Can lab-grown diamonds help the industry? - Make Hay While the “Diamond” Shines

While the tug-of-war between natural and lab-grown diamond industries is ongoing, the fact that there is a definitive market for the latter is undisputable. The growing number of natural diamond players wanting a taste of the lab-grown diamond business is evidence enough. Instead of looking at lab-grown diamonds as a threat, if the industry can view it as a just-another variant that can be sold to a different target audience, may be this industry could strike gold, says Vijetha Rangabashyam.

The diamond industry is witnessing a pattern. While De Beers is cutting its diamond output and major suppliers are reducing the supply and lowering prices, what with all the uncertainty in India and China and a weak demand from the U.S., it is apparent that the industry is looking at an alternative option to make profits. Over the last two years, we’ve been surprised by moves taken by some of the biggest entities in the natural diamond industry. The giveaway though was when De Beers decided to launch Lightbox Jewelry – you had to know that this was just the beginning. Lightbox which was only sold online and at occasional pop-ups is now available at Bloomingdale’s department stores and Reeds Jewelers on a trial basis to understand the market and whether or not there is demand for lab-grown diamonds from the consumers. People who have been peeved and worried about the rising popularity of lab grown diamonds are themselves seeing a huge market potential in this product. The pattern of looking at “grown” diamonds, as most players in this space like to call it, not as a disruptor but a variant that has a promising future cannot be ignored. Just this month, diamond tycoon Dilip Mehta from emeritus of Rosy Blue Alliance, an Indian Belgian company, announced his family’s foray into the lab grown business. While a handful of them have “come out” so to speak about their lab-grown entities, a lot of them are staying under the radar for fear of getting an unsavoury reputation.