Martin Rapaport Urges $1B Marketing Spend

RAPAPORT... Martin Rapaport hascalled for more effective marketing of diamond jewelry and a $1 billion global campaign promoting natural-diamond engagement rings. Speaking at the 18thParis Gemmological Rendez Vous on September 9, Rapaport, chairman of theRapaport Group, said current generic marketing efforts did not go far enough. Miners,supported by brands, must step up to the plate to reach out to consumers in a fast-changingsociety, he added. The campaign wouldneed to appeal to the emotional and ethical values of natural diamonds, andshould embrace recycling in a more environmentally sensitive world, Rapaport saidat the one-day conference, organized by the French Gemological Association(AFG). "Why do people buydiamonds? They are a symbol of committed love and a store of value," Rapaport tolda packed audience of industry leaders and gemologists. Rapaport highlighted atightening gap between rough and polished diamond prices, squeezing the profitabilityof manufacturing. "We need a bigger pie," he observed, referring to a need formore tailored global marketing to drive consumers to spend more on diamond jewelry. Rapaport voicedconcerns over the potential impact of the US-China trade war on the globaleconomy. India, the world's biggest supplier of polished diamonds, is unlikelyto benefit in the near term from increased diamond-jewelry sales to the USmarket in the wake of reduced competition from tariff-hit China, he noted. Image: Man proposing to his girlfriend. (Shutterstock)