Lab-grown Diamonds Are The Summer Hit
According to the recent interview by independent industry analyst Paul Zimnisky, man-made diamonds will breach 20% of the global diamond demand this year. The market increases rapidly, lab-grown stones represent something exciting and new for the customer, and the lower price point drives consumers to the stores. Amid declining interest in mined diamonds, lab-created gems will certainly be a hit of this Summer.
‘A lot of retailers really adopted the product. They saw it as an opportunity to drive their profit margins. And the profit margins for lab diamonds on a relative basis are still significantly higher than that of a natural diamond,” Zimnisky said on the status of the industry. Both retailers and consumers have finally come to understand the lab-grown gems as an alternative to the mined stones, and not a competition.
According to Pandora’s CEO Alexander Lacik, two main things that push customers towards lab-grown diamonds are the design possibility and price point. These aspects especially concern millennials and Gen Z. Lab-grown diamonds, with their significantly lower prices and higher variety of customization, are able to check both boxes. The superior quality of most man-made gemstones and the sustainability angle also help, although not as much. All of these aspects, however, are the reason why the sales of jewelry with lab diamonds are predicted to peak this summer, making a striking contrast to the 31% year on year decline of mined diamond sales.
The consumer acceptance and demand are the indicators that the LGD market has nothing to worry about in the following years. On the contrary, it has only one way - forward. While there are still some concerns about the price decline, more and more experts believe that this is just a market correction process that is almost finished. We’ve already seen the prices on some categories stabilizing, and we’re likely to continue seeing it. Whatever concerns some analysts may have, it is clear that lab-grown diamonds will keep attracting people to jewelry stores. And this is what really makes them sparkle for the retailers.
