Rio Tinto Diamonds has launched a new marketing initiative, "Diamonds with a Story," aimed at informing diamond buyers, manufactures and consumers about the unique provenance and personality of Rio Tinto's diamonds.

The marketing campaign is driven by findings from qualitative and quantitative research recently undertaken by The Shand Group that indicate that more than 75 percent of consumers care about from where their diamond originates, how it is mined and the story behind a piece of jewelry that makes it special.

"The four Cs are still important, however for today's consumer we need to go further and explain the other layers which are the human, geological and cultural histories wrapped up in every Rio Tinto diamond," says Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General Manager for the sales and marketing of diamonds from all Rio Tinto mines.

The initiative, launched this week at the JCK LUXURY show in Las Vegas, is supported by marketing materials that will be an important point of differentiation for Rio Tinto's global diamonds business, which spans five continents.