Botswana headlines Vegas as industry eyes rebound :: Mmegi Online

Natural diamond players are preparing the biggest budget for industry-wide marketing seen in a decade, in order to revive demand for the stones. Botswana will carry the industry’s flag, with the country celebrated in Las Vegas and New York as the emblem of ethical, sustainable and developmental diamonds. MBONGENI MGUNI writes

“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.

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