NAJ Diamond Terminology Guidance Used to Uphold Complaint to ASA
14 Oct 2021
The Advertising Standards Authority has referenced the importance of the NAJ’s Diamond Terminology Guidance in a case that identified ‘misleading’ advertising of synthetic diamonds.
The claim from Diotima and Co Limited, advised by law film Gunnercooke was upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent advertising regulator.
Referring to the NAJ’s Diamond Terminology guidelines in the case, ASA ruled that the ad has breached “multiple codes” and that future advertising must ensure that the term “diamond” is accompanied by an “identifier” to make clear the nature of the product.
View NAJ Diamond Terminology Guidelines
Katie Gillespie, NAJ Compliance Manager said:
“This is excellent news to have The Diamond Terminology guidance referenced in this case. The jewellery community absolutely must not be leaving anything to chance with descriptions and must always clearly identify products with transparency.
“In our eyes, the ASA ruling does now set a welcome precedent, as well as a warning, to jewellers that do not follow the terminology guidelines 100 per cent.”
Setting a Precedent
The challenge was made against Kinetique Limited trading as Ethica Diamonds, not a member of the Association, for an advertisement for ‘diamonds’ that was cited as misleading to consumers on the grounds that its diamonds were made of substitute materials.
The ASA ruling considered that consumers would be “unlikely” to be aware of the range of diamond alternatives that were available and that it was in their judgement, it was “necessary” that ads for diamond alternatives provide “clear qualification as to the nature of the product in order to avoid misleading consumers as to the composition of the product”.
They said: “We further considered that, where the product was a laboratory-grown diamond such as the Diamond Foundry product, the term ‘diamond’ was misleading unless an appropriate identifier, such as ‘laboratory-grown diamond’, or ‘synthetic diamond’ was used.
“Because that was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”
Following a year of work by gunnercooke and Diotima&Co., The ASA rules that future advertising must ensure that ‘the term diamond is accompanied by an identifier to make clear the nature of the product’, following the NAJ’s Terminology guidance.
Diotima&Co. Limited, based in Cornwall, are a leading pioneer in diamond alternative technologies and laboratory grown diamonds and precious gems.
Director Avila Foreman commented,
“We are thrilled with the decision from the ASA, which is a significant step forward for the diamond industry in ensuring there is clarity for consumers with regards to authentic, natural diamonds versus the synthetic diamond alternatives that we are seeing come to market. Thank you to Rosie and the gunnercooke team for their work over the past year that has led to this ruling.”
Rosie Burbidge, Intellectual Property Partner at law firm gunnercooke, who advised Diotima&Co. Limited on the complaint, said,
“False claims to sell lab-grown diamonds are very damaging for trust in this new thriving market. It’s very important that consumers understand what they are buying, particularly when this might be a key purchase for an engagement or a major life milestone. This is an important ruling for consumers and the diamond industry as a whole. We are delighted to have worked with our client to enable it to be achieved.”
View NAJ Diamond Terminology Guidelines
[Updated 13/10/2022] A response from Ethica Diamonds owner Elaine Reffell,
"Although I am not disagreeing with the ASA ruling, I can confirm that this was a targeted attack from my ex-husband his current wife. Initially, the ASA were satisfied with our responses to the complaint and after we made the suggested small changes to our wording, they were satisfied and closed the file. However, a couple of weeks later I received a call from ASA who had reopened the file as they were forced to deal with the matter more formally.
"We have gained a 5 star independent rating and multiple awards for customer service excellence in our 12 years of trading. We are a very fair and honest company and happy customers mean everything to us as a small family business. We would not have been able to maintain a meticulous reputation if we had genuinely misled anyone."
[Updated 27/01/2025]
Ethica Diamonds has been an NAJ member since February 2024 and remains committed to upholding the Association's standards as set out in the NAJ's Codes of Practice.
Source: The NAJ