Why the jewellery industry isn’t giving up on natural diamonds: heritage brands trade on rarity of ‘real’ stones as demand for lab-grown gems slumps

- The value of lab-grown diamonds has fallen by more than 90% over two years, per De Beers CEO Al Cook, while Cormac Kinney, CEO of Diamond Standard, anticipates a further 50-80% dip in sales
- Louis Vuitton’s Deep Time Laurasia necklace has a 5-carat yellow diamond at its centre, while Graff’s Galaxia collection features more than 1,100 carats of diamonds and precious gemstones
Recent months have seen the value of diamonds become the subject of much interrogation, with the emergence – and relative popularity – of lab-grown gems, and a broader decline in luxury spending the key factors weighing heavily on the industry.
Nevertheless, De Beers has hailed 2024 as the year for a rebound. “The recovery in rough diamond demand is expected to be gradual through the rest of the year,” Anglo American said.

The prediction rests on belief in a wider economic recovery, creating more spending power in luxury sectors, as well as a decline in the price of natural diamonds’ lab-grown counterparts.
“They have fallen by more than 90 per cent over the last two years,” De Beers’ Cook said of lab-grown diamonds. “And customers clearly see now that natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds are two entirely different things.”

While there are well-documented environmental and ethical considerations with natural diamonds, the man-made market also faces environmental considerations, especially as more than 60 per cent of the stones are produced in China and India, which both rely heavily on coal for electricity production.