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Desert Rose bracelet by Stacey Lindsell
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Every diamond tells a story. That was the topic of
conversation between Jean-Marc Lieberherr, head of sales and marketing for Rio
Tinto Diamonds and me during a breakfast meeting in Las Vegas. We discussed the
fact that for so many in our industry, selling a diamond has become a droning
of the 4Cs. That is all well and good for
dealer-to-dealer sales; however, when
it comes to selling to consumers, there needs to be a compelling story that
increases
a consumer’s desire to purchase. Luckily, every diamond has a story
to tell. There is much mainstream media press about conflict diamonds and human
rights abuses associated with diamonds, and rightfully so… that is, after all,
the news. But the good that comes from diamonds is often overlooked, and that
is the story that needs to be told. The revenue that has come from diamonds has
helped many people in many countries. Lieberherr related the story of a town
near Rio Tinto’s Bunder diamond mining project, in Madhya Pradesh, where there
was no well. All the women had to spend most of their day walking a few miles
to a well and back for water. As a result, the women could not get an education
and the men had a shortage of marriageable women, because nobody wanted to move
to that town. But with Rio Tinto’s diamond mining project, running water was
recently brought to the town. Needless to say, it changed the lives of the
people there…for the better. Then, of course, there is the story of the Argyle
Mine and the cooperation between the Aboriginals and Rio Tinto. Again,
diamondrevenue helped to improve the life of numerous people. Such stories are
plentiful, from Africa to India, Canada, Siberia and Australia. Every diamond
tells a story…so as an industry, it is up to us to tell the tale of diamonds
that do good.
Editor-in-Chief
Amber Michelle
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2012. To subscribe click here.