WATCH: Rapaport Breakfast @JCK

• Tech-Driven Ecosystem: As part of the company-wide rebrand, RapNet is evolving into Rapaport Trade, a unified platform integrating search, pricing intelligence, chat, and other upcoming new features to eliminate friction for dealers. 

• Industry-Specific AI: Rapaport is launching agentic AI tools trained specifically on natural diamond data, allowing jewelers to instantly query inventory, pricing trends, and market behavior. 

• Protecting Natural Diamonds: The company stands firmly against incorporating synthetic diamonds into its pricing lists, choosing to protect the long-term prosperity of the natural diamond economy over short-term profits. 

• Diamonds as a Veblen Good: Martin Rapaport argues the industry must stop competing on price and return to treating natural diamonds as a “Veblen good”—a luxury item where scarcity and higher prices drive aspirational demand. 

• The Great Wealth Transfer: With $105 trillion transferring to Generation X and Millennials over the next 25 years, a massive opportunity exists for jewelers targeting the high-end luxury market and authenticating estate jewelry. 

• Green Source Initiative: Rapaport is spearheading efforts to certify and trace ethically sourced diamonds that actively improve their origin communities, framing social impact as the “ultimate luxury.” 

A New Era of Technology for Rapaport  

CEO Dan Mano opened the presentation by acknowledging the intense volatility the diamond market has faced over the last year, from geopolitical conflicts to shifting terminology around synthetic diamonds. To navigate these complexities, Rapaport is shifting from solely a diamond pricing authority to a “product-first” technology ecosystem. Mano previewed Rapaport Polaris, an internal intelligence tool now available to the trade that provides visibility into diamond pricing trends and market signals. He also highlighted upcoming AI tools capable of instantly matching inventory to a buyer’s budget and analyzing complex market queries faster than a human analyst. 

“What we are building goes another step further. AI connected directly to diamond inventory, pricing history, trading behavior, and searches. That’s what makes it powerful. It’s not generic AI; it’s AI built specifically for the natural diamond industry.” — Dan Mano 

The Rebrand: Safeguarding the Natural Diamond Economy  

CMO Benzi Kluwgant addressed the core philosophy driving Rapaport’s recent rebranding. The transition from RapNet to Rapaport Trade is a strategic move to create a connected ecosystem designed to protect natural diamonds. Kluwgant reiterated Rapaport’s principled stance against pricing lab-grown diamonds, explaining that natural diamonds form the foundation of the industry and protecting their integrity protects the livelihoods of miners, dealers, and retailers worldwide. 

“We are here to safeguard the prosperity of the natural diamond economy… Protecting the integrity of natural diamonds protects the industry built around it: the miners, the dealers, the retailers, and the consumers.” — Benzi Kluwgant 

Rapaport Trade: Practical Tools for Buyers and Sellers  

CRO Jeremy Werblowsky detailed the practical improvements within the Rapaport Trade platform. The search function now utilizes a “best match” algorithm rather than simply displaying the lowest prices first, ensuring relevant goods get fair visibility. Sellers gain new leverage with Inventory Pricing Management to instantly compare their stock against the live market, and Seller IQ, a feature that tracks buyer engagement (similar to LinkedIn’s profile views) to identify where demand is building. 

Martin Rapaport: The Diamond Market and Veblen Goods  

Taking the stage, Martin Rapaport delivered a passionate critique of the industry’s recent race to the bottom. Highlighting a 48% drop in diamond prices despite massive booms in gold and the S&P 500, he argued that continually dropping prices is a fundamental mistake. He challenged the trade to return to treating rare natural diamonds as a Veblen good—luxury products (like Rolex watches) where demand increases alongside price due to their status and exclusivity. Rapaport urged the industry to abandon volume-based, near-gem strategies and return to marketing scarce, high-quality diamonds to affluent buyers. 

“Diamonds are special, and higher prices should increase demand if you have a Veblen good… If you’re selling a luxury product, understand that it’s a luxury product.” — Martin Rapaport 

Capitalizing on the Great Wealth Transfer  

Rapaport pointed to demographic inevitability: the impending transfer of $105 trillion in wealth over the next 25 years. This massive injection of capital will create a new class of luxury consumers seeking emotional hard assets. He advised jewelers to position themselves for this wave. For smaller jewelers who may not specialize in large luxury stones, the opportunity lies in becoming local authentication and resale experts, ready to capture value as massive amounts of heirloom and estate jewelry re-enter the market. 

Green Source: Ethical Sourcing as the Ultimate Luxury The presentation concluded with a powerful focus on social impact. Martin Rapaport introduced Green Source, an initiative aimed at certifying and auditing diamonds that genuinely improve the lives of people in mining communities (providing clean water, healthcare, and education). By utilizing blockchain tracing (like Tracr), the industry can prove a polished diamond’s ethical origin from mine to market. Rapaport argued that a diamond that actively makes the world a better place carries an immense halo effect, elevating it beyond a status symbol to become the ultimate luxury. 

“The ultimate luxury in my view is not just something that’s rare, it’s not just something that communicates social status. It’s something that makes the world a better place.” — Martin Rapaport