What is The Direction for The Lab-Grown Diamond Market?
It seems like the industry analysts just can’t keep up with the lab-grown diamond market. Every other week a new report is published that forecasts even higher highs for the young industry. Labrilliante walks you through new predictions to find out where the LGD market is really headed.
According to The Economic Times, the export of man-made diamonds from the producing countries is expected to grow by 7-9% in the following fiscal year. Indian export alone is forecasted to reach $1.53 billion. Rising demand in many European countries and the ban on gems of Russian origin are the main reasons, however they are not the only ones. Constantly developing technology and the issues that the market of mined diamonds is facing may also be responsible.
A breakthrough from Korean researchers may help with cutting costs of producing lab-grown diamonds, while making the product even more environmentally friendly. A scientific institute patented a new growth method which will potentially speed up the process of manufacturing the precious stones. This is a significant achievement, still it’s just one in the constant line of new technological breakthroughs making the lab-created gems more captivating and the industry more impressive with each year. While this new growth method could lead to a potential oversupply, the market is set on regulating itself. To uphold the demand and current prices, LGD manufacturing units across the globe will take a 15-day Summer vacation at the end of May. Such a practice may certainly become a tradition that will help with preventing the oversupply.
At the same time, the oversupply of mined diamonds had led to an almost 20% decline of the rough diamond prices last year. Lowering demand for mined stones resulted in De Beers sales volume plummeting 50% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. The corporation even had to significantly cut the production. This is a striking contrast to a recent report statement that the worldwide LGD market value could grow up to $55.6 billion by 2031. According to The Wall Street Journal, Anglo American is considering selling De Beers due to the disappointing figures. And at the same time, Pandora, who went all-in on man-made stones, reported a 18% sales increase and 87% year-on-year sales peak for lab-grown diamonds. “Natural diamonds need heavy marketing spend” industry analyst Paul Zimnisky has recently said to The Financial Times, while confirming the rapid growth of man-made diamond sales.
While the lab-grown diamond market had some bumps along the way, it is certainly headed to success. Not only the man-made stones help independent jewelers compete with large retail chains, which has been recently stated by the CEO of Signet Jewelers, but also move the whole jewelry industry forward. The consumers’ demand is not lowering and the rise of lab-grown diamonds is not stopping. It seems as if every new report just confirms that a jeweler can’t avoid lab-grown diamonds any longer, and it will probably be even more truthful going forward.
