The NDC’s Diamond Learning Center Offers Free, Flexible Education

By Victoria Gomelsky | June 11, 2025

Quick! A customer has just walked into your store and flummoxed your sales associates with a question that you hear a lot: Are natural diamonds really rare?

How should your staff respond?

Don’t ask ChatGPT. Instead, consult the Diamond Learning Center. Unveiled in late March by the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), the free, mobile-friendly educational resource designed for diamond jewelry sales professionals and enthusiasts alike takes common questions like the one above and provides guidance in the form of short, snappy videos offering key takeaways.

In the case of the rarity question, consider these responses: “Natural diamonds are among the rarest naturally occurring substances on Earth and 70% of the diamonds recovered are used for industrial purposes, with only 30% being gem-quality for jewelry. If you were to combine all the 1 carat and above diamonds discovered in a single year, they would only fill one exercise ball. Every single natural diamond is one of a kind.”

According to the NDC, the learning center was born out of a roundtable of industry leaders who sought to clear up confusion and bias about natural diamonds among retail sales associates.

Price Blanchard, chief customer officer and executive vice president of Denver-based Shane Co. and a member of the roundtable, explained the intention behind the center: “The lack of education in the industry has created a bias toward lab-grown diamonds and a more educated sales team will help customers understand the rarity and value of natural diamonds so they have a well-rounded education to help them pick the best diamond for them,” Blanchard said in a statement. “By educating customers, we expect to see more natural diamond sales.”

In addition to nearly 30 Quick Learning videos that answer questions both basic (“What are the 4Cs?) and complicated (“How does diamond mining affect the workers involved?”), the center offers four self-paced in-depth modules that last 20–30 minutes each and are designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of diamond values (one, for example, delves into “the allure of diamonds”).

Meanwhile, the “Train the Trainer” section features facilitator guides for store managers, including storytelling techniques and tips to elevate the client experience.

Top: The Natural Diamond Council’s new Diamond Learning Center is a free, mobile-friendly educational tool designed for jewelry sales professionals (photo courtesy of NDC).