De Beers Group returns to cultural prominence with Desert diamonds—and an unexpected art world collaboration
De Beers Group made two striking moves last autumn that signal a fundamental rethinking of how natural diamonds fit into contemporary luxury. The company that created the iconic “A Diamond is Forever” tagline in 1947 now faces a different challenge: what does “forever” mean when everyone wants to express their individuality?
The question was answered in New York on October 3 with the launch of Desert diamonds, a campaign that abandons the traditional pursuit of colourless perfection for something more unexpected. Taking cues from the arid landscapes where many natural diamonds are discovered, the palette ranges from warm whites through champagne and amber to deep whisky tones. These are stones that have existed in nature all along but were often dismissed as less desirable than their colourless counterparts.
De Beers Group unveiled the campaign with an immersive evening at Artechouse in New York City, a digital art venue known for sensory installations. The event drew Grammy-winning singer Ciara, actress and fashion provocateur Julia Fox, R&B star Teyana Taylor and model Lucky Blue Smith, all wearing Desert diamonds pieces. More than 30 jewellery designers showcased work using the warm-toned palette, demonstrating how widely this aesthetic is already being embraced across the industry.
Taylor Swift’s 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl cover (Photo: Courtesy of De Beers Group)
Emily Blunt wearing Desert Diamonds earrings (Photo: Courtesy of De Beers Group)
“Today’s consumers have a need to convey their individuality while continuing to honour their deepest bonds,” Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers Group & Diamond Desirability, told guests. Desert diamonds seem designed precisely for this tension: how to choose something universally meaningful yet still deeply personal.
Two weeks later, in London, De Beers Group announced its first partnership with art show Frieze Masters, presenting Voyage Through the Diamond Realm. The immersive installation traced diamonds from their formation as stardust through their earthly discovery and into human mythology. Singer and actor Lily Allen, musician Anoushka Shankar, fashion model Erin O’Connor, Bollywood director Karan Johar and Bollywood actor Ananya Panday joined other artists and creatives at the opening reception to explore how these natural objects have inspired human storytelling for millennia.
The Frieze connection is telling. By aligning with one of contemporary art’s most respected platforms, De Beers Group positions diamonds not as consumer goods but as cultural objects worthy of the same consideration we give significant artworks. Both celebrate rarity, provenance and the irreplaceable nature of objects shaped by forces beyond human control.
What connects these initiatives is timing. We’re living through a period when authenticity has become the ultimate luxury; when supply chains matter; when the story behind an object competes with the object itself for attention. De Beers Group, with mining operations across Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa, and traceability programmes like Tracr, is positioning for consumers who ask questions.
Close up of Swift’s cuff (Photo: Courtesy of De Beers Group)
Close up of Blunt’s earrings (Photo: Courtesy of De Beers Group)
Desert diamonds acknowledges that perfection isn’t always colourless; that beauty can be amber-hued and still be extraordinary. The Frieze partnership suggests that diamonds belong in conversations about art, heritage and human creativity. Together, they’re making an argument for natural diamonds in an era increasingly comfortable with lab-grown alternatives.
The installations and events—chef Lorna Maseko’s menu paired with Afrobeats soundscapes in New York; the multi-sensory journey through diamond mythology in London—show a brand willing to invest in experience over transaction. These aren’t spaces designed to sell specific pieces—they’re invitations to reconsider what diamonds mean.
How this will resonate with younger consumers remains to be seen. But for a 137-year-old company to launch its first major campaign beacon in over a decade by celebrating colour variation and partnering with the contemporary art world suggests De Beers Group understands that luxury’s future belongs to those who can honour tradition while refusing to be bound by it. The installation tours globally starting early 2026, carrying this message to audiences in the US, India and China.
In a market crowded with options, De Beers Group is betting that what makes diamonds compelling isn’t their uniformity but their absolute uniqueness—each one a geological accident that took billions of years to create and that can never be replicated. For people overwhelmed by infinite digital choices, there’s something genuinely appealing about the finite, the discovered, the irreplaceable. Even if it comes in an unexpected shade of champagne.