NDC Complaint Sees Lab-Grown Company Banned from Using ‘Misleading’ Ads
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Skydiamond may not use advertising with “misleading” terminology that fails to make it clear their diamonds are not natural.
The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) filed a complaint with ASA about the ad, which debuted in February 2023 and featured text including, “Say hello to the world’s first and only diamond made entirely from the sky” and “We make diamonds using four natural ingredients, the sun, the wind, rain and something we have too much of, atmospheric carbon.” It also stated the company’s jewelry were made with the world’s “rarest diamonds.” The NDC challenged whether the claims made clear that Skydiamond was selling lab-grown diamonds and not natural, the April 10 ruling said.
Skydiamond, owned by energy firm Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, argued that its graphics and information made it clear its product was not mined from the earth and therefore didn’t need qualifiers such as “synthetic” or “laboratory grown.” The company also referred to the 2018 US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruling determining that “a diamond is a diamond” regardless of whether it was mined or made. The word “diamond” is the name of an object and does not denote or describe origin, he explained.
Based on the information, the ASA ruled that Skydiamond’s marketing was misleading as it omitted material information or presented it in an “unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, or untimely manner. Further, a survey of more than 2,100 UK adults found that 25% were unaware man-made diamonds existed.
“The ads all included images of clear gemstones and references to diamonds,” the ASA ruling noted. “The ASA considered that consumers would understand the word ‘diamond’ in isolation to mean a mineral consisting of crystallized carbon that was naturally occurring. We considered that while some consumers may have been aware that synthetic diamonds could be manufactured or created in a laboratory, many would not.”
Additionally, the ASA determined that whether a gemstone was natural or synthetic would be a key consideration for many consumers and was therefore material information.
“We therefore considered that ads for synthetic diamonds needed to make clear the nature of the product in order to avoid misleading consumers,” the ruling said. “We told…Skydiamond not to misleadingly use the terms ‘diamonds,’ ‘diamonds made entirely from the sky,’ and ‘skydiamond’ to describe their synthetic diamonds in isolation without a clear and prominent qualifier, such as ‘synthetic,’ ‘laboratory-grown’ or ‘laboratory-created,’ or another way of clearly and prominently conveying the same meaning to consumers. We also told them not to use the claim ‘real diamonds’ to describe synthetic diamonds.”
Alan Cohen, copresident of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB), welcomed the ruling, saying it “safeguards British consumers from misleading marketing of synthetic diamonds.”
“We have seen this misleading marketing and terminology for many years and hope the ASA ruling puts an end to this and for the future, we also hope the eco-friendliness claims are scrutinized, too,” he added.
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Three Australian jewelers reveal the truth behind Emily Ratajkowski’s ‘Divorce Ring’ trend
Emily Ratajkowski may have just brought the term ‘divorce ring’ into our vocabularies, but according to three Australian jewellers, this trend isn’t new.
This week the model flashed two huge diamond rings made from the stones that were originally in her engagement ring from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.
Fans were obsessed with the idea of remaking an engagement or wedding ring into something new after going through a divorce, but Rebecca Klodinsky, co-founder of The Prestwick Place, says Aussie women have been doing it for years.
“This is definitely not a new trend. Women have been liberating themselves and repurposing their engagement rings for a really long time, the sentiment has never really received any attention until recently,” she tells 9honey.
Lars Larsen, from Larsen Jewellery, agrees that he’s seen women remodelling wedding sets into other jewellery for a while now, but it’s definitely gotten more popular in recent years.
He tells 9honey: “Traditionally, it was much more common for wedding rings to be packed away for the next generation to use or sold after divorce or the death of a partner, but we’re seeing nowadays people are much more inclined to remake them into something meaningful.”
Social media has helped lessen the taboo around divorce and made jewellery design more accessible, which may be why more women are jumping on the trend today.
“People not only see celebrities having trendy jewellery made but also other everyday people, and want to do it themselves,” Larsen adds.
Talitha Cummins, founder of The Cut Jewellery, adds that many women who go through divorce still love the stones in their engagement or wedding rings but don’t feel right wearing them in their original forms.
She tells 9honey most women are looking for a total design overhaul when it comes to divorce rings and want the finished product to look totally different to the original.
“I had one woman who had a platinum pave set ring pull the main diamond out and set it in yellow gold by itself, so it looked completely different to the original design,” she says.
Klodinsky has also noticed that many women opt for a snake-like design for their divorce ring, as it feels symbolic of shedding their old life.
“Our number one divorce ring is a 3.70ct full Lab Diamond September Six-Stone. The diamonds wrap around the finger in a graduated way, like a snake,” she says.
Some women identify with the serpent wrap in an evolutionary way, like how a snake sheds its old skin […] others have remarked how their ex had a snake-like personality.”
She was thrilled to see the positive response to Ratajkowski’s divorce rings this week and hopes it will empower other everyday women to consider a divorce ring.
“It’s something that’s been happening for a long time but hasn’t been made public, and will continue for a lot of people in that way,” she explains.
“Kudos to Ratajkowski for being so open, she’s obviously drawing a line in the sand and ready to move forward in a public way, but I don’t think most women are that open about it.”
So what are the best designs or settings for divorce rings, especially if you don’t have two frankly gigantic diamonds to work with like Ratajkowski? Each jeweller had their own take.
Klodinsky remains a huge fan of serpent-style settings, or turning a wedding set into a two-stone or even a trilogy (ring with three stones) style.
“For those who just want to wear or repurpose a single stone, tilting or adjusting the alignment of the stone itself can be a crafty way of changing the overall aesthetic from engagement to everyday,” she adds.
Cummins also likes trilogy divorce rings, explaining that it can be “symbolic of the past, present and the future”.
She adds: “But I’m sure there are some people who don’t want to be reminded of the past at all. Then you might create something in the opposite gold colour to what they had.”
Meanwhile, Larsen loves to see clients get creative by adding uniquely coloured stones or opting for an interesting silhouette with their divorce rings.
“Getting creative with a divorce ring can spark a sense of renewal in a lot of people, which can be a hugely healing and positive experience,” he says.
“It’s a common mistake to go with what’s currently trendy or big on Instagram or looks good in current fashion circles. Avoid this if you can,” Larsen continues.
“Remember that trends change all the time, but that this ring is just for you, and it should be something you absolutely love. The best divorce ring is the one the wearer is happy with.”
Our special thanks to Maddison Leach and nine.com.au for this fascinating article
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INSIDER DIAMOND INDUSTRY UPDATE
Diamond market still offering substantial discounts to buyers, and challenges for sellers.
Sales of Heart shapes, Princess Cuts and Square Cushions down.
Longer Ratio Oval Cuts, Pears, Radiants and Longer Ratio Cushions bringing higher prices.
Goods with medium and short ratios harder to sell.
Supply shortages supporting prices for Marquises.
Well-cut stones hard to find and commanding
premiums.
Oversizes trading at higher prices than usual.
Off-make, poorly cut fancies illiquid.
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CONGRATS RYAN and DREW on your romantic engagement!
Wishing you every happiness life has to offer togther always
We’re so honored and thrilled to design your perfect Micro Pave Diamond Hidden Halo Engagement Ring
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NYCWD ANNOUNCES OUR FIRST FIVE MILLION VIEW VIDEO ON TIC TOK!
We are so appreciative of your 50 million views and 7,500,000 Likes on our NextDoorJeweler page on TikTok
Informing consumers how to obtain fair value when purchasing diamonds has been, and remains our mission
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