Editor’s Note
This final installment of our series on the diamond industry examines how historic luxury houses are navigating modern challenges, from evolving consumer tastes to ethical sourcing, to maintain their enduring allure.
Series: “Diamonds, the Eternal Industry”
Episode 3/3: The Great Houses Still Shine
Historically associated with wealth and longevity, diamonds hold a prominent place in the luxury sector: used both as decorative objects on jewelry and as investment products to be placed in a safe. The success of diamond consumption relies on both a close bond of trust between buyers and sellers and on meticulous marketing orchestrated by the great jewelry houses (Tiffany’s, Cartier, De Beers), playing on the preciousness and the supposedly “eternal” character of these gemstones.
While their complex valuation process depends on both natural criteria (weight, color, purity) and manufacturing criteria (cut, brilliance). Violaine d’Astorg explains:
“To appraise a diamond, we generally use the ‘rule of the 4Cs’. This rule, defined by the laboratory of the Gemmology Institute of America – which historically certifies diamonds – allows us to define three quality criteria for the diamond, which themselves determine its value. Firstly, there is its cut, ‘Cut’; then, there is its weight, ‘Carat’, a word that comes from the ‘carob tree’, an African tree whose fruits are large pods containing seeds all weighing exactly the same. These were used in Africa near diamond mines and have since served as a unit of account. There is also the color ‘Color’: a diamond can have all the colors of the rainbow, but its value is defined by its ability to be whiter than another. The whiter a diamond is, the more expensive it is: the more yellowed and dull the white is, the less valuable it is. Colored diamonds are also very valuable, but the colors must be clear and not dull. Finally, the last criterion is purity, ‘Clarity’: the diamond being crystallized molten carbon, it can sometimes contain inclusions if the fusion was not complete. These impurities lower the value of the diamond.”
Diamonds can also see their value skyrocket depending on their history and owners: traded either at jewelers, diamond dealers, auctions, or the stock exchange (mainly Antwerp), diamonds form a fluctuating market. However, Dominique Harnois adds:
“The diamond has always been considered a safe haven. Many clients buy stones as an investment – some stones are necessarily speculative investments, as some mines are already depleted (like the mines in Tanzania) – but the diamond, due to the rarity of high-quality stones, is one of the most popular investment products in terms of jewelry.”
The diamond market, on one hand, withstood (or even benefited from) the pandemic period very well, but it is now being disrupted by the exponential development of synthetic diamonds.
Traditionally dominated by diamonds extracted from the depths of the earth, the diamond market is indeed facing new challenges – but also new opportunities – with the advent of laboratory-grown diamond technology. This evolution sparks passionate debates about the authenticity, sustainability, and intrinsic value of diamonds, thereby redefining the standards of luxury and jewelry: synthetic diamond manufacturers often claim their products are more ethical and ecological, highlighting the absence of social and environmental damage associated with mining. Virginie Thevenin explains:
“Commitment to the environment is part of the new communication tools for major luxury houses, and particularly for major jewelry houses. Some are beginning to claim their commitment, while others prefer to remain silent (the English speak of ‘greenhushing’, literally the ‘hush’ or ‘silence’ green). This dualism in the luxury market is embodied in the controversy between natural and synthetic diamonds: on one side, some major houses like LVMH completely deny using synthetic diamonds and champion the tradition of natural stones; conversely, other houses – often newer but sometimes iconic, like the jewelers Courbet or Fred located on Place Vendôme – make the use of synthetic diamonds a two-sided ecological argument. The synthetic diamond is supposed to be not only more environmentally friendly by limiting overexploitation and resource waste but also more respectful of people by not relying on the exploitation of mining labor.”
Proponents of natural diamonds – often the historic great houses – emphasize the traditional value, natural rarity, and cultural heritage associated with these gems shaped over centuries and extracted directly from the earth. This conflict fuels the controversies that haunt this historic market and questions the ability of major jewelry brands to rethink their commercial strategy.
