De Beers is investing more in natural diamond marketing than it has in over a decade: David Johnson, De Beers Group
What key shifts will shape the diamond industry’s outlook in 2026, and how is De Beers positioning itself in response to these changes?
The diamond industry is entering 2026 with a range of factors set to influence the outlook. The geopolitical landscape is a key consideration, with trade negotiations between the US and India on tariffs continuing. We continue to engage with key stakeholders to share industry insights and perspectives, and we remain optimistic that a resolution will be found, providing a significant boost to trading conditions.
The global economic landscape will also be a key factor shaping the sector in 2026, with different markets experiencing different trends. Overall, we have seen resilient spending from consumers recently, despite the economic challenges being faced in some key markets. We will continue to watch developments closely, and focus our investments to support recovery and growth.
Retailer restocking appetite will also have a substantial impact on industry trading conditions, and this will be influenced by the two factors above. Retailers have been reluctant to restock while uncertainty remains regarding near-term prices as a result of tariffs. Meanwhile, more stable economic conditions will also support the confidence of retailers to hold stock in anticipation of consumer demand.
At De Beers, we are investing more in natural diamond marketing than we have in over a decade to drive consumer demand for natural diamond jewellery. We are participating in the Luanda Accord, focused on pooling revenues from a range of diamond producing nations and industry entities in support of natural diamond marketing. We also continue to develop a range of category campaigns; collaborate with key retail partners to grow demand; and invest in branded marketing programmes for our own retail businesses.
We are also monitoring the competitive landscape, which will affect the environment in 2026. Experiential luxury is a key competitor for natural diamonds, so the marketing investments we are making will be important to support diamond desirability in a world where there is a growing range of options for consumers to spend their discretionary income. We are looking at how we can make the diamond buying process more experiential, with increasing use of digital engagement tools at the retail level.
Within the jewellery sector, we continue to focus on helping consumers understand the fundamental differences between natural diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds – both through our marketing activity that foregrounds the unique attributes, positive impact and enduring value of natural diamonds, and through technology that enables industry participants to rapidly provide consumers with confidence that their purchase is of natural origin.
How does De Beers interpret the widening divergence in demand recovery between the US, China, India and the Gulf nations, and what strategic adjustments is it making to navigate this uneven growth landscape?
Different consumer markets are currently showing different trends in relation to demand for diamond jewellery. We see continuing stability in the US, while India has shown impressive growth on the back of festive and wedding-related purchases. In contrast, demand in China has been more muted, impacted by macroeconomic uncertainty and subdued consumer confidence, whereas the Gulf markets have shown stable growth, supported by luxury spending and tourism.
De Beers is navigating this landscape through a regionally tailored approach. In India, the US and China, we are developing our retailer collaborations – with Tanishq in India, Signet in the US, and Chow Tai Fook in China – to support momentum. We are also developing category-wide campaigns in key markets, such as our Desert Diamonds beacon campaign rolled out in collaboration with leading US retailers, and the ongoing Rituals campaign in India, where each chapter celebrates culturally significant gifting moments, and unlocks new opportunities to give natural diamonds to loved ones.
In China, we are focusing on brand storytelling and digital engagement through our brand ambassadors, while in the Gulf, we are expanding our retail footprint, and enhancing experiential offerings to reinforce the presence and desirability of natural diamonds.
How is De Beers enhancing its traceability systems — such as Tracr — to offer end-to-end provenance assurance at scale, especially as retailers demand greater transparency in 2026?
De Beers is advancing its traceability offering to meet growing consumer and retailer expectations for provenance transparency, with Tracr at the core of this transformation. Tracr is our leading blockchain-based diamond traceability platform, creating a secure digital identity for each diamond, and recording its journey from source to store.
All De Beers rough diamonds above one carat registered on Tracr include single-country origin data, enabling diamond companies to provide enhanced transparency and confidence to consumers that their diamond has been naturally sourced, and responsibly recovered. Tracr is scaling at pace, with more than four million diamonds having been registered on the platform at source, and a growing number of industry participants (including Okavango Diamond Company, Gemological Institute of America, Gemological Science International, and Brilliant Earth) coming on board.
As consumer expectations around sustainability and origin verification rise, how is De Beers integrating advanced tools like blockchain, AI and digital grading into its pipeline to strengthen trust, and differentiate natural diamonds from laboratory-grown alternatives?
Beyond the Tracr technology platform, De Beers is bringing provenance to life through ORIGIN – De Beers Group, launched in the US in late 2025. This polished diamond offering delivers an immersive in-store and digital experience, enabling customers to explore the story behind their natural diamond — from its origin, to its craftsmanship, to its impact — underpinned by Tracr’s secure data registry.
Together, Tracr and ORIGIN reinforce De Beers’s commitment to end-to-end transparency, combining blockchain, AI, and storytelling to deliver provenance assurance at scale.
We also continue to invest in the development of diamond verification instruments that industry participants can use to verify the natural origin of their supply, and to educate consumers about the differences between natural diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds.
With midstream liquidity tight, and retail performance varying sharply by region, how is De Beers calibrating production, pricing and Sightholder support to stabilize the supply chain through 2026?
Throughout 2025, De Beers closely monitored industry conditions, and managed production levels in recognition of the period of softer rough diamond demand, and increased midstream inventory levels. We have also provided a range of purchase flexibilities for Sightholders to provide support within a challenging trading environment.
Looking ahead, De Beers is preparing to launch a new Sightholder contract period. To provide near-term stability during an uncertain environment, we extended existing Sightholder supply agreements through June 2026. This extension delivers continuity for our Sightholder customers, while the industry navigates through the headwinds being experienced.
As global rough output continues to contract, how does De Beers expect tightening supply to influence rough and polished price dynamics through 2026, particularly amid uneven consumer demand?
The value of rough and polished diamonds in 2026 will be influenced by a range of factors, including the geopolitical and economic landscape, actions taken by key players within the sector, and consumer behaviour.
In the upstream and midstream, De Beers’s focus is on responsible production and supply policies, and while we will need to maintain a close watching brief on the factors that are outside of our control, the supply discipline that has been in place – with the global supply of natural diamonds having been declining since 2022 – will help support a recovery in balance between supply and demand over time.
In the downstream, we see growing numbers of middle-class households in key markets such as India, and with our natural diamond marketing investments having grown to their largest value in more than a decade, the medium-term and long-term outlook for natural diamonds is bright.
