Rosy Blue in talks with Botswana Government to develop joint marketing campaigns

Date: 24 Feb, 2025| By Erez Jacob Rivlin. 

Last week, my pondering and discussions have generate d one clear conclusion so far, regarding the supply side of the diamond market. The recovery will only start when the over-supplied market is balanced. De Beers and Botswana have drastically cut their diamond production, and the Russians have kept large stocks in Gokhran, their state treasury. Obviously, the Angolans, as a third world producer, should take similarly strong measures. But what about the demand side of the market? In the past three years, the global consumer market for natural diamonds suffered from the impact of two major ‘blackholes’, that devoured large chunks of the market. On one hand, the post-Corona Chinese market has completely lost its taste for any diamond jewelry, and even worse, China actually exports unsold stocks of diamonds to the rest of the world. On the other hand, crystalized carbon (annoyingly enough called ‘lab-grown diamonds’) that is manufactured in polluting steamy factories, has swallowed another large share of the demand for natural diamonds. I took a rest from my tour of Antwerp’s diamond district to call Paul Zimnisky, an independent industry analyst based in New York, who publishes a diamond price index. “At this point what the industry needs most is demand drivers,” he said. “I think it would be in Botswana’s best interest to prioritize creating demand for natural diamonds. Real demand growth would theoretically alleviate all of the industry’s problems.  This could be via traditional advertising investments or more strategic marketing methods, such as large storytelling campaigns.”

Zimnisky and the entire industry are unanimous about the need for marketing actions. But the diamond industry as a whole is probably investing no more than $50 million in yearly advertising. That’s a fraction of the $200 million that the Oppenheimers (owners of De Beers) spent annually on marketing at the end of the 20th century. That would be worth over half a billion dollars in today’s money. Just for a perspective, LVMH’s yearly marketing budget across all luxury sectors is over $11 billion.

My next stop was the Rosy Blue building, which is attached to the Antwerp Diamond Bourse building. Rosy Blue is a world leader in diamond manufacturing, and part of the Rosy Blue India conglomerate, with additional interests in retail, media, real estate, and financial services.

On the 12th floor I met Ravi Bhansali, who is vice president of AWDC (Antwerp World Diamond Centre) and the managing director at Rosy Blue Belgium. He says recovery is all about generating demand.

“Botswana has always been the leading nation in the natural diamond industry,” he said. “And its professional and responsible leadership has only strengthened this position as well as serving as an example for ethically sourced diamonds. To truly fulfil this leadership position, we look forward to developing joint marketing campaigns and strategies with the Government of Botswana, with the target to enhance and promote the global natural diamond brand. Such campaigns are the foundations for the maintenance and growth of the global demand for natural diamonds.”

My final stop was just a few steps away, at the Brachfeld Building, home to Anita Diamonds, a leading polished diamond trader. Founder Chirag Shah, who is also a director on the board of AWDC, shared his insights with me over a warm cup of Indian tea.

“These are challenging times,” he said. “Since the beginning of the year, prices for all polished diamonds have remained flat or declined. While better quality stones have maintained their value, demand for lower clarities and colors has softened, largely due to the increasing presence of synthetic diamonds in the market.”

Supplies must decrease in order to stabilize the market, he said. “The diamond industry must unite. It is imperative that we establish a well-structured global marketing strategy for natural diamonds. The path forward lies in strategic, focused marketing efforts.”

Chinese citizens lost their savings during the Corona crisis, as their government did not provide them with much support. But those polluting synthetic diamonds mass produced in scorching ovens are all about marketing. But as the global natural diamond marketing spending is not expected to drastically rise anytime soon, all marketing initiatives, though critically required, will take years to show a substantial positive trend. A crisis is a crossroads that could lead to new destinations. As I concluded my tour of Antwerp’s tight-knit diamond district I realized most of my colleagues do not believe there’ll be a real recovery in the coming year. Only immediate cuts in the current supply levels could really bring a stop to the vicious cycle of price reductions. Otherwise, prices will keep falling, until they reach the break-even levels of the mining operations. This crisis could bring new opportunities. But not until the downhill ride is halted.