The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) will sharpen its focus on consumer demand, cultural relevance and industry collaboration as it rolls out a new global strategy aimed at restoring the appeal of natural diamonds among younger consumers, CEO Amber Pepper said during an interactive trade meeting hosted by the GJEPC in Mumbai on 3 August 2026.

Held at GJEPC's headquarters in Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), the session brought together leading diamantaires and industry stakeholders to discuss the future of category marketing and consumer engagement. The GJEPC leadership present at the meeting were Kirit Bhansali, Chairman; Shaunak Parikh, Vice Chairman; Anoop Mehta, Convener - Diamond Panel; Manish Jiwani, Convener – MSME; Ashish Borda, Convener - PMBD; Mital Doshi, Convener - BITC; Devansh Shah, Member – PMBD; and Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director.

Presenting the NDC's strategic roadmap, Pepper said the organisation's objective is to "recapture the power and value of diamonds as a universal source of wonder" by repositioning the category around authenticity, cultural relevance and consumer desire rather than product messaging alone.

She outlined five transformation pillars: industry unity, category ahead of the organisation itself, organisational evolution, consumer desire, cultural relevance, and category protection. Pepper said the NDC intends to broaden industry participation, strengthen collaboration across the diamond pipeline and ensure its programmes better reflect the priorities of producers, trade bodies, manufacturers and retailers.

A key shift in the strategy is a stronger emphasis on the consumer. Pepper said 80% of the NDC's future investments will be directed towards consumer-facing initiatives, with fewer resources allocated to traditional industry programmes. Future campaigns will prioritise organic storytelling, cultural partnerships and peer-to-peer engagement over conventional advertising.

Recognising the growing influence of younger buyers, she described India as one of the NDC's priority markets, highlighting the country's digitally connected Gen Z consumers as an important audience for future campaigns. Rather than relying solely on brand-led messaging, the Council plans to integrate natural diamonds into fashion, entertainment, sport and broader cultural conversations through authentic creators and localised storytelling.

Pepper also announced the development of a Diamond Desire Index, a new global measurement framework that will track consumer consideration, purchase intent, sentiment and recommendation levels for natural diamonds across key markets including the United States, India and China. The first baseline results are expected in September 2026 and will serve as a benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of future marketing initiatives.

Addressing the rapid rise of artificial intelligence as a source of consumer information, Pepper said the NDC has partnered with AI agency Artefact to improve how natural diamonds are represented across large language models and AI-powered search platforms. The initiative will help industry participants optimise digital content, improve factual accuracy and strengthen the visibility of trusted information about natural diamonds in AI-generated responses.

Another major initiative is the creation of a Natural Diamond Mark, a consumer trust mark intended for inscriptions on natural diamonds and jewellery. Pepper said the long-term objective is to establish a globally recognised identifier that helps consumers easily distinguish natural diamonds while providing the industry with a stronger framework to combat misrepresentation and misleading claims.

Consumer education will also be redesigned for digital audiences, with shorter, social-first content replacing longer technical resources. At the same time, the NDC plans to expand research, publish more industry data and develop locally adaptable campaigns that can communicate the broader social and economic contribution of natural diamonds.

Pepper said retailer partnerships will play a central role in India, while globally the organisation will intensify efforts to address misinformation, improve product transparency and ensure consumers receive consistent messaging across all channels. She encouraged industry stakeholders to actively report misleading claims and work collectively to strengthen confidence in the natural diamond category.

The presentation was followed by an interactive discussion with GJEPC members, who shared feedback on consumer communication, retail engagement, AI, education and collaborative marketing initiatives. The meeting underscored the industry's growing focus on coordinated global action to strengthen demand for natural diamonds amid evolving consumer preferences and increasing competition from laboratory-grown diamonds.

Courtesy: AOJ DESK NEWS