Latest news with #AlCook
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Are diamonds even a luxury anymore? De Beers reckons with price plunge
De Beers chief executive Al Cook wants to save a generation of lovers and newlyweds from what he calls a 'huge con" when it comes to buying diamonds. In the process, he hopes to rescue his iconic brand—and perhaps the diamond industry as it has existed for more than a century—from an ominous decline. London-based De Beers almost single-handedly persuaded generations of consumers that love wasn't genuine unless it was sealed with a diamond. The stones were prized not only for their beauty but also as a miracle of nature formed over a billion years deep in the earth, and then extracted in exotic locales—often on behalf of De Beers. Now diamonds can be made in labs that mimic the earth's extreme pressure and temperatures, but for a fraction of the price. A decade ago, such man-made gems were novel. Today they are mainstream, and increasingly challenging the perception of diamonds as a luxury accessory. Walmart sold its first lab-grown diamonds in 2022, but now the stones make up half of its diamond jewelry assortment. Signet Jewelers, which says it is the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry, with brands that include Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared, is partnering with De Beers to extol the virtues of natural diamonds in a new marketing campaign. But last month, Signet said it, too, has been adding more lab-grown diamonds to its fashion jewelry, which was among the factors helping to pull the company out of a prolonged sales slump. Synthetic diamonds currently account for more than a fifth of global diamond jewelry sales, up from less than 1% in 2016, according to Paul Zimnisky, an independent analyst. For engagement rings, the penetration is even higher. More than half the engagement rings purchased last year in the U.S. had a lab-created diamond, a 40% increase compared with 2019, according to a survey of nearly 17,000 U.S. couples by wedding planning website The Knot. 'Diamonds were always seen as expensive, a rich person's asset," says Matt Bick, a third-generation diamond seller with a showroom on the same London block as the De Beers headquarters. 'Now everyone can wear them." And that is Cook's quandary. A geologist and former longtime oil and gas executive, Cook took the helm of the diamond-mining and jewelry giant in early 2023. Since then, the influx of lab-grown diamonds out of China, India and elsewhere has turned into a flood, crushing demand for natural stones. Over the past two years, De Beers's parent, mining giant Anglo American, has slashed the book value of its majority holding in the diamond unit by about 45%, or $4.5 billion. Last year, while fending off a takeover attempt, Anglo said it would spin off De Beers through a sale or listing to focus on businesses like mining copper and iron ore, but for months found a dearth of potential buyers at prices it can stomach. That has led to preparations for Plan B, a public listing. Anglo executives hoped to be well into the process of hiving off De Beers by now, but increasingly it looks like any deal could take until next year, Cook and others say. With Trump's tariffs sparking fears about an all-out trade war, De Beers may need a Plan C. The U.S. is the world's largest diamond-jewelry consumer, with no commercial mines of its own. Threatened tariffs have already made cut and polished natural diamonds more expensive in the U.S., at a time when many consumers are already choosing the more affordable lab-grown variety. De Beers and Anglo have recently signed nondisclosure agreements with around a dozen suitors for the diamond business, people close to the companies say. An IPO is not off the table, and Anglo executives have said privately that the company won't rush a sale if they think waiting will get them a much better deal. Cook says he knew taking the De Beers job would almost certainly mean helping sell the company. He didn't know Anglo would be pressured to move so quickly. In one of his first big moves, Cook shuttered De Beers's production of its own lab-grown diamond jewelry under the brand name Lightbox. Cook's move effectively put De Beers all-in on a bet that it could reverse the multiyear drag on the prices of mined diamonds. Manufactured diamonds are 100% carbon, with the same hardness and sparkle of the original. Nevertheless, De Beers's future depends on consumers who believe that authenticity can't be made in a lab. During an interview at the company's historic headquarters in Central London, Cook said too many mass-produced stones are masquerading as something special to justify steep markups. He argues that shoppers are cheated when similar pieces of lab-grown jewelry are for sale at wildly different prices depending on who's selling them. 'I'm deeply worried there's a huge con going on around lab-grown diamonds," Cook said. 'I can't believe that's sustainable." He added that the democratization of diamonds diminishes what made them special in the first place. 'For as long as humans have been conscious," he said, 'we've prized something precious and rare." To sell a new generation of shoppers on the virtues of natural diamonds, Cook pushed for Anglo to sharply increase De Beers's marketing budget to its highest in a decade. Together with Botswana, the company's biggest diamond supplier and a minority owner, they boosted De Beers's marketing allocation by more than 25% this year. The effort coincides with a push by organizations such as the Natural Diamond Council to promote mined diamonds while maligning the lab-grown variety. The nonprofit trade group called lab-grown diamonds 'The Dupe" on billboards it tested in Manhattan earlier this year. They referred to mined diamonds as 'For Better," and lab-grown as 'For Worse." 'People think natural and lab-grown diamonds are the same," said Kristina Buckley Kayel, the Natural Diamond Council's managing director for North America. 'They are not." De Beers helps fund the Natural Diamond Council and sits on its board, but isn't involved in developing its marketing campaigns, a De Beers spokesman said. The first De Beers ad campaign as part of a partnership with Signet aired in late 2024 and took a higher road. Called 'Worth the Wait," the ads show couples in various stages of courtship, interspersed with images of volcanic eruptions and lava flows. The tagline: 'Just like your journey, a natural diamond is worth the wait." Cook also earlier this year extended a licensing deal with Botswana to ensure De Beers a steady supply past 2050, ending a nearly six-year stalemate with the African nation that produces the majority of its diamonds. Both sides dug in as they sized up what's at stake. Botswana, which depends heavily on diamond exports, has slashed its economic-growth forecasts as it grapples with the protracted industry slump. Together the partners are trying to drum up demand and fighting to shake the taint of practices that marred the industry's reputation—the trafficking in so-called blood diamonds mined in war zones, with profits used to fund insurgencies. 'We are where we are because of the value of diamonds," says Botswana's ambassador to the U.S., Mpho Mophuting. Samantha Boselli's engagement ring features a pear-shaped lab-grown diamond. When he meets with jewelers and young people, Mophuting talks about how the diamond industry has funded schools, infrastructure like fiber-optic cables and his own graduate education. The message doesn't always resonate with price-conscious buyers. Before she got married last year, Samantha Boselli, a 29-year-old publicist from Hooksett, N.H., chose a 3.5-carat, pear-shaped diamond for her engagement ring. It was grown in a lab. 'The size we could get for the price was unbeatable compared to a natural diamond," Boselli says. She doesn't care that the stone likely won't hold its value. 'When I'm 80 and looking to pass it to a daughter or granddaughter, it will still be a sentimental and beautiful diamond," she says. 'It's not like I'm looking to resell it." De Beers gets its name from two Dutch-Afrikaner brothers, Diederik Arnoldus de Beer and Johannes Nicolaas de Beer, who settled in South Africa and discovered diamonds on their farm in the late 1800s. De Beers grew to control some 90% of the world's diamond trade. When diamond demand collapsed during the Great Depression, De Beers hired the advertising agency N.W. Ayer, which convinced Hollywood actresses to wear diamond rings. One of its copywriters in 1947 came up with the now famous tagline 'A Diamond is Forever." Over coming decades, De Beers broadly succeeded in dictating how much should be spent on a diamond engagement ring: 'Isn't two months' salary a small price to pay for something that lasts forever?" asked a 1980s De Beers ad. By then, however, the company's influence was waning as new diamond mines in Russia and elsewhere were discovered. In the early 2000s, the controversy over blood diamonds was cresting at the same time independent producers were undercutting De Beers. Innovation in manufactured diamonds threw up new hurdles. Though General Electric has been producing lab-grown diamonds for industrial use since the 1950s, technology and consumer tastes evolved rapidly in the past decade. Even gem experts need specialized machinery to tell the difference between quality lab-grown and mined diamonds. De Beers is now trying to draw more attention to the hard-to-see differences, by asking jewelers to shell out $9,500 for a new diamond-testing device called DiamondProof. The device is about the size of an air fryer and designed to be displayed on jewelry-store counters. It takes just a few seconds to show color-coded results: If the stone's image glows blue, it's natural—a result De Beers says it can guarantee. If it glows yellow, it's lab-grown or needs further testing. De Beers hopes that if such a simple-looking contraption can so easily tell mined stones from lab-grown, shoppers might be convinced that there really is a meaningful difference between the two. Most luxury jewelers have opted not to sell lab-grown diamonds. 'They are not rare or natural," says Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co.'s chief gemologist. 'There is an overabundance of them." Sellers that appeal to more price-conscious consumers have less leeway. Sales of lab-grown diamonds at Walmart, the country's second-largest fine jewelry seller behind Signet—according to National Jeweler magazine—soared 175% in 2024 compared with the prior year. 'Our customers are looking for that type of value," said Chris Steinmann, Walmart's vice president of merchandising, jewelry and accessories. The Danish retailer Pandora made a decision in 2021 to sell only lab-grown diamonds, partly due to their lower price, but also because it feels they are less harmful to the environment. Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said they represent a breakthrough technology that can't be stopped through negative advertising. 'This happened with the car and horses and carriages," he said. 'The world is changing." Signet had been more reluctant to jump on the lab-grown bandwagon than other middle-market jewelers, which some analysts say contributed to a prolonged sales decline, plunging stock price and a large shareholder who had pushed for a sale of the company. Signet Chief Executive J.K. Symancyk, who took the helm in November, laid out a new strategy in March that includes pushing more heavily into lab-grown diamonds for fashion jewelry like tennis bracelets, earrings and necklaces, while aiming to protect the allure of natural stones for milestone purchases like engagement rings. Sales of fashion jewelry with lab-grown diamonds increased 60% in the most recent quarter, compared with a year ago, one factor that helped the company's overall sales return to growth for the first time since April 2022. He added that nearly two-thirds of Signet's customers still prefer mined diamonds for special occasions like anniversaries and engagements. 'We see natural diamonds as lasting and enduring," Symancyk says. 'Fashion trends change." Signet's 20,000 sales associates were recently required to complete a digital training course that taught them how to better communicate the unique features of natural diamonds to their customers, including their origin story, scarcity and intrinsic value. Men at work in the grading room at De Beers in South Africa in 1946. 'You can't really create the magic when you're talking about a stone that was created in a lab," said Christine Vassar-Raus, a regional vice president for the Signet-owned Jared chain, who demonstrated the selling techniques in a Connecticut store on a recent afternoon. 'It's just not as romantic." The influx of lab-grown diamonds has pushed prices down for both types of stones. The retail price of a 1-carat lab-grown diamond has plunged 86% since the beginning of 2016, to about $745, Zimnisky estimates. The price of the same size natural diamond is down 40% over that period to $3,925. Back in 2016, there was only about a $1,000 difference between a 1-carat lab-grown and natural diamond. A natural diamond now costs about five times as much as man-made stone. The plunging prices of lab-grown diamonds have led to buyer's remorse for some consumers. After buying a pair of lab-grown diamond earrings, Durée Ross has sworn off the synthetic stones. She likened them to wearing a counterfeit handbag, even though lab-grown diamonds aren't fake. 'I just didn't feel good about wearing them," said the 49-year-old communications professional, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 'Natural diamonds have a better chance of holding their value. They are more of an investment piece." Mined diamonds, like this one at a workshop in London's Diamond District, face stiff competition from plentiful lab-grown stones. Cook, the De Beers boss, describes a future in which abundantly available lab-grown diamonds continue to lose value, pushing them closer in the consumer's eye to cheaper knockoffs like cubic zirconia and moissanite, which have different chemical structures and are readily identified as imitations. For those who've paid $2,000 for a 1-carat lab-grown diamond only to see its value collapse, Cook offered condolences: 'I weep for you."
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Are Diamonds Even a Luxury Anymore? De Beers Reckons With Price Plunge
De Beers chief executive Al Cook wants to save a generation of lovers and newlyweds from what he calls a 'huge con' when it comes to buying diamonds. In the process, he hopes to rescue his iconic brand—and perhaps the diamond industry as it has existed for more than a century—from an ominous decline.
Malay Mail
12-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
De Beers launches ‘Ombré Desert Diamonds' jewellery beacon and ‘Origin, De Beers Group' polished diamonds
First 'beacon' product in more than a decade will support category demand for natural diamonds, while Origin initiative will differentiate De Beers-sourced polished diamonds Rapid delivery of Origins strategy priorities and reinforced commitment to driving demand for natural diamonds Al Cook, Chief Executive Officer of De Beers Group announces the Origins strategy at JCK. LAS VAGAS, US - Media OutReach Newswire - 12 June 2025 - De Beers Group today unveiled compelling new downstream propositions focused on driving desire for natural diamonds as a category and on differentiating polished diamonds sourced from De Beers the annual JCK Las Vegas Show – the largest jewellery event in the global calendar – De Beers Group revealed its first 'beacon' product (a jewellery concept that enables various industry businesses to participate in a category marketing idea) in over a decade. 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 Beers Group beacons, which have previously included the eternity ring and three-stone ring, are focused on driving desire for natural diamond jewellery by introducing new emotionally compelling retail propositions. At the JCK Show, De Beers Group unveiled new design concepts as part of the Ombré Desert Diamonds beacon including multi-stone ombre designs. Retailers across the industry will have the opportunity to participate in the programme. To support the success of Ombré Desert Diamonds, De Beers Group is investing significantly in media and digital campaigns to drive consumer demand at the point of sale. De Beers Group will also be making marketing collateral available to beacon the new beacon product, the business also formally launched Origin, De Beers Group. First unveiled at the 2024 JCK Show, Origin, De Beers Group is a new branded polished diamond offering designed to enable retailers to tell the individual stories of natural diamonds sourced by De Beers Group, strengthening the connection between a diamond and the individual who wears it. As a loose polished diamond programme, Origin, De Beers Group will enable consumers to explore the details of their diamond's country of origin and journey through the value chain, supported by the Tracr blockchain platform. Moreover, consumers will be able to access a range of information about their unique purchase, including its rarity score and the social impact programmes it has De Beers Group will provide retailers with advanced digital tools, enhancing consumer engagement through seamless access to provenance information and brand storytelling. Origin, De Beers Group will provide consumers with the opportunity to purchase diamonds sourced from De Beers Group with enhanced assurance, reinforcing their ethical provenance as part of the marketing its keynote presentation at the JCK Show, De Beers Group also provided a series of updates on its delivery against other areas of its Origins the upstream, De Beers Group highlighted progress across its asset portfolio, with the completion of all airborne geophysical surveying in Angola representing a key recent milestone in its exploration activities. In the midstream, De Beers Group reiterated it is doubling down on its commitment to traceability. Earlier this year, the business announced that single country of origin data is now available on Tracr and DiamondProof was launched in US retail stores. Both announcements reflect De Beers Group's focus on leveraging technology to provide an enhanced consumer proposition by connecting diamonds to their the synthetics space, De Beers Group announced the first production of technology diamonds from its Element Six Oregon Centre. This is a key milestone in Element Six's $130 million investment in its Portland, Oregon facility, and its progress with synthetic diamond technology solutions for industrial use. Theannouncement follows De Beers Group's communication of its plans to close its Lightbox lab-grown diamond jewellery Cook, Chief Executive Officer of De Beers Group, said: "One year on from announcing our Origins strategy, we have made fast and meaningful progress in delivering our vision. We have met every target that we announced back in 2024. Every part of De Beers is evolving to create lasting value, benefitting shareholders, the industry and consumers. The launch of our first beacon in over a decade marks an exciting new era in showcasing the magic of natural diamonds, while Origin, De Beers Group connects people with the powerful stories behind natural diamonds – the communities they help support, the landscapes they come from, and the meaningful impact they create. With innovation across the value chain – from provenance to synthetic diamond technology – De Beers is reinforcing its leadership in an evolving marketplace."De Beers Group also reinforced its commitment to sustainability, in line with its Building Forever programme, with key advancements in renewable energy. Recent agreements, including Namdeb's partnership with Namibia's NamPower, and Debswana's collaboration with Botswana Power Corporation, pave the way for increased renewable energy integration across the De Beers Group business. De Beers Group also confirmed that Envusa Energy has commissioned on its renewable energy projects in South Africa, set to power Venetia Mine from #DeBeersGroup #JCK #Origin #NaturalDiamonds The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About De Beers Group Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world's leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining, marketing and retailing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world's largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of De Beers Group's strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers that span the diamond value chain, including its jewellery houses, De Beers London and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives Tracr and GemFair. De Beers Group also provides leading services and technology to the diamond industry in the form of education and laboratory services and a wide range of diamond sorting, detection and classification technology services. De Beers Group is committed to 'Building Forever,' a holistic and integrated approach to sustainability that underpins our efforts to create meaningful impact for the people and places where our diamonds are discovered. Building Forever focuses on three key areas where, through collaborations and partnerships around the globe, we have an enhanced ability to drive positive impact; Livelihoods, Climate and Nature. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit
Fashion Network
23-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
De Beers announces commitment to unlocking India's diamond potential
De Beers Group has reiterated its commitment to advancing India's role in the global diamond industry, with chief executive Al Cook highlighting the country's growing influence across the diamond value chain during a recent visit to Mumbai and Surat. 'For more than two thousand years, India has been at the heart of the world's diamond industry,' said Cook in a press release. 'But I have also seen that the future of diamonds in India will be even greater than the past.' Cook noted India's rise as the second-largest market for natural diamonds, stating the industry is now increasingly about diamonds 'for India' and 'to India'. As wholesale prices for lab-grown diamonds fall below $60 per carat, Cook emphasised the growing importance of consumer education and verification tools. 'The myth that you can't tell the difference between a natural diamond and an LGD is beginning to shatter and DiamondProof's influence is only going to grow,' said Cook. Following the planned closure of its Lightbox LGD jewellery brand, De Beers aims to focus on high-tech applications through Element Six, including opportunities in India's semiconductor and AI sectors. Cook also underlined strategic partnerships with Tanishq and the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, alongside plans to expand the Forevermark brand to 100 stores in 40 cities by 2030. De Beers and the GJEPC have also launched INDRA to support independent retailers with promotional tools and training.
Business Mayor
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Natural diamond still India's crown jewel: De Beers Group CEO
Having toppled China as the world's second-biggest market for natural diamonds, India is shining bright for De Beers, said the mining conglomerate's global CEO Al Cook. Also, Indian consumers aren't following those in the US in taking to lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) in a big way. 'One can buy 20 LGDs for the price of 1 carat of natural diamond,' Cook, 50, told ET in an interview. 'LGD will remain a mass-produced, low-cost, pretty and fun jewellery to wear. Indian consumers are more sophisticated, and they like natural things. They believe in the uniqueness of natural diamonds and therefore the demand is growing.'Still, the miner is said to have to lowered its rough diamond production target for the current year, given the China slump and the rise of LGDs elsewhere. While the US market, the world's biggest, is gravitating towards LGD, Chinese buyers increasingly prefer gold over diamonds. Indians are most likely to pass diamond jewellery on as heirloom pieces to the next generation and hence the preference for natural stones, said Cook. He's in India on a three-day tour to meet diamond sight holders (rough diamond bulk buyers), retailers and manufacturers. The British-born Cook said the Indian natural diamond market is expected to double by 2030 to $20 billion from $10 billion now, as the aspiration for natural diamonds is increasing among Indians. India's natural diamond consumption grew 12% year on year in 2024. Read More China to investigate fashion firm PVH for suspected boycott De Beers has already announced that its natural diamond marketing spend in India in 2025 will be the highest in a decade. It has entered into a long-term strategic collaboration with the Tata Group's Tanishq to connect with more Indian consumers. India overtook China in diamond purchases in 2024. That's the year the Chinese market more than halved to 43 billion yuan ($6 billion) from100 billion yuan in 2021, according to the Gems & Jewellery trade Association. The downturn was driven by economic uncertainty and the shift in consumer preference to gold as the yellow metal's price US diamond jewellery market was valued at $356 billion in 2024, having declined by 8-9% over the previous two years, and is expected to reach $478.8 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.22%, according to De Beers. In the US, LGDs are eating into the natural diamond pie, prompting De Beers to step up its game in India, where acceptance of the artificial variety is still at a nascent stage. LGDs CATCHING UP 'Lab-grown diamond wholesale and retail prices continued to fall through 2024 as the bifurcation from natural diamonds progresses, with acceleration in the second half of the year,' Cook said. 'In the lead-up to the holiday season, several US retailers introduced deep discounts on lab-grown diamond jewellery amidst increased competition, with some retailers also including disclaimers for their customers that lab-grown diamonds may not hold their value over time.' De Beers shut its LGD jewellery brand Lightbox, which was established in 2018, a few days ago, reinforcing its commitment to natural diamonds. Interestingly, the price of certain qualities of rough diamonds is on the rise as there is a supply constraint in the market. 'A proportion of natural diamond demand continues to be affected in the near-term by lab-grown diamonds in the US as a result of prevailing high retail margins, but such margins are expected to be unsustainable in light of increasing lab-grown diamond supply volumes, greater levels of competition, and growing consumer awareness of lab-grown diamond price trends,' the De Beers global CEO said. 'If you go to the US you can buy a LGD ring for $299 at Walmart.' Recognising the rapidly growing consumer demand for natural diamonds in India, Cook said, 'The industry used to be focused on diamonds 'from India' and 'by India', but now it's increasingly about diamonds 'for India' and 'to India'.'
