Three Current Topics: Learning and Adapting

Knowledgeable salespeople, with the ability to educate customers, are the key to increased interest and revenue from natural diamonds. Displays of lab grown and natural diamonds are not significantly different from a customer’s point of view, and retailers don’t share information regarding ethical considerations, and transparency in the sourcing and supply of mined diamonds, often enough. In an effort to support in-store staff, the Natural Diamond Council will launch an Education Partner Program on April 1st. The goal is for participants to build trust with customers, by enhancing awareness of key information and imparting it with confidence.

Connecting with the newest generation of jewellery buyers, who are not as brand loyal, is the industry’s current challenge. Generation X is put off by inconsistent or unrealistic marketing. By contrast, they are attracted to transparency, convenience, and information. Building genuine connections of digital platforms is a primary focus for many successful retailers.

Artificial intelligence being used in the diamond grading process is the latest technology adaptation in the industry. Diamonds transition through over 90 stages, on average, before being sold as a polished stone. With the help of AI, colour and clarity could be determined more accurately in the planning stage, before cutting, rather than grading at the end stage. Consistency and interpretation are also being monitored through development, to determine whether there is a benefit in these areas.