Luanda Accord: Still Waiting for the Campaign

It's almost eight months since the Luanda Accord was agreed - and diamond producers pledged one per cent of their rough revenue to fund a global NDC campaign promoting natural stones.

Multiple opportunities to tell and sell the story of natural diamonds have been and gone since then - among them Diwali, the Indian wedding season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day (almost).

But still there is no campaign.

The NDC (Natural Diamond Council), the body that will coordinate the campaign, has, in recent days, issued a number of announcements.

It has welcomed Angola's mining and marketing companies Endiama and Sodiam as new NDC members.

It has said that by May of this year, they should be joined by India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

It has also said the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) - owner and operator of the Dubai Diamond Exchange - is also on track for membership.

And it has announced Namibia has formally become a signatory to the Luanda Accord, joining Angola, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (no word on South Africa and Sierra Leone).

But what it hasn't addressed is the elephant in the room - the fact that there is still no campaign.

The NDC says in a press release that the developments mentioned above "represent a significant step forward for the Luanda Accord and for the NDC as it advances its mission to protect and promote the integrity, desirability, and enduring value of natural diamonds worldwide."

But no reference to the fact that a long-awaited and long-needed campaign is still pending, nor any explanation of that situation.

To be fair, the delay does appear to be with the diamond producers handing over the money, rather than with the NDC. But I'd suggest that the campaign - or the lack thereof - merits at least a mention.

In October 2025, David Kellie, outgoing CEO at the NDC, told IDEX Online it had produced a campaign that was "ready to roll", as soon as funding became available.

He was, in part, responding to frustration voiced by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), asking why such a campaign still not been launched.

Kellie was hopeful at the time that a campaign of some kind - even a limited one - could launch before his departure on 31 December. That clearly didn't happen.

Amber Pepper, formerly chief customer experience officer at the online luxury platform Mytheresa, succeeded Kellie as NDC's CEO on 1 February.

Kristina Buckley Kayel, NDC's managing director for North America, responded this week to our questions about campaign funding.

She said: "Funding commitments under the Luanda Accord are now translating into received contributions, representing a meaningful step forward in enabling the Natural Diamond Council to advance its marketing mission.

"With these contributions coming through, the NDC is entering the next phase of planning and execution under its new CEO, Amber Pepper, and strategic marketing initiatives will be communicated in due course."

Have a fabulous weekend.