Natural Diamond Council Event Explores the Future of Consumer Trust in the Diamond Market

11 May 2026

Image: NAJ chief executive, Ben Massey, speaking at the event

By Belinda Morris

On Wednesday, 6th May, the Natural Diamond Council invited members of the jewellery trade to attend a conference aimed at exploring transparency, responsible marketing and pipeline integrity in today’s diamond market. Held at The Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, the event brought together leading industry bodies, regulators, gemmological experts and luxury retailers, with the aim of gaining knowledge and tools needed to strengthen consumer trust and ensure compliant diamond trading practices. Disclose, Detection and Differentiation were the sub-headings on the agenda.

First to speak, NAJ CEO Ben Massey, had a clear message,

“Transparent disclosure to the customer is essential – using misleading terms, whether wilfully or otherwise, does not deliver confidence to current and future consumers. This could be about diamonds, metals or treatments.  NAJ membership is there to give customers peace of mind that the business is reputable, follows the necessary standards, and employs the correct descriptors. While we need to work as a collective to report and stamp out illegal practice, it’s also important that members talk up their approaches and standards to educate their customers.”

Gemma Allwood, Investigations Executive at the Advertising Standards Authority, underlined the importance of correct terminology, giving compelling examples of misleading claims (including environmental ones) that had come under the ASA’s scrutiny. Where the transfer of goods is involved – whether paid for or not paid for – the strict codes apply, and she explained how the regulatory process is carried out.

Trading Standards investigations and sanctions were the subject of an address by Heena Tanna, Team Leader, Camden, Trading Standards. She explained the Consumer Rights Act, how TS works, its standards, and, naturally, the Hallmarking Act. Will Evans, Director of the London Assay Office, said: "Consumer protection in precious goods is a coalition problem. No single body owns it; ASA, Trading Standards, NAJ, RJC, GEM-A, and the Assay Offices are all working the same problem from different angles. The regulatory plumbing for diamonds is looser, with no Hallmarking Act sitting behind them, but the underlying principle is the same: misdescription harms the consumer and erodes trust in the wider market."

Practices and tools for communicating with confidence were discussed by Raluca Anghel, Head of External Affairs and Industry Relations at the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), and Purvi Shah, Executive Director at the Responsible Jewellery Council. For instance, CIBJO’s Blue List of harmonised definitions of jewellery industry terms is a helpful resource for guidance, so far defining ‘responsible’, ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’; a checklist can help businesses take accountability for their claims.

Effie Marinos, Specialist Advisor for Technical Standards, Responsible Jewellery Council, spoke on delivering pipeline integrity by identifying risk areas, reminding delegates that they can occur at any point from mining to retail and what can be done to control processes and thereby manage risks. The scientific approach to separation of natural and synthetic diamonds was explained by Charles Bexfield, Gem-A; and NDC’s Raluca Anghel, introduced the key organisations to support diamond verification (De Beers Institute of Diamonds and the London Diamond Bourse), and reminded the audience of NDC’s The Assure Programme: 21 different types of instruments tested for speed, expertise, volumes, portability and budget.

Finally, Aastha Sethi, Head of Sustainability, NAJ member and RJC-accredited Boodles, talked about converting responsible practises into attractive consumer propositions. 

View Natural Diamond Council

View NAJ Diamond Terminology Guidance

Source: The Jeweller Magazine