The Real Secret to Selling Diamonds in 2026? Stop Talking So Much.

ASK JEWELERS how to sell diamonds today and you’d expect to hear about clarity grades and certification. Instead, what comes through loudest in INSTORE’s latest Brain Squad survey is something simpler: feel.

“It’s about what the diamond makes them feel and how they want to represent it,” says Natasha Henderson of Saxon’s Fine Jewelers in Bend, OR. “Get to the emotion of the purchase. Has she always wanted something like this? Is it a symbol of the couple’s love story? Romance the features and benefits of what you are going to provide for them.”

It’s a theme that runs through dozens of responses in INSTORE’s survey on selling diamond jewelry: technical knowledge is table stakes, but connection closes the deal. (INSTORE will be featuring diamonds in its upcoming March edition.)

The most striking technique comes from Beth Greene of Conti Jewelers in Endwell, NY, who credits a training session from RDI Diamonds for transforming her approach. “We now show loose diamonds two at a time, on a plain white background, and ask the customer which diamond they prefer,” she says. The associate points out why they chose it — maybe the whiter stone, or the better cut — then plays one or two more rounds. “And then we confidently reassure the customer that they have chosen their diamond — emphasis on ‘their diamond.'” The key shift? “It forced the sales associates to stop talking and just observe.”

Of course, there’s an elephant in every diamond case now: lab-grown. And retailers are split — sometimes sharply — on how to handle it. Gretchen Schaffner of Eytan’s Designs in Sherman Oaks, CA, takes the approach of candor. “We try to be upfront about pros and cons of natural vs. lab,” she says. “If they want natural, we get into the weeds of GIA reports, color, clarity. If they want lab, it’s usually about price, and the price sells itself.” Marc Majors of Sam L. Majors in Midland, TX, takes the opposite tack: “Know the qualities, don’t sell lab-grown and know how to answer questions about lab-grown and why you don’t sell it.”

Not everyone feels the need to pick a lane. Cliff Yankovich of Chimera Design in Lowell, MI, has carried both since 2002. “Never sold diamond jewelry as anything close to an ‘investment’ so I am happy to sell lab,” he says. “I did not hesitate.”

Beyond the lab debate, several retailers emphasize the power of hands-on experience. “Put a loupe in the customer’s hand and show them the quality difference — let them really experience it!” says Jeff Markman of Markman’s Diamonds in Knoxville, TN. Eileen Eichhorn of Eichhorn Jewelry in Decatur, IN, takes it a step further: “KEEP your personal diamond jewelry immaculate! Clients notice.”

And then there’s Denise Oros of Linnea Jewelers in La Grange, IL, who argues that the best diamond sales begin before the customer walks through the door. When clients call ahead, she asks about preferred metal, stone shape, style, budget and the occasion being celebrated. “As fine jewelers, we don’t just sell luxury items — we sell life-moment celebrations,” she says. “Customers may forget details, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”

One creative inventory twist comes from Amy Hunnefield of Pickett Brothers Jewelers in Jacksonville, FL, who started tagging aging diamond pieces with green stickers and encouraging staff to repurpose those stones into custom work. “More than once we had a customer looking for something in particular, and because we had the gemstones and/or parts on hand to make it within 24 hours, we sold aging inventory by utilizing them in new pieces.”

The bottom line? The 4Cs still matter. But in 2026, the C that matters most might be connection.