The Natural Diamond Council (NDC) has filled a complaint with India’s advertising watchdog about a Kalamandir Jewellers ad for lab-grown diamonds.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), which received the complaint from the NDC, lists the case as informally resolved on its website, and said the contested ad was “withdrawn.” However, Kalamandir disputes that characterization, noting the ad is still on YouTube. Kalamandir’s full response can be seen here.
In the disputed video, for Kalamandir’s Rishta lab-grown diamond brand, a customer asked a salesperson if the product was “better for the environment and eco-friendly” and could be called a “green diamond.”
The salesperson responded, “Yes, ma’am. 100%. That is why it’s affordable and valuable.” She also said that “thousands of lives are put at risk for the mining of the earth.”
Richa Singh, the NDC’s managing director for India and Middle East, tells JCK: “There was no supporting evidence found to back up the claims on eco-friendly and green diamonds, and the claims were found to be misleading by exaggeration.” Kalamandir has disputed those assertions.
The ASCI could not be reached for comment.
The Natural Diamond Council has also challenged lab-grown diamond sellers in front of the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), for using what it termed vague, nondescriptive language.
In April, the ASA said that Skydiamond—a brand owned by British industrialist Dale Vince—must clearly label its diamonds as “lab-grown.” Skydiamond responded that it shouldn’t have to use that term, as it uses nontraditional ingredients, and filed a request to appeal the ASA’s ruling. That request has since been denied, a source tells JCK. (Skydiamond declined comment.)
In the United States, the NDC has filed successful nomenclature-related complaints, with BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division, against Agape Diamonds and Diamond Foundry—though Diamond Foundry filed a successful countercomplaint, which required the NDC to remove certain assertions from its website.
This article has been updated with a response from Kalamandir Jewellers.
Top: A screengrab from the Kalamandir ad (courtesy of the Natural Diamond Council)
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