lab grown diamonds beyond the sustainability argument

lab grown diamonds beyond the sustainability argument image
Consumers in general, and Millennial and Gen Z consumers in particular, are taking a more ethical approach to consumption. For the most part, they want not only high-quality products that look great; they will seek out brands that share their concerns for environmental sustainability and ethical labor practices. For these consumers, the appeal of lab-grown diamonds is obvious. But what about consumers whose primary concern is not with sustainability? How do we best extol the virtues of lab-grown diamonds to the consumers who only want a great-looking diamond? For these other consumers, lab-grown diamonds still have a lot to offer beyond the (admittedly contentious) environmental benefits. Lower Cost The price of a lab-grown diamond fell between 20 and 33% between 2018 and 2022. The prices of the smallest lab-grown diamonds fell almost 50% in that time frame. Mined diamond prices remained relatively stable from 2012 to 2020 before dropping during the pandemic and rising sharply in early 2022. They have since fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, but they still remain far more expensive than lab-grown diamonds. While a mined diamond can cost anywhere between $2,500 and $18,000 per carat, depending on the individual diamond’s 4Cs, a lab-grown diamond typically ranges from $1,000 and $6,000. A lab-grown diamond could cost up to 50% less than a comparable mined diamond. LGD prices are expected to fall further in the future, but rising energy costs could slow the decline and stabilize prices, according to National Jeweler. At the same time, their report suggests, government investment into the LGD sector in India could help lower prices for LGD around the world. “Sustainability” Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story More Brilliance for the Buck While the market for smaller lab-grown diamonds could shift to fashion jewelry, large, expertly cut lab-grown diamonds will likely remain a luxury product. The market for 3-5 carat lab-grown diamonds is growing, with luxury customers, who can afford mined diamonds, drawn to the idea of getting a much larger lab-grown diamond for the same price they would pay for a smaller mined diamond.
Dazzling Designs
Larger sizes for a lower price also means more ways for jewelry designers to express their creativity. Larger stones, more stones, diamond accents in designs featuring colored gemstones, pavé…the possibilities are endless. Designers can also have fancy colored diamonds in every shade to play with, as well. Lab-grown diamonds open all of these possibilities up to the diamond consumer. Advances in technology and growing techniques means that all LGD on the market will soon be of equally high quality. All lab-grown diamonds are type IIA diamonds, colorless and free of inclusions. The difference between lab-grown diamonds of equal carat weight will be in the quality of the cut, and a masterfully cut lab-grown diamond will still be able to command a high price, but a far lower one than the same cut in a mined diamond. Bottom Line The traditional mined diamond engagement ring might be out of reach for many consumers, especially as middle-class Americans are looking to cut spending in the face of rampant inflation and increased costs of necessities. Lab-grown diamonds provide an option for people who couldn’t otherwise afford a diamond engagement ring. But diamonds won’t lose their aura of exclusivity in the face of ubiquity, as growers and retailers will market separate fashion and luxury brands. American consumers are coming to accept lab-grown diamonds much quicker than consumers in other parts of the world. As lab-grown diamonds become ubiquitous, sales will be driven by marketing rather than rarity. Sustainability is one story we tell about LGD, but LGD will need more stories than that to capture consumer attention in a market where rarity and exclusivity is one of the main draws. 

Features

GUARANTEES OF QUALITY

Lab-grown diamonds come with the same kinds of certifications available for mined diamonds, graded according to the same criteria. Both GIA and IGI offer grading reports for lab-grown diamonds, though GIA LGD reports are less common. Such reports will play a role in differentiating premium LGD from lower-quality options. All LGD will have exceptional clarity and higher carat weights than mined diamonds. The big difference will be in the quality of the cut. They will also reassure customers about the authenticity of LGD.

BACKING UP SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS

The strength of those certificates is also a limitation. They offer a third-party evaluation of a diamond’s authenticity and quality, but they are relevant only to authenticity and quality. If consumers are buying lab-grown diamonds for their sustainability advantages, sellers are going to want the same sort of third-party verification of their environmental claims. This will become increasingly the case as Millennials and Gen Z come to comprise the majority of luxury consumers. We will see an even greater emphasis on ethical consumption. Not only will they want reassurances about a diamond’s quality, but they will also want to know where their diamond comes from and what effect its production, whether it was taken from the ground or grown in a lab, has on the environment.

CERTIFICATION BUILDS TRUST

Consumers want to trust the people they are buying from. That’s true in any industry, but it’s especially true in luxury—and when you’re trying to convince customers to make luxury purchases online. Certificates that guarantee both the quality and the provenance of a diamond will go a long way toward building trust. Though grading reports are consumer-facing certificates, designed to be readable by a non-expert, third-party certificates of all kinds are good for businesses at every link in the supply chain, from manufacturers to suppliers to retailers. In the end, however, the value of a diamond comes down to how the buyer feels about it. A certificate might give them confidence, but don’t let it undermine their own eye test. If the customer has fallen in love with a particular diamond or piece of jewelry, it’s perfect for them, no matter what a piece of paper says.

Lgd and mined diamonds

LGD and mined diamonds are nearly identical; both are crystals composed of 99.95% carbon, and that’s really all a diamond is. They have the same optical properties and the same hardness, and only expensive spectroscopy can detect the minor differences in nitrogen levels that separate mined diamonds and LGD. The main difference is that the CVD or HPHT methods can grow a diamond much faster than geological processes. HPHT diamonds have an advantage over CVD diamonds on the explanation front since they mimic the process by which diamonds are created in nature. Carbon is exposed to extremely high pressures and temperatures, which rearranges the structure of the chain of carbon atoms into a crystal, just like what happens deep within the earth’s crust and upper mantle. That might feel more “natural” to some than the more complicated CVD process, which uses hydrocarbon gas and microwave energy at lower temperatures and pressures to layer carbon atoms onto a diamond seed. The CVD method, however, can produce much larger diamonds.