Desert diamonds: inspiring the natural diamond industry
2025 saw our first new natural diamond beacon in over a decade. For De Beers, a ‘beacon’ is much more than a traditional marketing campaign – it’s a demand creation engine designed to redefine an entire category. As part of our diamond industry leadership, we don’t simply look to increase our own sales. We aim to use collaboration to inspire and ignite demand, galvanising the entire industry through new customer concepts.
Introducing Desert diamonds: a natural diamond story shaped by the desert
Desert diamonds is inspired by the colours and landscapes of the desert, from where many De Beers diamonds originate. The Desert diamonds concept celebrates the natural spectrum of diamond hues and highlights the idea that every stone tells a unique story. We opened up the initiative to designers and retailers from around the world, inviting them to create collections inspired by warm, earthy desert tones.
Our Origins strategy in action: from provenance to commercial outcomes
The Desert diamonds beacon is one way in which we are translating the De Beers Group Origins strategy into tangible commercial outcomes and cultural momentum. Younger consumers increasingly seek authenticity, individuality and products that reflect personal expression. Our research shows a growing appetite for products that express identity as much as status, and for stories with their roots in nature rather than technology. The Desert diamonds platform focuses on just this – individual origin stories, authenticity and expressions of personal character.
A series of collections from leading designers, including Stephanie Gottlieb, Lorraine West, Fred Leighton and Maggie Simkins gave Desert diamonds real creative breadth. We anchored the initiative with a consistent line: ‘A diamond is forever’, helping to define and strengthen the category for everyone.Creating a cultural moment in the US
Launched across the United States in October 2025, giant immersive screens lit up New York’s Times Square at night, generating 153 million impressions in just one day. This cultural moment was amplified by integrated PR, social media and events, supported by globally recognised figures including Taylor Swift, Teyana Taylor, Bad Bunny and Doja Cat who have all been sporting Desert diamonds. Across all partners and channels, the campaign reached four billion views.
More than 2,000 points of sale across the United States joined in. This included over 160 Jared stores, more than 1,000 Kay stores and a wide network of independent retailers.
“Desert diamonds represents a new chapter – combining powerful storytelling with natural beauty to inspire renewed desire for natural diamonds.”
CEO of Brands and Diamond Desirability
Some brilliant results for Desert diamonds
Brand lift studies show that our approach resonates. Purchase intent for desert diamonds (as a particular type of natural diamonds) more than doubled, increasing from 9.4% to 20.8%.
Meanwhile, the launch drove more than 2.7 million store visits across 1,600+ locations, generated widespread media coverage in outlets such as Forbes, Vogue and Good Morning America and earned 1 billion impressions across all channels, including social, OOH, cinema and linear television advertising, during the last quarter of 2025. Together, these signals show how a beacon can support both attention and action across the natural diamond category.
Searches for coloured diamonds rose by 19% in the final quarter of 2025. Among participating independent retailers, sales of these diamonds increased by 16% in value. Overall industry data also reflected stronger performance for natural diamonds. According to Tenoris, an independent retailer sales-tracking tool, units of natural diamond jewellery priced above $1,500 grew by 3.4%, with revenue up 9.7%, making it the strongest December for four years.
Lighting the way with provenance and diamond industry leadership
At a time when demand has faced significant pressure, the Desert diamonds campaign shows how our diamond industry leadership and collaboration can lift the entire industry. We continue to highlight the importance of diamond provenance and celebrate the rarity and natural origin of diamonds, protecting and enhancing their value for the future.