At the turn of the decade, the perpetual icon of the Western jewellery market, the diamond, saw a surge. By late 2024 and early 2025, analysts and onlookers were pointing to the fall of the diamond market and a need to adapt to new audiences. Developments in fine jewellery demand, traceable sustainability, lab-grown competition, supply disruptions, and customer financing regulations have all been labelled as critical to diamonds going forward.

Even so, analysts with an eye on the future project diamonds continuing to hold up strongly. While the Western market may be adjusting its jewellery habits and preferences, in emerging markets, more people seek to land one of these status symbols long heralded by richer nations as the ultimate jewel. The famed marketing effort of De Beers in the 1940s continues to ring out globally, but the approach in more seasoned markets may need tweaking.

Fears of a Diamond Decline May be Overblown

Lab-grown diamonds have been around for some time now, offering a more cost-effective path for obtaining large diamonds as well as addressing most ethical concerns that customers may have. For the most part, savvy diamond companies have embraced this, but there are a few holdouts who are banking on their legacy, prestige, and the authenticity of their products. Lab diamonds aren’t fake, but they’re not limited.

Even so, the market certainly lapped them up, with buyers using the customisation controls of lab-grown diamond specialists to create stones with the perfect colouration, clarity, quality, and such. All at a reduced price, too. In April of this year, it was reported that natural diamond sales decreased by six per cent while overall jewellery sales rose, including those of lab-grown diamonds. This came after January saw reports of all diamond prices tumbling.

It would look a bit gloomy for the diamond market when taking these reports and individual incidents, but there is also brighter news for the market. The global diamond market size was around $41.5 billion last year. Five years from now, it’s expected to continue to grow at a CAGR of 3.3 per cent to $50.2 billion, spurred on by emerging markets like China and India. Lab-grown diamonds are also tipped to grow at 11.8 per cent CAGR to 2033.

The Lifeblood of Diamonds: Marketing

While a diamond is a lovely jewel in its clarity and shine, a case can be made that it wouldn’t be anywhere near as valuable, sought after, and luxurious if Frances Gerety hadn’t coined “A Diamond is Forever” in 1947. The iconic De Beers slogan continues to resonate to this day. You only have to look as far as pop culture to see this. The James Bond novel and subsequent film adaptation, Diamonds Are Forever, show this.

From novels and the big screen, diamonds continue to be associated with luxury in even newer forms of entertainment. Sitting alongside the likes of Eye of Horus: Legacy of Gold and Straight Cash, it’s the diamond-encrusted tile of 16 Coins x5000 that’s the most eye-catching among the new online slots. Here, diamonds are the high-paying symbols, playing right into the public understanding of the value and desirability of the stones.

Even in music, this continually built-up prestige and desire for diamonds among the public has found success, most notably with Kanye West’s Diamonds from Sierra Leone. Released in June 2009, it has over 38 million views on YouTube and includes a sample of Shirley Bassey’s timeless rendition of Diamonds Are Forever. Of course, the prestige of diamonds has also brought an alternative look, most notably with the gritty 2006 hit film Blood Diamond.

All of this stands to show that marketing has long been the lifeblood of diamonds, be it directly from sellers of the stones or a more passive perception of diamonds through pop culture. Going forward, marketers will need to work out new ways to promote their various diamonds to new audiences with new preferences, making powerful statements that can still tie back in with the eternal prestige of the jewel, as established nearly 80 years ago.