The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against Skydiamond for using misleading terminology in their advertising.
The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) filed a complaint with the ASA, arguing that Skydiamond’s ads did not clearly indicate that their diamonds were lab-grown and not natural. Despite Skydiamond’s claims that their product did not need qualifiers like “synthetic” or “laboratory grown,” the ASA ruled that the marketing was misleading and omitted important information.
The ASA’s ruling stated that consumers would likely interpret the term “diamond” to mean a naturally occurring mineral, and that the distinction between natural and synthetic diamonds was material information that needed to be clearly communicated in advertising.
Alan Cohen, co-president of the London Diamond Bourse, praised the ruling for protecting British consumers from misleading marketing of synthetic diamonds. He also expressed hope that claims of eco-friendliness in the industry would be similarly scrutinized in the future.
In response to the ruling, Skydiamond has been instructed by the ASA to use clear and prominent qualifiers like “synthetic” or “laboratory-grown” when describing their diamonds, and to avoid using terms like “real diamonds” to refer to their synthetic products.
The ruling serves as a reminder to all diamond sellers to ensure that their advertising is accurate and transparent, particularly when it comes to distinguishing between natural and synthetic diamonds.
