The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) has rebranded as The Diamond Collective, unveiling a younger, fashion-led identity designed to give natural diamonds greater cultural relevance with contemporary consumers. The NDC will remain the organisation’s legal entity, but The Diamond Collective will become its public identity and the platform through which it markets natural diamonds.
NDC chief executive Amber Pepper, who took on the role in November last year, said: “Our North Star is simple: more people choosing natural diamonds. More often.”
She added: “We will move from individual campaigns to a connected, long-term approach; from representation to collective action; and from measuring activity to measuring desire, demand and commercial impact.”
Addressing the NDC’s previous strategy of battling against lab-grown diamonds, Pepper said that “for too long, we have played defence – allowing the original to be defined by a qualifier, when in truth there is no worthy comparison”.
From campaigns to culture
The rebrand supports a broader shift in strategy. The organisation intends to place diamonds “at the heart of culture” through collaborations spanning fashion, art and design, including major creative commissions and a first new fashion partnership scheduled for 2027.
It will also establish a global programme for emerging diamond talent and expand World Diamond Day into a consumer-facing cultural event supported by retailers, media and industry partners.
Another priority will be developing reasons to buy diamonds beyond engagements and established gifting occasions, reflecting the wider luxury market’s move towards self-purchasing and more frequent, style-led consumption.
The organisation’s new approach is particularly focused on younger shoppers. A Diamond Desire Index, developed with research company Basis, will track consideration, purchase intent, sentiment and recommendation among Gen Z and millennial consumers in the US, China and India.
The first benchmark will be established in the fourth quarter of 2026 and reported annually alongside market and commercial data.
A broader industry platform
The transformation extends beyond branding. The Diamond Collective will move from what it describes as a “solely producer-funded marketing body” towards an industry-wide structure open to more businesses across the diamond value chain.
Its plans include a global retail growth platform, training and engagement for store teams and guidance on how natural diamonds are presented and discovered through artificial intelligence.
The Collective is also developing a legally protected trustmark intended to help consumers identify natural diamonds. It will be piloted with leading retailers before a wider rollout, alongside work on terminology, regulation and enforcement in markets including the US, European Union, France and India.
The rebrand signals an acknowledgement that natural diamonds must compete for attention as a luxury and fashion category, rather than relying solely on their historic association with the bridal market.
