “As De Beers we can help with funding, but we need everyone to help tell the story.”
For Martin Rapaport, a global diamond industry veteran known globally for his outspoken views, rarity and scarcity need to be amongst the factors included in the natural diamond story.
“Just like the woman that you choose for life, or your relationship, a diamond is also rare, scarce and an important factor. “Our relationships are special because they are rare,” he said.
As the founder of RapNet, the world’s largest diamond trading network with daily listings of diamonds valued at $7.4 billion, Rapaport has seen the ebb and flow of the diamond industry over the decades, with previous “rivals” to naturals such as cubic zirconia falling by the wayside.
The Rapaport Price List is the primary source of diamond prices, providing benchmark asking prices used by the global diamond trade to compare, and negotiate diamond prices.
Rapaport is entrenched in the retail side of the industry and in Las Vegas offered his advice for natural diamonds. The issue, he says, goes back to real value, real love and real world good.
“How does that woman feel about getting a lab grown ring for $5,000 that she sees later going for hundreds of dollars? “This is an emotional business; don’t screw the customer. “Naturals are totally different from lab growns and some are misleading their customers which is evil.”
Rapaport’s comments allude to the fact that while synthetics have gained market share against naturals, the growth has come at an existential risk. Synthetics have lost more than 90% of their value and keep dropping, due to massive overproduction and the absence of secondary-market value due to their status as trinkets compared to natural diamonds. Their popularity has also been their pain and a clear gulf has opened up with the naturals which retain intrinsic rarity, and secondary-market value as the “real deal”.
“Natural diamonds are not for people who want to save money; they are for people who want to spend money,” said Rapaport. “Naturals say ‘I love her and I want to spend money on her.’”
Brainstorming in Angola
Leaders of the natural diamond world, who include countries such as Botswana and companies such as De Beers, are due to meet in Angola soon to brainstorm on what is expected to be the industry’s largest marketing campaign in more than a decade.
Last year the industry agreed to reignite “category marketing” which involves diamond producers, retail jewellers and countries, linking up to promote natural diamonds. Natural diamond industry leaders acknowledge that over the decades, individual companies instead prioritised marketing their specific brands or products, a focus that left the industry open to synthetics and other non-diamond jewellery.
In their recently inked sales agreement, Botswana and De Beers have a clause to annually agree on marketing investment to boost natural diamond sales, with their financial contributions determined by the proportion of their shares of Debswana’s supply.
The meeting in Angola is being guided by the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the apex global body for marketing natural diamonds. Speaking in Las Vegas, Cook said the idea was to mount an industry-wide campaign to resuscitate demand for natural stones.
“We have said we are going to have the highest level of category marketing that we have seen in more than 10 years,” he said. “We are going to see a new round of “Diamonds are Forever” marketing and for the first time, the government and De Beers are working together to fund this marketing.”
It is understood that with the guidance of the NDC, the discussions in Angola could get as detailed as securing commitments on the percentages countries and companies will contribute to the marketing campaign.
NDC CEO, David Kellie, recently told Mmegi that the industry wanted to use the downturn to unite players around natural diamonds.
“If there’s one good thing that has come out of the downturn, it’s that there’s a recognition that demand must be a priority and that although producer nations are invested in supply, we must all create demand,” he said. “We are having discussions and hoping that from the first quarter of 2025, they will start turning their intent to a more specific commitment.”
As part of the marketing for the industry, De Beers is relaunching its “Diamonds are Forever” website, while also in Vegas, the diamond giant announced its first “beacon product” in a decade. A ‘beacon’ product is a jewellery concept that enables various industry businesses to participate in a category marketing idea.
“The Ombré Desert Diamonds initiative draws inspiration from the desert landscapes from which many natural diamonds originate. “These environments bring to life an array of colours, from warm whites to champagne tones and amber hues. “Inspired by the rarity and authenticity of these precious stones, the Ombré Desert Diamonds beacon introduces a fresh, emotionally resonant way of evoking the enduring beauty and value of natural diamonds,” the company said in a release.
Back to basics
While the success of the upcoming marketing campaign is not guaranteed, and as cynics argue that naturals have permanently ceded ground to synthetics, there is still hope left for the industry that built Botswana.
And the hope is based on simple supply and demand.
“Look what’s happening on the supply side for naturals, the diamonds are running out. “The industry spent $2 billion in exploration in the last 20 years and only found one mine. “Diamond supply has peaked and it’s now on the way down. “Also because of the lower prices, we have seen closures such as at Lucapa and others. “And within ten years, there will not be any diamonds from Canada. “That’s why we are restarting our category marketing because it’s in our hands to create the demand side. “We all know if supply goes down, the demand is going to increase.”
Rapaport has encouraged De Beers and other natural diamond industry players to work on training programmes for jewellers to enable them to participate in the marketing of naturals. The industry veteran also challenged jewellers to “capture the value” that is being added to naturals through sustainability, responsibility and ethics in the pipeline, as well as through technology such as Tracr.
“De Beers is busting its chops to create value, but we are not capturing it. “With respect to the countries and governments, they don’t know how to do this – it’s jewellers who know. “Let’s do that.”
Whether a recovery will take place soon or not, the industry is in for an exciting period as it heads to its peak season which starts with Thanksgiving in the U.S.