The head of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has blamed industry infighting for a drop in customer confidence in jewellery. Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO, spoke at the opening session of the 2024 Global Gems & Jewellery Development Conference on December 19th. He said that the marketing methods used to launch laboratory-grown diamonds had a negative influence on customer faith in jewellery as a whole.
“The items we sell do not necessarily have inherent value – such is the nature of luxury products,” Dr. Cavalieri said in his keynote presentation to the big crowd at the inaugural session. “They have perceived worth derived from brands as well as cultural and historical associations. If the consumer loses trust in our products, their value decreases. Without customer confidence, a diamond, ruby, emerald, or magnificent piece of jade is just a colorful stone.”
While noting geopolitical considerations, Dr. Cavalieri identified significant expansion in the lab-grown diamond sector alongside the natural diamond industry as a critical issue. The issue was exacerbated by a considerable decline in lab-grown diamond production costs during the previous two years.
Dr. Cavalieri stated that the initial method of pricing lab-grown diamonds versus natural stones, while theoretically favorable to lab-grown manufacturers in the short term, was ultimately damaging in the long run.
“Both the natural diamond sector and the laboratory diamond sector need to disengage and go back to their drawing boards,” the chief executive of CIBJO said. “Each needs to clearly brand its product in a realistic and positive way so that consumer confidence will be restored.”