For decades, the language of Indian jewellery has been anchored in permanence. Diamonds were bought to mark milestones, to be passed down, to carry meaning far beyond their material worth. They belonged to moments that were meant to last. But the category today is negotiating a shift, where the meaning of a diamond is no longer singular.
To give a little backdrop, in the final weeks of December, Tata Group made two moves that captured this transition in real time. The company formally entered the lab-grown diamond category with the launch of beYon- a Titan Product, a new brand positioned around accessibility, contemporary design, and a more fluid relationship with jewellery. Almost in parallel, Tanishq, Tata’s most established jewellery brand, released a high-profile campaign celebrating the endurance, rarity and timelessness of natural diamonds, featuring timeless couple Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar.
Speaking on the Tanishq campaign, Pelki Tshering, Chief Marketing Officer, Tanishq shared, “For certain moments, relationships and milestones, only a natural diamond will do. Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar represent this beautifully through a bond that is truly unique and has grown richer with individuality and time. A natural diamond is not just a jewel; it is an emotion. What makes this even more meaningful today is the confidence we offer our customers. Through advanced technology and tools at our Diamond Expertise Centres, available across our stores, customers can transparently verify that their diamond is natural and experience its light performance—giving them complete assurance in choosing Tanishq diamonds.”
However, if viewed individually, neither move was unexpected. Titan’s entry into lab-grown diamonds had been widely anticipated, given the category’s growing relevance among younger consumers. Tanishq’s campaign, rooted in legacy, emotion, and time-tested values, was consistent with what the brand has long stood for. Yet the proximity of these two narratives, unfolding under the same corporate umbrella, brings a quieter question to the surface: how does a legacy house speak to the future without reframing the past, and can two definitions of value be introduced at once without one inadvertently casting a shadow on the other?
To unfold this dual messaging, Toru Jhaveri, Founder and Strategy Lead, The Stuff of Life, explains that this coexistence is not a contradiction, rather a commercial and cultural inevitability. “Lab-grown diamonds are here, and they’re going to coexist alongside natural diamonds whether people like them or not. So it’s in Tanishq’s interest to position these as very different products, fulfilling very different consumer needs—potentially for very different kinds of audiences as well.” She adds, “It's also important for them to demonstrate that both of these narratives can coexist simultaneously because both of these product lines will coexist simultaneously in the real world.”
Jhaveri believes the long-term risk lies not in simultaneity, but in blurring meaning. Natural diamonds, she argues, must continue to represent exclusivity, craftsmanship, time, and legacy—values that sustain Tanishq’s relevance. Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, invite a more casual relationship with jewellery. They are not disposable, but they are consumable in spirit, often acting as an entry point for consumers who are experimenting with jewellery rather than investing in permanence.
That distinction becomes especially visible when viewed through the lens of brand symbolism. Nisha Sampath, Managing Partner, Bright Angles Consulting, explains, “The values and symbolism of lab-grown diamonds are completely different from conventional jewellery. Conventional jewellery comes with connotations of wealth, security, status, inheritance from parents and forefathers—it carries the emotional legacy and baggage of the past. Lab-grown diamonds are still very new. We will have to see what values and symbolism they acquire, but it will be a new one, synonymous with the new generation. Hence the need for a new brand.”
She adds that this approach is not unique to Titan, pointing out that De Beers too operates a separate brand for lab-grown diamonds, reinforcing the logic of distinct positioning, values, and buying experiences.
This separation also reflects a pattern the Tata Group has followed repeatedly as it has expanded across categories. Lloyd Mathias, Angel Investor and Independent Director, points out that Titan has historically preferred building distinct brands rather than stretching one identity across divergent consumer needs. “Titan recognised the value of a multi-brand portfolio very early. They started with watches, then created Tanishq for jewellery, Taneira for sarees, and later Titan Eyeplus. Instead of forcing one brand to do everything, they have consistently built separate brands for different categories and audiences,” he says.
Building on that approach, Ronita Mitra, Senior Business and Marketing Professional, frames the launch of lab-grown diamonds as a question of long-term brand insulation rather than mixed messaging. She elaborates, “The launch of lab-grown diamonds under a separate brand name is less about contradiction and more about category segmentation and future-proofing. It is classic portfolio management, not mixed messaging. Running both narratives in parallel allows Titan to protect the long-term value perception of natural diamonds while also having a presence in the LGD category without diluting legacy associations.”
Mathias also points out how Titan’s move is both an opportunity and a moment of validation for the category. He believes the segment is growing rapidly across global markets and that Titan’s entry lends credibility to lab-grown diamonds, reducing earlier scepticism around ownership. In his view, the trust associated with a Tata-backed brand gives the category greater legitimacy and accelerates acceptance.
If the market case explains the ‘why’, the consumer lens explains the ‘how’. Mithila Saraf, CEO of Famous Innovations, who worked closely on the early discussions around Titan’s foray into lab-grown diamonds, says, “Tanishq has always stood for emotion and relationships. Somebody once described it as the glue in a relationship, and Tanishq should continue being that. Lab-grown diamonds, on the other hand, are purchased much more rationally. They are bought for design, for everyday wear, and by a younger consumer who is not emotionally attached to whether it is natural or lab-grown.” She explains that creating beYon as a separate brand gives Titan strategic freedom. It allows the company to protect the emotional authority of its legacy brands while simultaneously addressing a new, progressive consumer segment without the baggage of tradition. Given the pace at which the lab-grown diamond category is expanding, she sees this move as less optional and more inevitable.
Yet, perception is rarely shaped by strategy. When a legacy brand with long-grown consumer trust reinforces the supremacy of natural diamonds at the same moment when its parent company launches a lab-grown alternative, the contrast is inevitable. Does simultaneity sharpen consumer choice, or does it create a subconscious hierarchy that eventually hampers the new vertical’s growth?
Mathias does not see Tanishq’s natural diamond campaign as undermining beYon’s launch. He argues that the two brands are addressing fundamentally different consumer segments. He believes, “Titan must have weighed the pros and cons of any cannibalisation, but for them, the bigger play is expanding the overall jewellery market rather than competing within it.”
Whereas, Jhaveri returns to the idea that clarity matters more than convergence. “In the long run, it is in Titan’s interest to cultivate very different equities for lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds.” Trying to collapse these meanings, she argues, would weaken both.
Thus, as Tata navigates this dual narrative, it reflects a broader challenge facing legacy brands everywhere. With categories evolving and values diversifying, brands are increasingly required to hold multiple truths at once. A diamond can be timeless and contemporary, emotional and rational, inherited and everyday.
Whether consumers see these parallel stories as contradictions or simply as choices will unfold over time. And perhaps that, more than alignment or tension, is the real test of how legacy and the future learn to speak in the same breath.
