The diamond industry was striving with the sale of natural diamonds until human-made diamonds made an entry in the 1950s to disrupt the market. The preconceived notion that ‘Man-made diamonds are fake,’ was ruled off when the whole world and the diamond industry came to know of the truth, ‘Man-made diamonds are real diamonds.’
The fact that people believed loose lab-created diamonds to be fake was the main reason limiting the growth of the human-made diamond industry. However, now lab-grown loose diamonds are giving a fierce competition to natural diamonds. Many reasons to support the growth are; awareness, celebrities promoting human-made diamonds, eco-friendly.
The natural diamonds reserves will go empty by 2030 (Source: Report by Bain & Co.), then how will the demand be met? Human-made diamonds is the solution! Jewelers, designers, retailers, diamond agents, brands, all are supporting human-made diamonds.
Here are some other factors which are ruled in favor of human-made diamonds:
Reports Suggest Human-made Diamonds are Entering a Growth Stage
With lab-grown fancy diamonds and white diamonds being lavishly sold by jewelers, retailers, and famous brands, the awareness among people about the existence of human-made diamonds increased to 51% in 2019. This percentage was deficient at 9% in 2010.
This awareness led to an increase in the purchase of lab-grown fancy diamonds in the past few years. A report concluded the human-made diamond industry would grow to be worth $27.6 billion by 2023 from $16.2 billion in 2016 (Source: researchnester.com). Another report put forward by the ‘Diamond Sector,’ stated that the upcoming years after 2019 would be the years of complete growth by the human-made diamond industry.
The human-made diamond industry’s awareness among people has, a contribution of established industries. De Beers, the company which was at one time the biggest seller of fancy natural diamonds and always encouraged the purchase of natural diamonds, opened up another company, ‘Lightbox Jewellery,’ which produces and sells lab created loose diamonds, white diamonds, fancy diamonds, and even colored diamonds.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the USA revised the definition of a diamond and removed the word ‘natural’ from it. This action supported the already proved fact that ‘man-made diamonds are real diamonds!’
In 2017 the largest human-made diamond was created by a group of scientists at Augsburg University, Germany. It was a 155 carat diamond in disc form, which was 92 millimeters in diameter.
Millennials Prefer Human-made Diamonds
According to a recent study put forward by MVI Marketing Ltd., 71% of millennials would prefer to use a human-made diamond for an engagement ring over a fancy natural diamond.
The reason being the generation of millennials would prefer to buy a bigger diamond at a lower price; human-made diamonds cost 20%-30% less than natural diamonds. Also, having a conscious mind-set millennial, and Generation Z would prefer to buy a product that doesn’t harm the environment.
As mentioned by Bain & Co., these generations have higher spending power and prefer to spend on products that have good customer reviews, are referred by influencers, and are eco-friendly. Retailers, jewelers, and even big brands have started to re-plan their strategies due to the change in preferences.
Celebrities Support Human-made Diamonds
Celebs and known personalities have come together to raise awareness about lab-grown fancy diamonds.
Leonardo Di Caprio acted in a movie named ‘Blood Diamond,’ which showed the cruel side of natural diamonds and conflict diamonds. Many people favored and vouched for lab-grown white diamonds.
Atelier Swarovski is a jewelry line that sells lab created fancy diamonds; Penelope Cruz & Swarovski made it as a team effort.
Many celebrities have flaunted their human-made fancy diamonds at red carpet events: Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Kim Kardashian, Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz, and Madonna. Daughter of Mohammad Ali, Khaliah Ali, and Evan Williams & Andrew McCollum (founders of Twitter) have accepted lab-grown loose diamonds and supported them.
Advanced Technology is Used to Create Human-made Diamonds
Lab-grown loose diamonds are created by two processes mainly, the CVD diamond & HPHT synthetic diamond making process. Technology is being improved to increase the efficiency of the creation process. Development can be seen as the process which once cost about $4000 in 2008 now costs somewhere $300-$500.
These new methods are eco-friendly and highly efficient, making human-made diamonds an excellent choice for people. With all these factors mentioned, it can be said; human-made loose diamonds are on a path to greatness with a secure future.
