How To Promote Lab-Grown Diamonds: Affordable Luxury That Keeps Up With The Times
The jewelry market is changing. More and more luxury consumers are accepting lab-grown diamonds as the alternative to their mined counterparts. Still, there are some retailers who are uncertain about starting to offer jewelry pieces with man-made gemstones. It may be worrisome for some jewelers to start promoting lab-grown diamonds out of the blue. But it is the fear of confusing their customers that makes them miss out on a fast-growing jewelry trend. LaBrilliante shares some tips that can make jumping on the bandwagon an easier process.
Women’s Choice
Women are now more independent than ever before, and that is also reflected in their buying habits. Although engagement rings are still mostly purchased by men, other types of jewelry are something that more than half of millennial women buy for themselves now, according to recent studies. And the price is one of the key factors they’re considering.
Sales of affordable lab-grown diamond studs skyrocketed last year as women were buying them to wear during zoom conferences. Now, when the toughest quarantine restrictions seem to stay behind, there’s no indication that these numbers will plummet.
All signs point to women liking lab-created diamonds for being both affordable and just as brilliant as the mined diamonds. Those retailers who’re still on the fence should start by offering man-made diamond jewelry to women, as it’s very likely going to become their choice.
New Priorities
Millennials who are expected to become the majority of luxury consumers in just a few years are choosing sustainable jewelry. And in a world fighting with a pandemic, their priorities have never been set more straight - they don’t want to worry about the sourcing. Lack of history of “social and environmental conflicts” is a must for such customers.
Many fashion advocates and stylists, such as Los Angeles based Cassandra Dittmer, are urging younger generations to choose jewelry pieces made of recycled metals and lab-grown diamonds. And millennials listen. Sustainability may be one of the main selling points that influences the rapid increase of man-made diamond sales, both globally and locally - for a single jewelry store.
A Symbol of Change
Pandora’s CEO Alexander Lacik said in a recent interview that lab-grown diamonds don’t “denigrate the value the industry has built up around diamonds”. While they are more affordable to the public, they’re still diamonds. What they symbolize is not disregard of the industry, but transformation, according to Lacik.
Lab-grown diamond jewelry is the answer to changing perception of fashion and luxury, and what’s most valuable about them for today’s consumers. As a sign of these changes, Pandora hired one of the world’s most popular plus-size models, Ashley Graham, as the spokesperson for their new Brilliance collection. In Lacik’s words, lab-grown diamonds should help women celebrate their transformations and their independence. Their affordability and sustainability are nice bonuses. But it is their symbolism that is the most important thing about them and should be promoted.
