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Elizabeth Taylor wore the 68-carat version, Audrey Hepburn and Beyoncé sported the same yellow and Shirley Bassey made a huge chunk of her fortune singing about them. Diamonds have long been the most sought-after gem for anyone with enough money or status, but the popularity of these lab-grown stones is currently causing havoc in the jewelry world.
Lab-grown diamonds are created in weeks in plasma reactors and recognized as diamonds in As of 2018, according to the US Federal Trade Commission, they are already a $6 billion industry, a figure that will double by 2025.
In the past year, luxury brands’ attitudes towards lab-grown diamonds (LGD) have also changed. A lot of investment has been made in the stones. Jewelry Pandora launched its Brilliance collection in the US this summer, featuring lab-created diamonds made with 100% renewable energy.
“North America is the largest diamond market globally,” said Rasmus Brix, managing director of Pandora UK and Ireland, “so it was a big moment for us.” And, as Pandora is the world’s largest jewelry brand, it was also a big time for LGD’s market.
On a high note, luxury conglomerate LVMH, which includes brands such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, invested in an Israeli lab-grown producer this year. Label Heuer, another LMMH brand, introduced the Carrera Plasma in March. The watch is the company’s first watch band adorned with lab-grown diamonds.
Celebrities are supporting the LGD trend. Rapper Drake loved a one-off necklace that musician Frank Ocean’s jewelry brand Homer made for the 2021 Met Ball, so he bought it for $1.9m (£1.7m) this year. Actress Zoe Kravitz wore lab-grown pearls to the Met Ball. Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and Penelope Cruz are just a few of those who have worn the stones to walk the red carpet.
Although lab-grown stones were first created in 1954, more recent manufacturing technologies are now consistent with the “four Cs” of natural diamonds – cut, clarity, color and carat. They are made using carbon-rich gases under low pressure and high temperature. Jewelers can not distinguish nature from the laboratory without special equipment. “When Labs came along, they were seen as a threat to the diamond industry,” says Jessica Warch, founder of LGD company Kimai.
“It’s also a very small industry, everyone knows it, and when we first started they wondered why we got into these ‘fake’ diamonds. But they’ve seen demand change and now some are grown in the lab.
British-Israeli jewelry designer Talia Paskin has had strong opinions on the new stones. Her brand Aurum + Gray is popular with celebrities such as the Duchess of Sussex and Kylie Jenner. She uses recycled metal and stone whenever possible but also lab-grown in her collection. “There are two clear camps with very strong opinions in the industry,” she says. “The American business forum I’m a member of has banned any posts about lab-grown diamonds. The opinions are black and white.”
Lab-grown diamonds are considered more ethical than manufactured diamonds because their origins are easier to trace. Like many centuries-old industries, diamond mining has a history steeped in colonialism and abuses of human rights and the environment. But 56 percent of lab-grown diamonds come from China, a country with no reputation for good working conditions.
The UK’s Council for Responsible Jewelery is in the process of developing a set of standards to ensure they meet the same strict standards as natural diamonds.
While the debate over lab-grown is partly a practical debate over sustainability, it’s also a generational shift in the definition of luxury. The idea of what a diamond should be and where its value is found is changing or fragmenting.
“We grew up in a fine jewelry environment, but we feel a connection to the traditional market,” Warch says. “When it comes to marketing, everything still seems to be aimed at our grandparents – buying for men and women. It is very outdated. With Kimai we buy for ourselves we want to create jewelry. Sweat-grown is cheaper for the planet and cheaper for people’s wallets.
The democratization of diamonds is something BRICS also mentioned. “Our aim has always been to create jewelery that is accessible to everyone. Our range of brilliants are priced lower than mined diamonds.
David Kelly, chief executive of the Natural Diamond Council, believes the price difference has lasting consequences for consumers. “A lab-grown diamond will give you the pleasure, but it won’t be worth as much over time,” he says. “We talk about the endorphin rush that diamonds give you. For most people, a diamond is something you wear every day and then pass down to your children. I think natural diamonds give you a huge long term endorphin rush.
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