The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has launched a new campaign to highlight the falling value of lab-grown diamonds — by putting them in a gumball machine for just €5. 🌀
🗓️ The two-day promotion, called We Protect a Legacy, took place at the bustling Stadsfeestzaal in Antwerp. Shoppers could insert €5 into the machine and receive a 0.30-carat lab-grown diamond — a gimmick meant to send a message: synthetics are cheap, natural diamonds are priceless.
💬 “Gumball machines? People associate them with throwaway junk,” said AWDC CEO Karen Rentmeesters. “We want to show how fast the appeal of something like this fades.”
💥 It’s the first time AWDC has taken such a public stance. While they’re not bashing lab-grown diamonds directly, they aim to educate consumers about the difference — mainly, that lab-grown diamonds are rapidly declining in value. 📉
💡 A 0.30-carat lab-grown diamond is now worth ~$25, but AWDC predicts it could fall to just $5 next year. “We’d never put a natural diamond in a gumball machine,” Rentmeesters added.
🧠 The campaign addresses a bigger problem: the failure of the natural diamond industry to tell its story — about rarity, legacy, and socio-economic impact in regions like Botswana.
👞 Rentmeesters shared a story from a jeweler: a customer almost bought a lab-grown diamond for an engagement ring — until the jeweler pointed out the shoes he wore cost more than the diamond. That realization made the difference.
🤝 Beyond marketing, AWDC is teaming up with De Beers, GJEPC, DMCC, and the governments of Angola and Botswana to create joint campaigns promoting natural diamonds.
⏰ “It’s past midnight,” Rentmeesters said. “The industry rode on the ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ slogan for decades. But now it’s time to build something new — together.”