Image: Luminous Diamonds (Alrosa)
Fluorescence—the soft glow a diamond emits when exposed to UV light—isn’t often emphasized in the marketing of diamonds and diamond jewelry. But that’s exactly what Alrosa does with it’s Luminous Diamonds brand.
The new brand, aptly called Luminous Diamonds, aims to entice jewelry buyers through glamorous designs set exclusively with rare, fluorescent diamonds.
The brand, which debuted Nov. 17, was developed by Russian diamond producer Alrosa, which partnered with diamond cutting firm M. Suresh Co., jewelry brand A. Link, and manufacturer SDC to bring it to market in the U.S.
Rebecca Foerster, president of Alrosa USA, says the idea underpinning Luminous Diamonds was to “create a new category of diamonds,” and explains, “Through different time periods, fluorescent diamonds have been either much coveted and perceived as very rare and beautiful, or they have been undervalued.”
The brand’s marketing bridges the idea of fluorescence, a diamond’s “inner glow,” to a woman’s “inner light.”
Foerster notes, “As women, we don’t always pay attention to the aura that we create and how we influence the people around us. We equate fluorescence symbolically with female empowerment and women celebrating the light within themselves.” In a time when self-purchasing is driving the jewelry industry, the messaging feels timely.
Alrosa culls Medium to Very Strong intensities in its fluorescent diamonds for the brand, and the executive says, “We want the blue glow to be impactful and have that ‘wow’ factor for each individual customer.” Additionally, all parties involved in the brand are keen to “take a leadership position and to reeducate the industry about fluorescent diamonds and their desirability and relevance.”
A fluorescent diamond’s inner glow comes from the presence of trace elements naturally contained within a diamond during the carbon crystallization process. Fluorescent diamonds are not only rare—diamonds with strong fluorescence actually improve their color (i.e., a J–L color diamond with strong fluorescence looks one color grade higher).
