Kalamandir Jewellers has pulled an advertisement for its lab-grown diamond brand, Rishta, from YouTube after the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).
The disputed commercial featured a customer asking whether lab-grown diamonds were "better for the environment" and "eco-friendly." The salesperson in the ad confirmed the claim, stating lab-grown diamonds were "100% green" and more affordable due to their environmentally friendly production. The ad also suggested that traditional diamond mining puts "thousands of lives at risk."
Following the NDC’s complaint, ASCI found the environmental claims in the ad to be misleading, as they lacked substantiated evidence. Richa Singh, Managing Director of NDC India and Middle East, remarked, “There was no supporting evidence to back up the eco-friendly and green diamond claims, and the statements were found to be misleading by exaggeration.”
While Kalamandir Jewellers has not publicly commented on the matter, the ASCI lists the case as "informally resolved" on its website, indicating that the brand voluntarily withdrew the ad. The ASCI itself did not issue a formal ruling.
This incident follows a series of global actions taken by the NDC against lab-grown diamond sellers, targeting advertisements that make unclear or exaggerated environmental claims. Earlier this year, the NDC challenged British brand Skydiamond through the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for not clearly labelling its products as lab-grown. Skydiamond’s attempt to appeal the ASA’s ruling was denied.
In the U.S., the NDC has filed similar complaints against lab-grown diamond sellers, focusing on the language used to market synthetic diamonds. Though the council has had some success, it has also faced counterclaims, including one from Diamond Foundry, which led to a partial removal of statements from the NDC’s website.
As the lab-grown diamond industry continues to grow, debates around marketing practices and environmental claims are becoming increasingly significant, with traditional and synthetic diamond sellers vying for consumer trust.
