【Spain】Gold, the Diamond Industry, and the Rise of Premium Jewelry with Javier Fernández

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Editor’s Note

This article is part of a series featuring insights from professionals across the jewelry industry. Here, a lawyer and advertiser turned gemologist and appraiser shares their unique path into the field and how a multifaceted career has provided a comprehensive view of the sector’s value chain.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role in the jewelry sector; how did you get into it and what do you do?

I am a lawyer and advertiser, but the truth is that, over the years, and as a lover of gemstones and minerals, I began my journey as such in the sector, becoming a Gemologist by the GIA and an Appraiser by the AETA. From there, I had the opportunity to work in companies in the sector at different links in the value chain, after completing my MBA, allowing me to acquire a very comprehensive knowledge of the industry, having been fortunate to learn from very admirable professionals in all of them.

Currently, I work managing operations for a Swiss high-end watchmaking brand within one of the world’s major luxury groups. I am happy. I am fortunate to work in a sector that I love and from which I enjoy teaching and learning.

The sector has changed a lot in a short time, what stands out most to you about its evolution?

I have been in the industry for about 10 years. From when I entered until today, I have noticed several events that are contributing to changing the jewelry landscape in Spain (and the rest of the world) such as new generations of consumers and their consequences: decline in weddings in Spain (in the last 20 years there have been 18% fewer marriages), Self-purchase vs. Gift, growing insecurity in cities and social networks where experience is prioritized over material goods. Also other events such as gold reaching historical highs, the emergence of lab-grown diamonds, the polarization between low-level jewelry and high jewelry (the mid-range or mid-luxury jewelry segment suffers) and macroeconomic factors and geopolitical conflicts.

What is your opinion on the GIA’s latest decision to label lab-created diamonds differently?
“I think it’s a very correct decision but one that comes a bit late. The emergence of lab-grown diamonds has had its positive and negative aspects, but what should never have been allowed, in my view, is to have created confusion in the jewelry sector, among manufacturers, stores, and the end consumer; for example, confusing manufacturers with fraudulent intent by ‘slipping in’ batches with synthetics, confusing the end consumer by focusing on sustainability and ethics, when this is highly debatable (and I can prove it) or treating, from a commercial point of view, natural diamonds and synthetic diamonds in the same way since they are two different categories, and they should always have been clearly differentiated. One will always have value in the secondary market, the other only loses value; one has the charm of being unique and geological, being the product of billions of years of antiquity, the other is mass-produced in a factory; one adds value at each link in the value chain (as in the case of Botswana, which went from being one of the world’s poorest economies to ranking among the richest in Africa, using resources to build hospitals, schools, and other important infrastructure) while the other only benefits countries like China and India, shortening the value chain and not benefiting the Community.”

The industry has grown a lot and has opened doors to consumers who never even considered buying a diamond before. That has created a market where, who knows, someday they may end up buying natural ones. But, above all, the rules must be clear and well-defined, and the information provided about them must be clear, transparent, and never intended to confuse the end user.

And about the diamond industry in general? Do you think it will stabilize in the short term?

The diamond industry in general (for jewelry and industrial use) has grown and continues to grow. In fact, global growth of 3% is expected. The thing is, a large part of this growth comes from synthetic diamonds in jewelry and for industrial use. Natural diamonds have suffered significant price drops, and today it seems a very delicate issue, but we must not forget that diamonds have experienced price drops on several occasions throughout contemporary history, especially when they experienced economic crises in 1929, 2008, and 2023; when speculative bubbles occurred like in 1980; when the structural conditions of the market changed, as now, with lab-grown diamonds; or when there are periods of lower demand.

“But unlike other commodities, the diamond market has historically been overseen by major players (like De Beers, Alrosa, Rio Tinto…), who have intervened through restricted supply and marketing to protect their perceived value. This time, I think, and hope, the same will happen. In fact, we have already seen how De Beers has closed its Lightbox lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, Botswana has controlled extraction to avoid further overstocking…”

We must also pay close attention to how the US tariff issue affects things because bottlenecks and overstocking are occurring in cutting centers like Surat in India as exporting to the US is now more expensive… Will Europe emerge stronger from this? It will be interesting to see how this issue develops in the coming months. Undoubtedly, it will take some time for diamonds to strengthen again, but I am optimistic.

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⏰ Published on: August 05, 2025