In an exclusive with the New Jeweller bureau Edith Castus, Head of Marketing & Communication of HRD Antwerp opines on the current market situation, consumer confidence and the potential threat of synthetic diamonds. Excerpts:

The global Diamond Industr y has been facing a downturn especially in the lasttwo years because of various factors such as price volatility, economic uncertainties, etc. What according to you does the future hold for the Industry and will it bounce back in the near future to remain profitable and lucrative business for the next generation to come?

Economic factors impact every global industry. One only needs to look at what has happened to commodity producers in the last few years. They experienced a significant downturn in 2015, as did we. Some are still struggling, while others have bounced back strongly, as have we. That is not to say that the challenges are behind us, and the global economic downturn certainly took a toll on the general level of confidence in the industry, but beginning in mid-2016, the trade stabilized at a very respectable level and has remained steady since. We are optimistic going into 2017, but we learned a valuable lesson from the most recent downturn – now our optimistic expectations are more realistic. We realize very well what volatile times we are living in.

Going forward, the key issue for our industry is maintaining demand for diamonds in the face of a true generational shift. Three things give us reason to believe our industry will remain profitable:

1. Millennials are already the largest purchasers of diamonds in the U.S., and have not yet reached full purchasing power. This demonstrates that the desire for diamonds has not declined in the world’s largest market, and is very strong in the emerging markets;


2. the industry has realized the need to fill the gap of category marketing left behind after De Beers ceased their campaigns, and is taking steps to remedy that with a modern and innovative approach;


3. the available wealth in emerging markets such as China and India is set to grow exponentially in the next 15 years, and as I already mentioned, desire for diamonds is already strong. As long as we keep our eye on the ball and stay true to our values, we have every expectation of a bright future.

As a leading Diamond certifying and grading organization, does HRD Antwerp believe that Synthetic Diamonds are a perennial threat to Natural Diamonds? If yes, what are the steps that according to you should the industry take to thwart this effect?

The current threat posed by synthetic diamonds is the issue of undisclosed mixing of synthetic with natural diamonds, which damages consumer confidence in our product. The industry is already taking action on a global scale to counter this threat by more widespread implementation of high-tech detection systems, such as our own M-Screen+. HRD Antwerp is committed to making continued technological progress in detection equipment, and making this equipment available on a wider scale to potentially more vulnerable locations. This, together with the educational resources we provide and efforts we make to foster a mentality of transparency and consumer confidence with our Centre of Excellence concept, for example, shows that we are taking the issue seriously.

Tell us something more about the Centre of Excellence concept you launched last year in Paris and Shanghai.

Building consumer confidence is vital if you wish to succeed in the diamond and jewellery business. Customers must believe in the integrity of your product, they need to know what they are buying is worth their hard-earned cash. This is why HRD Antwerp developed the “Centre of Excellence” concept for jewellery retailers. We help our partners reassure their customers and enhance their diamond shopping experience, through an innovative and intuitive variety of instore tools as well as workshops that will turn their sales staff into diamond experts their customers can trust.

Can you detail more about the 'M-Screen +' equipment launched by HRD Antwerp and how useful is this technology to the trade.

The M-Screen + is the upgraded version of our M-Screen, the superfast automated melee screening device for round brilliant diamonds launched in 2015 by HRD Antwerp to help diamond traders as well as jewellery manufactures to enhance consumer confidence. The M-Screen + goes further down in size to screen melee parcels of diamonds to a weight of 0.005 ct. (1 mm stones) to 0.20 ct, compared to the range of 0.010 ct – 0.20 ct for the M-Screen.

The basic technology used in the M-screen+ is the same as in the M-screen, but some very high-tech upgrades have been added to the system to enable it to handle smaller stones, and to maintain and even increase the screening speed to 4 stones per second. Because of its high screening speed, all stones of a batch can now be screened, not only a sample. The screened goods will end up in one of three different bins: ‘pass’, which is self-explanatory; ‘refer’ means the stones need to be checked in other instruments and with other technologies; and the ‘out of spec’ bin is for non-diamonds, simulants, or stones that are below 1 mm or above 3.8 mm in diameter.

The first commercial M-screen + machines were delivered in February 2017. In the meantime, the M-screens devices that are already in the market will be upgraded to the M-screen +, if required by the customer. The selling price remains at 78.000 €, installation and training included.

Tell us more about the Diamond Jewellery Sales course offered by HRD Antwerp

Research has shown that jewellery shops with effective sales training for diamonds can expect significant increases in sales, as well as increased motivation and retention. HRD Antwerp developed a two-day Diamond Jewellery Sales course to help sales professionals create a unique diamond buying experience for the customers.

The course is composed of two parts. The first part focuses on how to develop a diamond jewellery marketing strategy, while improving product knowledge about diamonds, diamond jewellery and the current market trends. The second part of the course focuses on the “7 Steps to a Sale”, including how to communicate with customers, how to create value for them and how to handle their reservations. The course entails a mixture of case studies, creative exercises and role-playing to guide the students on their way to putting theory into practice.

How important is Consumer Education according to you? Is the industry doing enough and what are some of the initiatives taken by HRD Antwerp for the same?

The generation of Baby Boomers, and to a large extent the Gen-Xers, grew up with a clear idea of the inherent value of diamonds, largely due to De Beers’ brilliant “A diamond is forever” campaign. The challenge now is to develop a clear and compelling message to win the hearts, minds and discretionary incomes of a new generation of buyers – Millennials – who have a different attitude toward consumption. So yes, consumer education is very important nowadays. At HRD Antwerp we are currently working on new initiatives to truly interact with the consumer in a transparent and valuable way. Our Centre of Excellence in Paris and Shanghai are just the beginning, we have many more initiatives in the works. In short, I would have to say: Stay tuned!