Insiders Predict: Lab-grown Diamonds are The Future of Bridal And Watches
Jewelry consumers spend around $6,000 on an engagement ring on average. This is a long-lasting tradition which goes back several decades. However, millennial customers are usually comfortable with the budget range of $2,000 to $3,000 for a ring. With the increased inflation, people from all around the world are looking for ways to save money, even on engagement rings. As more and more jewelry shoppers are tightening their budgets, the ideal answer becomes getting a lab-grown diamond, which can cost as low as one fifth of the identical mined stone. This is only one of the factors which makes the man-made gems the future of the bridal segment.
While lab diamonds made up only 2% of the overall diamond market back in 2018, the figure jumped to 10% by the end of 2022. New brands are constantly created in the United State, Europe, and Australia, where lab-grown diamonds are becoming especially popular. Australian jewelers expect that manufactured stone will be used in around 40% of engagement rings by the end of 2023. The main marketing point, aside from the availability, is ecological and societal benefits. Lab-created stones are generally considered more sustainable and ethical than their mined counterparts. However, the main reason for their ever-growing popularity is their embracement by the well-established brands and key industry players.
Ever since Pandora announced the launch of lab-grown diamond jewelry collections, more and more famous brands have been embracing and legitimizing man-made stones. Manufactured rough allows for more versatile cutting patterns. Designers are able to go wild and create unique and eye-catching jewelry collections. Many millennial-focused brands are partnering with growing companies to bring their ideas to life, such as UK-based Selfridges, which has just launched their new collection of jewelry pieces with lab-created gems.
Watches are another massive part of the industry that is jumping aboard the man-made diamond train. Following Tag Huer and Breitling, many smaller watch companies are starting to apply lab-created stones in their designs. According to Watchpro, the brands promote such pieces as “art, a playful piece that made virtue of the creative freedoms growing diamonds in the lab provides’.
Such famous analysts like Edhan Golan, Marty Hurwitz, and Paul Zimnisky, all say that there is no turning back for lab-created diamonds. And while there are still Industry people who are trying to oppose it, it’s very likely that man-made stones are a partial future of the whole jewelry market. As Hurwitz said, “there is a consumer revolution happening because of lab-grown diamonds. As an industry, we must embrace the change and give consumers a choice”. If the branding strategies and technology will continue to develop, this lab-grown diamond revolution will be unstoppable.
